The Venzo cycling shoe might sport the look of a dad’s running trainer from the ‘90s, but don’t be fooled – this roomy road cycling shoe is in the running for one of the best shoes for Peloton (opens in new tab) by a long stretch.
Specs
Size range: 3.5-14.5
Available colors: Black, White, Black/ Blue, Black/ Silver/ Red, Black/ Pink, White/ Pink
Clip compatibility: Look Delta (3-hole), SPD (2-hole)
We found these cycling shoes super comfortable and were in awe of how spacious yet secure they felt on our feet. Cycling shoes can traditionally feel tight and narrow and often require you to scoot a size up to find your ideal fit, but that isn’t the case with this shoe. Venzo blends comfort and performance to create a versatile shoe that can tackle road riding and still suit your sweaty spin classes. They’re compatible with all cleats, which means they’re perfect for your Peloton bike (opens in new tab), and they even come packed with Look Delta cleats so you can hop straight onto your bike, ready to ride.
While the Venzo design could be hit or miss for some, the price certainly isn’t, and we reckon these are well worth snapping up if you’re in the market for a new pair of Peloton shoes.
Check out some of the best exercise bikes (opens in new tab) to pair with your new cycling kicks, or read on below for our full review of the Venzo cycling shoes.
Price and availability
We found the Venzo cycling shoes tough to pin down on the Venzo website, but these shoes are widely available on Amazon at varying prices between $80–$100, including Delta cleats. It’s s mid-range price point – cheaper than premium brands like the Rapha cycling shoe (opens in new tab) and more in line with the Shimano RC1 cycling shoe. Venzos are available in a range of colors and are compatible with Look Delta and SPD cleats.
Design and features
- Design and features score: 3.0/5
We’re not die-hard fans of the bold Venzo cycling shoe design, and personally prefer the sleek and understated design of the Shimano RC1 cycling shoe and the Nike SuperRep cycle shoes (opens in new tab). While the shoes don’t win any awards for subtlety, they’re still a very well-made addition to the Peloton shoe line-up.
The synthetic upper is coupled with a highly breathable, quick-drying, and ultra-lightweight mesh complete with a removable sock liner. The Venzo is low cut around the ankle to provide a better range of movement, and the flexible forefoot also allows some movement through your foot, too. The sloping beveled high-heel (often found in running shoes to reduce heel impact) is a nice touch but doesn’t feel necessary in a cycling shoe.
The Venzo cycling shoe comes fitted with three wide hook and loop velcro straps and Look Delta cleats. We prefer the BOA-dial system that now replaces straps and laces on many modern cycling shoes, like the Santic cycling shoe (opens in new tab), but although they look a touch outdated, the straps wrap and secure the foot with brilliant efficiency, and our foot felt supported with no slippage during our rides.
The Look Delta cleats have 9° of float (which refers to the amount of movement available to your foot when clipped into the pedal.) Fixed cleats will provide little to no give, but 9° provides approximately 4.5° each way for a more comfortable ride.
Comfort
Speaking of comfort, these shoes smashed it out of the park. The design flourishes with the flexible forefoot, 9° of float, and low-cut heel all aiming to increase comfort and movement throughout your foot while remaining stable along the outer sole. However, this increase in flexibility could potentially reduce the energy return and cycling efficiency that stiffer shoes provide. That said, we felt the shoe still held its own during the push-pull phases of our pedal revolutions, even with the extra float.
The soft leather tongue of the Venzo shoe didn’t dig in or feel rigid, but the heel did begin to bite throughout our endurance ride – but this wasn’t a deal-breaker. The key feature of this shoe was how wide and padded the shoe felt. None of the other shoes we tested felt as roomy as the Venzos, and we couldn’t believe how quick and easy they were to pull on and off. Some of the tighter shoes we tested required some awkward shimmying around the room to get into them, but these slipped straight on, and the straps could be secured nice and tight.
Performance
- Performance score: 4.0/5
The Venzo cycling shoes feel lightweight and breathable and provide more give than other shoes we tested. Again, this could go one of two ways for keen cyclists who favor a more rigid shoe, but we enjoyed having more bend available to our feet. The shoes held well in the pedals, and our heels felt supported during testing uphill Tabata climbs when we cranked the resistance up. We would have liked the shoes to come with an instruction manual, but if you’re wondering “how do cycling shoes work (opens in new tab)?”, then our go-to guide provides all the answers you need.
Value for money
- Value for money score: 4.0/5
Priced at the $100 mark (with cleats included), these shoes are great value for money. The Santic cycling shoe is roughly the same price, but they’re only Delta compatible and don’t come with cleats.
Verdict
Overall, we highly rate these shoes as one of the best cycling shoes for Peloton. They’re versatile, super comfortable, and won’t cost you an arm and a leg for the privilege.
Alternatives
If these shoes aren’t to your taste, the Shimano RC1 cycling shoes are similarly priced and subtle in design. They’re praised for their comfortable glove-like fit, but we recommend buying a size up to be safe.
If you’re happy to bump up your budget, the Rapha cycling shoe (above) is our premium pick and offers buyers a luxury cycling shoe experience and a more traditional cycling look.
How we tested
We tested the Venzo cycling shoe in our purpose-built testing center and scored them from 1-5 across the following criteria:
- Design and features
- Comfort
- Performance
- Value for money
For all models, we tackled a fast-paced HIIT class and an active recovery session to ensure each shoe could power through and deliver – regardless of the user’s workout preferences.
We then gave the shoes an overall rating out of five with a final verdict summarizing each model’s strengths and weaknesses, and whether we reckon they’re ride-ready.
What the users say
The Venzo cycling shoes pulled in a very respectable 4.6 out of 5 on Amazon. Numerous positive reviews cited them as great value for money and loved how comfortable and wide they were. Users also rated Venzo for including cleats. Negative feedback mentioned that you need to attach the cleats yourself.
