Over the past years I have been racing mainly short and half distance triathlons, which has made transitions more important than that of Ironman racing. Hence, I have been in a triathlon-specific cycle shoe. Moving to more Ironman competitions, I thought it was time to try a road shoe that I could still get on reasonably fast, but would offer a better fit than a tri shoe. The Fizik R3 Aria for 2018 was the perfect option.

The shoe has been designed with no tongue; the reason for this was to accommodate a large variety of foot widths (called volume control), with one side folding under the other and two micro adjustable BOA dials. This makes it perfect for triathlon racing, as it can open up wide enough to slide your foot straight in, and there is also no tongue to fold up and get in the way.

They don’t have the heel loop that traditional triathlon shoes have. I found that I could loop a rubber band around the heel pad, which held the shoe in position for an easy entry. Then the BOA dials are a simple few twists away from locking the foot into place. Jumping off the bike, its an easy pull of the dial which lets it undo completely.

The R3 is Fizik’s second best shoe, with the R1 model slightly lighter and with a slightly different upper. The shoes share a unidirectional carbon outsole which offers great stiffness. The weight is listed as 243 grams for a size 42.5. While this weight is not top of the range, it is very competitive at the R3 price point.

I have only had the shoes for a few weeks, but the quality seems to be great. The upper is easy to clean and the white comes up like new. Fizik typically makes well-made products and this is no exception. I would thoroughly recommend these shoes for either road or long distance triathlon racing.

By Mike Phillips – Pushys Sponsored Athlete