(digital boom)
- Last year we had an amazing Fizik unboxing here on GCN
where we were able to reveal exclusively
their entire 2018 range.
And now, brilliantly,
we're gonna get to do it all over again.
Not 2018, 2019!
You lot, are gonna be the first people to see
this huge selection of 2019 goodness.
And despite the fact that it is a world exclusive,
you are still gonna get the opportunity to get your hands
on some of it, yeah.
And not just one of you as well.
Five people are gonna win.
You wanna see what is coming up?
Well, we have all new shoe models and
Fizik have redone their entire selection
of bar tape.
Now, I am a huge fan of these shoes,
I don't know who isn't.
But actually I'm weirdly excited about this as well.
'Cause I've learned an awful lot going through that
and hopefully you will too.
We do have to start somewhere though.
And predictably, perhaps,
I'm gonna start with shoes
and the blingest of the bling,
the Infinito R1 Knit.
Here we go.
Look at that.
When I say knit, I mean knit.
These are made with a unique knitted fabric here
which has got different densities of weave
in order to tailor it in different properties
and different parts of the shoe.
So perhaps increase stretch in one place
increased support in another.
And then that upper is bonded on
to the proven carbon Fizik sole.
And I say proven with good reason.
I'll tell you more about that in a second.
Now, technically, the R1 Infinito Knit is not new new,
because this one e-glove viewers will remember,
was actually launched last year,
this very stealthy black with red low lights colorway.
But it has been joined
by some brothers and sisters.
The gray
and this was indeed the same model of shoe
that Geraint Thomas used
when he won this year's Tour de France,
so when I said proven, I mean proven.
We've then got petrol blue
and
is this yellow or green?
Let me consult my box.
Yellow.
We've then got petrol blue and yellow.
And then last but not least,
(laughs)
purple and blue.
And yes, if you've been paying attention to your GCN videos
you will also know that these are the ones I chose.
Yeah!
Let's remove this pair ton of shoes,
to make way for some completely new ones, ha!
This is the Tempo range.
We have two models here,
we've got the Tempo Overcurve
and the Tempo Powerstrap.
So that is the Overcurve.
Ooh!
And that is the Tempo Powerstrap.
Now, you wouldn't know it, I don't think anyway,
to look at it,
but these are actually the entry points into the Fizik
shoe range.
When you look closely, you will see that
instead of having a carbon fiber sole,
they've got a nylon sole.
Which means, it's a little bit heavier perhaps,
and also ever so slightly more flexible.
Which, to be fair on the flip side,
some people feel gives a shoe a little bit more comfort.
Now with the Tempo Overcurve which is this one here,
the reason it gets its name, Fizik say,
is because of that asymmetrical upper.
You can see that the throat on this shoe,
which is a new term for me,
goes from the inside of the foot
to the outside of the foot.
And it's designed that way
again Fizik say,
in order to fit nicely around your ankle bones.
The shoe as you can see is closed by a boa closure there
and also a Velcro strap at the forefront.
And they don't just come in this rather natty white and red
color combination,
they also come in
black with a little bit of pink,
black with a little bit of
fluoro yellow slash green.
They come in
I like these ones.
White with a little bit of black
and black with a little bit of black.
Let's add it to our pair ton of shoes.
Offscreen.
Rapidly running out of room here.
Move on to our Tempo Powerstrap.
Now would you believe it,
these actually retail for even less than the Overcurve
which when you look at them, I think is absolutely bonkers.
Those are super super cool.
The reason they're called the Powerstrap
refers
(Velcro ripping)
not just to the fact that it is a Velcro closure
as opposed to boa,
but also that that strap extends around the whole
of the foot.
The theory being,
that instead of it just pulling the two halves of the shoe
together
to close over your foot,
actually that strap kinda hugs the whole of your foot
meaning, Fizik say,
that you get better volume control in line
with the more expensive shoes in the range.
Like the Overcurve there,
you also get this nylon outer sole
and as well as
this, again I'm gonna say again,
beautiful white and black colorway,
you also have very nice navy and black.
Black with black
and also,
red and black.
I am rapidly running out of room here
so we will move quickly over the Infinito R1
which stays the same
and is kinda like my go to shoe, I suppose.
It comes in black, black and red,
red and black,
my personal favorite
the white
and then also,
the very cool Movistar edition,
which we actually covered on the GCN show,
not all that long ago.
In the R3, Aria range,
which is kinda one down from that,
we have a new colorway.
Woo hoo!
Look at that!
Navy blue and white.
That is cool.
Then, we've got the R4 B and the R5 Artica,
which is like the winter boot.
So that's kind of waterproof insulated,
even the sole in fact gets a silver lining.
Who doesn't want their sole to have a silver lining?
Uh, yeah!
Anyway, on that positive note,
let's turn to bar tape.
(snaps)
Now Fizik's bar tape is somewhat legendary,
but as I mentioned in the beginning of the show,
they've actually completely redone it for 2019.
And we have
a selection
right here.
Oh yeah!
But don't worry, don't be bamboozled.
It's actually
a very simple and well thought out range.
