Fizik Gravita Versor shoes review

Fizik claims its Gravita Versor shoe is built for everything from trail riding to uplifted enduro and downhill.

It has a lightweight upper with off-centre laces and offers a promising blend of stiffness and pedal feel.

Fizik Gravita Versor specifications and details

The sole's tread is built from Vibram rubber, the distinctive yellow logo sitting just behind the middle of the foot. The tread has a dimple texture that's not particularly deep.

Toe and heel sections are more textured, sharper and marginally deeper, potentially boosting grip on rocks when scrambling about.

The border between the black toe rubber and the olive mid-section seems to define an increased portion of toe flex, in what otherwise is a stiff sole.

The cleat bed is fairly deep, so a cleat spacer might be needed with pinned pedals. The cleat channel is average in length, at 32mm, but its end is closer to the middle of the shoe than many others, giving a good cleat position for descending.

Though thick looking, especially on the instep of the shoe, the insole sits below the top of the sole's wrapped-around rubber, which offers additional foot stability.

On top, toe protection extends past the little toe, though it's not as stout as on some shoes. Likewise, the heel cup is a little more flexible than some others.

The inside of the heel cup doesn't have much in the way of padded shaping, and there's no Velcro strap to bolster heel hold.

The laces extend far down the foot, and are off-centred. The eyelets are fairly tight around the lace. There's an elastic lace-keeper mid-way down the tongue. The upper is constructed from a light ripstop fabric, which helps shave weight.

There aren't any noticeable ventilation holes, but the fabric is light, which should keep feet cool.

Fizik Gravita Versor performance

Fizik's Gravita Versors perform well on the trail, though don't stand out from the crowd. The insole is fairly comfortable, with a dense foam offering good support up and down the foot, as well as good insulation from harsher impacts.

That said, the arch support is too focused at the edge of the insole to be as supportive as it could be – I'd like it to extend further towards the middle of the foot.

Sizing is ample, but not so much as to feel like your foot is swimming inside the shoe. However, I'd like the upper to be more supportive – even with the laces tight, there's a fair amount of flex, which reduces how sharp and accurate this pair of shoes feel when you're navigating technical trails.

The laces are off-centred, though I didn't notice any performance benefits from this. They're stiff to pull through their eyelets, and I struggled to get a consistent tension over the foot at times. Occasionally, the upper pinched when getting them tight.

That said, the laces extend far down the shoe, allowing fine-tuning of the lower portion of the shoe if you can manipulate the laces effectively.

There's an elastic lace-keeper, but it's located mid-way down the tongue, and the laces aren't the longest, so they don't quite reach the elastic when double-knotted.

With a lack of contoured foam on the inside of the heel box, I found heel hold wasn't as good as it could be.

Even though the laces extend high up the shoe, they didn't dig through the thin tongue. Adding a Velcro strap over the top would probably help with heel hold.

While there are no noticeable ventilation perforations, the lightweight mesh upper keeps the shoe fairly cool and moderately splash-proof. When they do get wet, they dry reasonably quickly.

Enduro riders might feel that the upper doesn't offer as much foot protection as they'd like, even if the inner edge of the ankle opening extends higher.

The sole sits in the middle of the range when it comes to stiffness, so pedalling efficiency is balanced nicely with pedal feel.

The Vibram sole hooks up nicely with pedal pins, though I used a cleat spacer because the cleat channel is fairly deep.

They're just about supportive enough for a non-caged pedal, but benefit from a little extra support. Grip when walking is good, if not excellent.

Fizik Gravita Versor bottom line

The Fizik Gravita Versor is a lightweight shoe that's better suited to trail riders than enduro racers. It's a little quirky in appearance, but the offset laces don't hamper performance.

I'd prefer a touch more protection and better heel hold, as well as longer laces.