Fizik R5 Donna Road Shoes review

Fizik R5 Donna Road Shoes
Cycling Weekly Verdict

Unfortunately, the shoes were a tad too wide for me and, once sufficiently tightened, a fold in the excess fabric appeared at the toe end. The Velcro also overlapped on top of my foot and dug in on long rides - but if they fit you there's no reason not to love them.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Stiff

  • +

    Comfortable

  • +

    Secure

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    For the wider foot

  • -

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

Fizik's shoe venture is still relatively new, and probably best known for high-end shoes that feature kangaroo leather and full-carbon soles.



The Donna R5 is Fizik's slightly more affordable option. The nylon/carbon mix sole is plenty stiff enough, with minimal flex even out of the saddle.

The nylon element of the man-made upper is surprisingly supple and just as soft as high quality leather, while the microtex keep the shoes reasonably vented.

The heel cup is secure, as are both the Velcro and ratchet style fixings.

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Hannah Bussey

Hannah is Cycling Weekly’s longest-serving tech writer, having started with the magazine back in 2011. She has covered all things technical for both print and digital over multiple seasons representing CW at spring Classics, and Grand Tours and all races in between.


Hannah was a successful road and track racer herself, competing in UCI races all over Europe as well as in China, Pakistan and New Zealand.


For fun, she's ridden LEJOG unaided, a lap of Majorca in a day, won a 24-hour mountain bike race and tackled famous mountain passes in the French Alps, Pyrenees, Dolomites and Himalayas. 


She lives just outside the Peak District National Park near Manchester UK with her partner, daughter and a small but beautifully formed bike collection.