Wide foot tri/cycling shoes?

[trigrl]

my foot is killing me!
I have a feeling I need a wider tri/ cycling shoes. The ball and side of my foot starts screaming after 3 hrs of riding. I already have shims in the shoe. Does anyone know of a lightweight road shoe that fits on the wide side?
Thanks,
Trigrl

[SadieKate]

Sidi makes a mega version of their Genius road shoe.

[AutumnBreez]

I had a bunion on lft foot removed surgically (they broke foot to restructure) I have some pretty picky feet, if they are not happy, I am not happy period, end of story...
I have the Shimano R215 and love them (with Ultegra SPD-SL pedals)
My foot is wide and have the ability to adjust the shoe as I need, depending on morning or evening ride when the foot is more prone to being swollen (evening) they are adjustable to this. Plus they have a special stretch to the material. ok, I just took a measurement with ruler and stepped my right foot onto it with the widest part of foot measured across and with weight bearing on foot and it is 4 inches.

Shimano R215 is a wider shoe, but also has a wider shoe in this model as well, looking into roadbikereview.com
here was another recommendation from another customers review.
http://www.roadbikereview.com/PRD_330525_2512crx.aspx
These Specialized Roadshoes are compatible with Speedplay it indicates, whereas the Shimano 215 is best using SPD-SL pedals or Look.
Take into consideration the costs of new shoes and pedals if the shoe is not compatible with your pedals your using now.
Hope this helps...-AutumnBreez

[Bike Goddess]

I can't address wide feet but if the balls of your feet are bothering you, you check how you are pedaling. Most women pedal with the downward force on the balls of their feet (i.e.metarsal arch) which causes much pain. When you pedal downward be sure to push down with your heels not your toes. This will strengthen your stroke (it takes a bit of time to get used to this as you'll be using different muscles) and take the pressusre off your metarsals.

What kind of socks do you use? I have discovered light weight wool socks (Smart Wool) work the best for me as they breathe well.

I have Specialized shoes which I find quite comfortable. I also wear arch supports and have a metarsal arch button which will also take the pressure off your metarsals. I use a Look version for pedals.

Hopefully you have a LBS or two so you can try on different shoes. Some people have gone to mountain bike shoes as they are more flexible.

[CorsairMac]

I can't address wide feet but if the balls of your feet are bothering you, you check how you are pedaling. Most women pedal with the downward force on the balls of their feet (i.e.metarsal arch) which causes much pain. When you pedal downward be sure to push down with your heels not your toes. This will strengthen your stroke (it takes a bit of time to get used to this as you'll be using different muscles) and take the pressusre off your metarsals.

soooooo - I had the whole "scrap whatever off the bottom of my shoe" and "push knees into handlebars" thing but I was pushing with the ball of my foot to the bottom of the stroke and Then flattening the foot - until the Goddess showed me the way. can you say Holy Incense?? What a difference it makes. Funny thing is, I kept thinking of horseback riding (where you need to keep the heels down) the whole time I was working on this. Thanks Nancy, that seemed to be the piece I was missing.

Tri: let us know what ends up working for you!

[trigrl]

Ladies,
Thanks for your responses. I will take all of these tips into consideration and check out the Shimano 215 too. My coach looked at my stroke he says its ok. I ride in tri shoes so Iam sockless, but it may be time for road shoes w socks!
Well... it must be time for this Girl to go shoe shopping !!