Fizik R5 Artica winter shoes review

Fizik's R5 Artica winter shoes aim to provide extra protection from the cold without sacrificing fit. Do they succeed?

Fizik R5 Artica winter shoes
Cycling Weekly Verdict

The Fizik R5 Artica are well worth considering if you ride in all weathers throughout winter. May feel a little too snug and restrictive at the ankle for some riders, but the construction quality and easy-clean design are excellent.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Easy-clean outer

  • +

    Snug fit

  • +

    Sleek aesthetics

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Tightness at bridge

  • -

    Restrictive fit

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.

On first look, opinions at Cycling Weekly were divided about the Fizik R5 Artica winter boots. As soon as I saw them, I wanted to love them. Unlike some of my colleagues, I didn’t care about the functional, plain black aesthetics; to me, they looked ideal for their purpose.

Thing is, I am prone to cold feet — often severe enough to put me off cycling on cold days. Wimpy, I know, but true. So I had very high hopes for Fizik’s R5 Artica and snapped at the chance to test them.

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David Bradford
Features editor

David Bradford is features editor of Cycling Weekly (print edition). He has been writing and editing professionally for more than 15 years, and has published work in national newspapers and magazines including the Independent, the Guardian, the Times, the Irish Times, Vice.com and Runner’s World. Alongside his love of cycling, David is a long-distance runner with a marathon PB of two hours 28 minutes. Having been diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) in 2006, he also writes about sight loss and hosts the podcast Ways of Not Seeing.