KIT ZONE

THE LATEST GEAR-TESTED BY EXPERTS

- HELEN WEBSTER, ROB SLADE, MATT BAIRD, JACKY SEXTY, JAMES WITTS

FIZIK TRANSIRO HYDRA AEROWEAVE CARBON

£289.99 Are these tri-specific bike shoes worth the outlay?

Triathlon-specific running shoes have recently joined Softride bikes in the multisport history vaults, even if both stand as tech whose influence shines on today. The shoe, however, shows no signs of going full Betamax, as evidenced here in Fizik's latest techy carbon wonders.

Sported by Brit short-course star Georgia Taylor-Brown, the Transiro tick plenty of tri-bike shoe boxes. There's a heel bumper for easier running through transition, which also protects the carbon sole, while the heel loop is appreciated for putting them on in, or just after, T1.

The single Velcro strap continues the transition speed theme, its reverse nature meaning you can leave your shoe clipped into the pedal before you mount without the fear of the tongue getting stuck in the drivetrain. The downside, as evidenced here, is that the tongue can be too long and can catch on the crank arm when pedalling, meaning you must cut them down, which always feel disconcerting on circa-£300 shoes such as the Transiro.

Even without Boa dials and wires for added security (as seen on Fizik's Transiro Infinito), the tongue produces a secure yet comfortable fit around the top of the foot, saving further time in both T1 and T2 due to the lack of dial rotation. The sizing suited this tester's wide feet, too, with enough room for sock-wearing training rides. As for sockless riding, the Transiro excels. The Aeroweave upper, a mix of nylon and filaments of thermoplastic polymers, offered plenty of aeration on muggy UK rides, aided further by an inlet and some airflow channels on the outsole. Despite its net-like construction, chafing was absent on sockless sojourns, and this praise is coming from someone who largely avoids sockless riding.