Fizik Tempo Decos - New high-end road shoe from the Italian brand

While it may not have the heritage of its compatriot Sidi, Fizik has cemented its place as the Italian brand of choice for footwear fans in recent years, thanks to a blend of high performance, clean aesthetics and some high profile sponsorship.

Not short of a shoe or two in its range of products (nine options for summer road shoes, not including triathlon offerings, at our last count) the Decos bring a top-of-the-range, single Boa option to the party with cleat bolts situated further back for better biomechanics.

New shoes, classic silhouette 

Browsing the entire range of Fizik’s road footwear, several of which already sit in our list of the best cycling shoes, there’s a distinctive silhouette throughout the range; a low ankle and an offset closure being the hallmarks. The new Decos do not break the mould in this regard, very much fitting the classic aesthetic of the brand, but bring a few new design features to the table.

Previous offerings from Fizik all feature a two-part closure system, one for the upper and one for the lower foot, either via Boa dials or through velcro straps. The Decos move away from the archetype and instead opt for a single, lower profile Boa Li2 dial to close the entire shoe. The new Li2 dial is both flatter and has a smaller diameter, which may make some difference to aerodynamics but no claims are made in this regard - it appears to be an aesthetic update first and foremost.

To the surprise of nobody, given this is a high end road shoe, the Decos feature a stiff unidirectional carbon sole (stiffness rating:10), with a large vent at the toe end combined with internal channelling to keep things cool when the temperature rises. The upper, a supple laminated PU mesh, features on other models in Fizik’s range and is designed to conform to the upper foot whilst also maximising breathability. This conformity will be all the more important with a single dial closure to ensure the avoidance of hotspots.

Rearward cleat positioning 

For most of us fitting new cleats was always a case of putting them under the ball of the foot. Recently, pioneered most prominently by serial innovator Adam Hansen, slamming your cleats rearwards for a performance advantage is beginning to move into more mainstream offerings. Fizik, in this case, has mounted the cleat bolts further back than in its other models, in an effort to relieve knee pressure, especially in more aero positions. 

The change isn’t huge, especially not on a visual level, but it’s a step towards another piece of received wisdom being eroded away.

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Spec and pricing 

The Fizik Decos are available in four colours: All black, all white, iridescent light blue and black, or purple and black. They will retail at $299.99 / €290 / £279 and weigh in at 496g a pair.

For riders who struggle to find a perfect fit, Fizik offers half sizes between their most commonly purchased options too (37-47). We’ve been lucky enough to get our hands on a set for some testing, so stay tuned to see how they perform.