All we have are three different ranges
within the whole bar tape range.
So we've got Vento,
which is like the thinnest most high performance
perhaps for your fastest most experienced road riders.
You've got your Tempo which is like
your classic bar tape.
And then we've got the Terra
which is the thickest, most cushioned tape
and they've actually designed it specifically
for those kinda off road, drop bar riders.
Okay?
Now.
Within each one,
there are different models.
So we'll start with the Vento.
They have the Microtex Tacky,
then we've got the Solocush which is a little bit thicker
at 2.7 millimeters.
And that comes from
a-ha, gonna demonstrate with this,
a slightly thicker layer of padding there.
Still got the same finish, the same tacky rubberized finish.
And also, those ribs as well.
I'm gonna demonstrate for you, ready?
There you go.
So, Microtex Tacky,
Solocush Tacky.
Now, these two examples are particularly loud,
for the trendiest of cool modern cyclists.
But if you, like me, perhaps more traditional,
then it also comes in black and white and red
as well those fluoro options.
Now.
Next up as I mentioned
we have the Tempo range, okay?
Of which there are three.
We've got the Microtex Classic,
Microtex Bondcush Classic,
and Microtex Bondcush Soft.
All very simple when you know.
The classic is the thinnest in the Tempo range,
again at just two millimeters.
As you can see, the finish on it
is literally what it says on the tin,
classic.
So it's got that perforated leather look
but Microtex is a synthetic leather.
Now the finish on it
is not shiny
but kind of like a silk finish.
So, maybe it has marginally less grip perhaps
than the tacky finish,
but it looks super cool.
And on the right bike,
that is the absolute perfect choice.
A low profile classic tape.
And as well as it being classic in look,
you also lose your fluoro options.
So instead,
of the loud ones,
you get more classic colors like the orange and the honey
as well.
Then,
we're still going.
We've got the Microtex Bondcush Classic,
So the Bondcush refers to an additional layer of padding
bonded to that Microtex synthetic leather outer.
And that cush is naught point seven millimeters thick.
So a little bit bigger,
but otherwise the same finish.
And you can see that that is another classic,
that's the silver finish
which you get on the right bike
is gonna look absolutely mint.
Then finally
we've got the Bondcush soft
which is same the classic Bondcush so it's 2.7 millimeters
it's got a little bit of padding,
but you'll see,
it's got a slightly different texture on the finish.
So
it's like
it's like a matte finish.
It's really hard to describe.
It's kind of
soft
is probably the best description.
Finally then we have the Terra
which Fizik have designed for those
that take their drop handle bar bikes
away from smooth tarmac.
It's also gonna be good for those with bigger hands as well
because it's the thickest tape that's available.
Look, you can see
thin, thick.
Quite significant there.
Right, the reason being
that it has that Microtex outer
in the same tacky finish actually as the Vento range
it's also got the Bondcush mid layer,
but then that extra bit
is the gel backer on there as well.
So that is a really soft cushioned tape
which is perfect if you're gonna be racing Piru Bay,
or doing the Piru Bay Sportif,
or something like the Dirty Kanza.
And as well actually, for gravel dudes,
I think that green is quite fitting.
Also,
mildly in love with the navy blue option,
as well as the classics of black and red and white.
Now hopefully now you've seen all of this tape
all of the terminology actually seems to make
a little bit more sense.
You have Microtex which refers to the material
of the outer,
Bondcush tells you that there is that cushion mid layer,
and then in this case,
the gel backer is exactly that.
And that final word on the description,
that refers to the finish
so tacky, that rubbery feel.
Classic, is the kind of leather-esque finish,
and then soft is the one that I couldn't really describe
for you
because it just kinda feels slightly
soft.
So there we go.
I don't know about you but I tend to buy
all my handlebar tape online now
so actually that has been blooming useful for me.
I hope that it has been for you too.
Now thankfully, for Fizik's sake at least
given how busy they've been designing new shoes
and an entire range of bar tape,
we'll gloss straight over the saddles
because there isn't anything new on that side of things.
If you want a bit more info on that,
you could refer back actually
to last year's 2018 unboxing
and get all the information about that
over there.
For now though,
I know you've been waiting patiently,
you wanna know exactly how to enter that giveaway.
It's pretty simple actually,
you just head to the description beneath this video
and click on the link.
Boom.
There you go, best of luck.
Five of you remember,
can win a pair of shoes and three rolls of bar tape.
Imagine that!
Three rolls of bar tape,
you could go nuts,
you could get different choices,
different, you could get like white ones,
you could get black white, and
just knock it out of the park,
go for fluoro pink as well.
That'd be pretty cool.
Now big thanks to Fizik
for sending all of these goodies through
and giving us the opportunity to actually give some away
to you as well which is great.
If you want a little bit more information,
about how to choose handlebar tape,
Jon is gonna go into it in a bit more detail
over on the tech channel shortly
so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for that.
Better still actually subscribe
and that way you definitely won't miss it,
make life easy on yourself
and then it would be the sensible thing to do.
And if you want a little but more info as I said
on the 2018 saddles moving into 2019,
then refer back to that video we shot last year.