Wide fitting shoe

[sarahspins]

My feet are kind of wideish (Sidis are too narrow) and I find Specialized shoes to be very comfortable. I like them because they are not wide in the heel, which is what usually is the case when it fits the ball of my foot.

+1 on this. I do have wide feet and I got a pair of specialized without having to "size up" to make up for the width.. they measured me as a 38 and that's what I ended up with.. I tried on several different styles and ended up picking the one that felt best. My LBS didn't have any men's shoes in 38 for me to try (they did offer to order some, but I wanted my shoes ASAP), but that was something I was going to check as well - men's shoes are usually wider than women's in comparable sizes. When I am looking for shoes again I will probably ask about ordering in a men's 38 or two for me to try. I think some specialized styles go down to 36 in men's, but judging from my LBS, I wouldn't expect anyone to keep them in stock... my LBS didn't have anything in men's smaller than a 40.

[zoom-zoom]

A men's medium is the same as a women's wide (usually D width) and a men's narrow is the same as a women's standard width (B). The main issue a woman could run into with men's shoes is heels that are too wide. I have this issue even with some women's shoes. I have seriously triangular duck feet.

[GLC1968]

I have seriously triangular duck feet.

Me too. I call them my flipper feet - they serve me well when swimming! But seriously, are we the same person??


I also wear Specialized shoes for my wide feet. I wear the men's and they fit PERFECT. I even had a foot specialist bike fitter check them out and she was amazed at how well suited they are to me (I just bought them originally because they felt good!). I bought my first pair at my LBS, but now I just order them directly from specialized. Because I buy men's in small sizes, I can usually get last years models left over for really good prices.

I find that for cycling shoes, the wider heel situation is less of an issue because I don't walk in them where the heel-toe motion mostly comes into play.

[OakLeaf]

I find that for cycling shoes, the wider heel situation is less of an issue because I don't walk in them where the heel-toe motion mostly comes into play.

That's weird.

I've got duck feet too, and I'm in Specialized shoes. I might could go a size bigger, especially in the winter when I want to wear thick socks, but I don't feel really restricted in them, just snug, and if it meant the heels would be too big for me, I couldn't do it.

I've got the kind with the buckle, moved into the tighter instep position, and cinched all the way to the tightest notch on the strap. I don't think there's any way the all-velcro Spec shoes would fit me.

Shoes that are a little too narrow don't bother me as much on the bike because the balls of my feet are taking all the load, anyway. My toes wouldn't have anything to grab onto if they wanted to. But if the heels are too wide, my feet will pull right out under any kind of load (hills or sprints).

My sister wears Sidi Megas (their wide version) and says it's the only shoe she can wear. She complains of duck feet too, but I don't really think her heels are as narrow as mine.

[GLC1968]

I don't think there's any way the all-velcro Spec shoes would fit me.

That is weird, because both pairs of mine are all velcro and my heels don't pull out at all.

Maybe my heels aren't as narrow as yours? Do you also have flat feet? I do, so maybe my lack of arch gives me enough 'thickness' in the middle of my foot to immobilize it?

I definitely have the heel slip issue in regular shoes if I buy mens (or, in my case, usually boys since my feet are small), but after 40+ years, I've kind of gotten used to it.

[OakLeaf]

My feet are just weird.

I have a pretty low instep, which contributes to heel slip problems. My arches are actually on the high side, but I overpronate so much (working on it!) that they kind of vanish if I'm not paying attention.

[sarahspins]

I've got the kind with the buckle, moved into the tighter instep position, and cinched all the way to the tightest notch on the strap. I don't think there's any way the all-velcro Spec shoes would fit me.

I have high insteps, and with socks, I can only barely get the velcro to grab on mine.. I need more strap, not less :P Without socks they're fine.. which is good because I normally don't wear socks.

[zoom-zoom]

Me too. I call them my flipper feet - they serve me well when swimming! But seriously, are we the same person??

My hubby would say that the world doesn't need more than one of me.

Here's a foot/shoe question. I seem to get a sore outer arch (peroneal tendon) area the longer I ride. Granted the more I ride, the later this happens. Today I didn't notice it until about 30 miles...when I first started I would notice it much earlier.

I also get sore in this area if I wear running shoes that are too stiff in the forefoot, so I wear fairly lightweight shoes and add Superfeet, that way I have the flexibility in the front, but the stability I need in the back. I'm suspicious that the issue in cycling shoes has to do with my foot's natural need to flex and being unable to do so. I also tend to plantarflex (toes pointing downward) on the bike.

[OakLeaf]

I don't know if this will help at all... but on the chance that your soreness is related to your plantar flexion, I'm having to do it in stages. My knees are pretty specific about what they want, and after years of riding with my seat height too high because of too-long cranks, I developed the habit of plantar flexing just to be able to reach my pedals at the bottom of the stroke. But over the years (and with contribution from mechanical issues in my other activities), that was giving me a lot of problems with my calves and Achilles tendons.

The catch-22 is that I can only lower my saddle by the amount that I've learned not to plantar flex, or my knees will give me trouble. The first cm was easy. After that, it took me over 8,000 miles to fix my pedaling style enough to drop it another 3 mm, which I did last week. So far, so good - knees aren't 100% sure about it, but nothing that's really alarming me, and calves are MUCH happier.

[zoom-zoom]

Heh, we actually had to raise my seat because my plantar flexion had me bending my knees too much. Our shop guy watched me during an indoor charity ride and said that because I plantarflex so much I am essentially making my legs longer (wish I could just HAVE long legs in the first place, heh).

[sarahkonamojo]

I have had feet issues since I started riding.
My current solution is to buy Lake shoes (men's) that do come in a wide width. I then use a shoe stretcher to get the girth I need across the ball of my foot. I prefer this solution over getting super huge shoes.

Sarah