Specialized Shoe Sizing Question

[doorah]

I searched the forums and the only person who speaks specifically re: Specialized Taho MTB shoes is in Australia & requests no emails & hasn't been online for a week so I need to ask you ladies another gear question.....

The Specialized shoes are size 38 ~ US 7.5 and 39 ~ US 8.5

I wear a size 7.5/8 in street/walking shoes......

Can anyone tell me if Specialized women's shoes run small or large? I don't have access to try them on & would be ordering from their website. Their return policy is great, but I'd like to have them fit & not need to return :)

I've never seen a company avoid a size 8 before? They don't offer 38.5 ~ US 8 in anything?

Thanks in advance for any comments/advice :)

~doorah~who emailed Specialized but would still prefer to hear from anyone here who has tried on/owns Specialized shoes....

[susan.wells]

I wear Specialized Shoes (2003 MTB like the current Motodiva). In street shoes, I wear 6.5 or 7.0. My Specialized shoes are 39 and fit perfectly. Hope this helps.

Susan

[Veronica]

I have 2 pair of Specialized shoes - both 40s and I wear a 9 or 9.5 in street shoes. The Taho shoes seem to be similar in shape to the Rockhopper 04s I have. They are kind of wide in the toe box as opposed to my road shoes which are a little narrower. Given that I'd probably go with the smaller ones initially. Or you could order both and just plan on sending one set back.

V.

[Irulan]

goes to show that shoe sizing has no consistency.My sidi's are a 38, my birks are a 37, and I'm a us 7-7.5

Never seen half sizes in Euro sizes.

susan, sounds like specialized might run really small based on what you are saying. I usually equate a 40 with about a size 8 foot.

irulan

[doorah]

It seems I may have to find a shoe that I can purchase locally :(

Susan's post causes me to agree with Irulan that they run small....

But V's post makes me think they run a tad towards the large side....

My only LBS is all men employees and I've never even seen another woman shopping there (with the exception of a Mom picking up her son's bike from the shop).....they carry Nike Women's shoes and I have not even tried them on as Nike running shoes are the only running shoe that caused such discomfort that I returned them....perhaps the cycling shoes are completely different?

I've not found any posts here about Nike shoes either which reinforces my hesitancy to check them out. There are two bike shops a couple hours from me but shipping is actually less expensive than driving these days....but I guess when it comes to shoes saving money shouldn't be my #1 priorty :)

Thanks for the input ladies! This site and it's members are my source of motivation & confidence that I'm not alone out there on two wheels! :)

~doorah~

[DirtDiva]

If most every pair of trainers I've had in recent times is to be believed, a US women's 8 is a Euro 39 and a US women's 8.5 is a Euro 40. Personally, I think all shoes should be sized like ski/snowboard boots - in cm! :D

[susan.wells]

I agree it is difficult to buy shoes online. I bought cycling sandals this summer. I used the sizing of my Specialized (bought in a store) to order the sandals. Needless to say the sandals (Shimano) were quite large & had to go back. I had to get 37/38 size and again they fit.

Doorah ....where in MI do you live (I live on the MI/IN border)? There some great cycling shops in MI. Team Active (http://www.teamactive.com/) in Battle Creek for one.

[kmoty]

I wear Specialized Miata MTB (on a road bike with Speedplay frogs, no adaptation needed). I wear 6.5-7 D+ width street shoes (try finding those in something you want to wear!). The Specialized 38 (US 7.5) works for me and will stretch, since the leather sides are suede. My LBS and others on TE forums recommend Specialized as wide in the toe box, which they clearly are.

If the Specialized women's last sounds promising for you, the advice to bracket your size and send back the one that doesn't fit sounds good. It's frustrating, isn't it, to have to pay for back and forth shipping because LBSs don't carry enough women's gear to let us try a range of things on. I'm politicking with my LBS to develop a women's specialization--the owner's wife rides, and he realizes he's missing a huge potential market in the Baltimore area. Hope this helps.

Karen

[emily_in_nc]

goes to show that shoe sizing has no consistency.My sidi's are a 38, my birks are a 37, and I'm a us 7-7.5

I'll say - sounds like even within the same brand, there are big inconsistencies. My Sidi road shoes are a 39, and I wear a US 6.5-7! Makes no sense. My Lake road shoes are also a 39 but fit larger on me than a Sidi. I do a lot of mail order (Team E and Terry, mostly) and ebay shopping for cycling clothes and gear, but cycling shoes are one thing I would only buy if I could try them on first.

Emily

[Veronica]

I've found Specialized shoes to be fairly consistent in sizing. I bought my first pair back in '88 or '89, size 40. I got my second pair off the website this past March - size 40. So as far as I can tell, at least for size 40, their sizing has remained consistent for 15+ years.

Veronica