Fizik Terra Artica GTX shoes

The Fizik Terra Artica GTX shoes are targeted at winter gravel and mountain bike riding in the muckiest of conditions. The Boa dial helps with dialling in your fit (but isn't bi-directional) and they are roomy enough for a thick sock, depending on the width of your feet. Perfectly capable of being a road shoe too, overall they're a solid contender for your winter foot gratification, though the premium price tag begs shopping around.

You can also try fending off cold feet on the bike with the toasty tips in our feature How to keep your feet warm cycling.

Firstly, let's acknowledge our extravagant pachyderm cohabitor – two hundred and fifty quid for a pair of shoes is right up there. For many, no matter how good the Articas are, that's beyond the budgetary pale. And for even the well-heeled, there will be a pause as they question whether said heels will be warm, dry, comfy and stable.

The question might best be phrased as, could the same key outcomes – warm, dry feet – be met for a fraction of the price with a decent pair of waterproof socks, and shoe covers over your normal pair of cycling shoes? But some folks don't get on with waterproof socks, finding them too sweaty or chunky, while shoe covers tend to be best for road or gravel cycling, but not forays where actual mucky scrambling is needed, being prone to quickly wearing and literally tearing. Also, they can be a faff to get on or off, especially when filthy.

In the Terra Artica GTX we are looking at a package aimed at those looking to minimise faff and layering, while maximising comfort and performance. These are shoes for gravelly days when the forecast says 0-10°C with a high chance of rain. Possibly when it's been raining for days and you know there's going to be a lot of standing water thrown onto your feet off the front wheel, or where the chance of having to step off the bike and into a good few inches of water is high.

These days it's a given that Gore-Tex waterproofing just works, the quality control of the waterproof fabric brand not leaving anything to the chance of random manufacturers. As such, in over a decade of wet rides, I've yet to have a Gore-Tex-branded shoe leak. Of course there's always one hole in a Gore-Tex shoe – the one your foot goes in. So you need a strategy for your knees and shins, if your shoe isn't to simply collect and retain water over time. To minimise downward seepage, Fizik has gone for a neoprene cuff with a Velcro strap to tighten things, which does a pretty good job of minimising ingress.

The look and finish of the Articas is premium – the materials, assembly and overall feel of the shoe sits well with the price. The sole is chunky, with the option to up the grip game with studs if desired. Clambering around, the grip afforded was on a par with the best mountain bike shoes I've worn, including at the heel – often an area of shortcoming. The sole is rated 5/10 for stiffness – leaning towards walkability over supreme rigidity – but the Articas feel plenty solid when putting power down.

The sole extends around the toe, but not in a gumboot-looking bumper, helping retain the slick look. There's bright purple scuff-guard material in the high side-wear areas, before the darker upper material takes over.

The padded one-piece waterproof tongue gives enough room to leverage your foot in, without being excessively bulky once the Boa is cranked down.

The Boa is the main letdown or compromise of the Artica, being the standard one-direction L6. This means you can't micro-adjust the fit by loosening – you need to pop the whole Boa up and start over. While acceptable for budget models, in a £250 shoe this is rather naff. That said, the Boa line slides easily on the guides and pressure is evenly distributed as you tighten, making adjustment easy enough.

Over the top of the tongue is a wide Velcro strap that pulls the back of the shoe tight around the ankle and adds to the feeling of overall security when pedalling out of the saddle.

On the bottom there's the standard two-position SPD cleat fixings, with marked gradients to get the left-right balance correct. As befits a shoe designed to be clambered about in, the cleat ends up slightly recessed below the rubber blocks, affording better traction than exposed metal. As Matt noted in his review of the same shoes for off.road.cc, the stack height of the Artica is not inconsiderable, meaning I had to tweak my seatpost up about 3mm to get my preferred leg extension again.

Fit & comfort

The fit is generous, even with thick waterproof socks. Of course, every shoe's fit is unique, because feet are unique. My feet are pretty wide-ish for my size (EU45 in most brands), and I had no issues with the fit of the 46 Articas over a thick waterproof sock. Not roomy, but not tight either after a few hours. In standard woolly winter socks there was loads of room. Unlike some brands there's no 'wide' fit potion. According to Fizik's regular fit guide, my feet were spot on for a 45 fit.

As with any great cycling product, the proof is in whether you forget about it while riding. Out in temperatures close to freezing, wearing a single thermal leg layer (the excellent Castelli Entrata Thermal Knicker) plus aforementioned knee-length waterproof socks, my feet were warm for hours on end. The fit remained comfortable, and I didn't feel the need to adjust the Boa as the ride progressed, including getting off and back on the bike to clear gates, walkway bridges and so on. In non-waterproof woolly socks there was no evidence of water ingress, despite a thorough soaking, as you'd expect from a Gore-branded premium product. My feet didn't make their presence felt, which is the highest accolade in cold, wet conditions.

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The interior of the Articas is a brushed fleece, which I felt added warmth and comfort. Of course, they don't generate heat themselves, and if you don't have your leg insulation dialled then cold blood arriving at your feet will remain cold. If you have your leg game sorted, the Articas will keep that blood flowing to your toes. Matt thought they took a while to dry out, but I didn't find that – an evening/morning sat atop a radiator and they were bone dry again.

It's now widely accepted wisdom that 'mountain bike' SPD cleats are perfectly fine for road cycling, even for huge audax-length daily distances. The evolution of sole design means smaller cleats are now perfectly capable of managing power transfer from foot to pedal without leading to hotspots and discomfort – therefore the Articas could do double duty as your cold/wet-weather road shoe and look snazzy along for the ride. This Road-Chic-Gravel/Mountain Bike-Competence certainly helps with swallowing the £250 premium price tag pill, with the Articas becoming your go-to across multiple use cases.

Room for improvement

The only area of improvement I'd like to see on the Articas is that basic Boa. This is a relatively minor niggle, as unless you have feet that swell during rides necessitating a release of pressure, you'll be grand once the fit is right. Otherwise, they are comfortable, warm, dry, grippy, nice to walk and pedal in, and look sharp to boot.

A lower price would be nice, too... Iwein highly rated the Shimano MW701 shoes, which use the same L6 Boa, and they're £30 cheaper at £219.99 (up £20 since his review last year). If you like the covered-lace look, these could be a strong contender for your money.

You can spend more, though – if you feel you need extra insulation, Fizik's own Terra Nanuq GTX are £289.99, offering more insulation, protection and Vibram-soled increased grip.

Conclusion

Overall, if you like the look and the fit suits, the Fizik Terra Artica GTX could become your go-to boot for a winter of wet and cold rides.

Verdict

Great choice for cold, wet rides, on the road or off – warm, dry and comfortable