Narrow cycling shoe??

[tzvia]

I have (I guess) rather normal size 38 feet, and own Sidi, Shimano mens, Shimano womans, and Specialized shoes.

I find the Sidi to be both the narrowest, and the smallest, lengthwise. Whereas the Shimanos and Specialized are about the same length, the Sidi is shorter and I find I can only wear them in summer with thin socks (guess what time of year I bought them...)

So I don't wear the Sidis, which is a shame, because they are made very well. The Specialized feels to be maybe slightly narrower than the Shimano womans, and feel fine for my B width feet. The mens Shimano is about the same width except for the toe box, which feels a bit taller. So I would say, yea the Sidi would work out better for you than the others.

I do use LG footbeds in some of my shoes and find they take up quite a bit of space, as well as being very comfortable as they are heat molded to shape (easy to do). You might want to look into something like that before going with custom orthotics.

[stephanie1129]

Try putting a superfeet in your shoe (the black/cycling one is low volume, but if you have a lot of space, you can put a blue or green in), or put a cardboard shim between the insole and the outer shoe. We do that with ski boots all the time to take up volume.

[loopybunny]

Wow... Sidis are too wide?

I have a wide foot (actually kind of narrow at the heel) and ended up having to buy men's wide width when I got my Sidis. The guy in the LBS said the wide weren't wide enough for his feet.

I know some of the Sidis come in narrow sizes. Have you been able to try those out?

I also have a pair of Specialized WSD mtb shoes. I think they may be the same width, if not wider, than my Sidi road shoes.

[Gowest]

Thanks for the input - I tried the pads under the tongue and that did not take up enough room - I think the issue is more with the volume of my foot than the width as I can't get the tops of the shoes to fit without tightening down all of the straps until the edges of the shoe meet - even with the sidi 5.5's with the two adjustments on the last strap - I had them down all the way and had to cut the end of the plastic b/c it was hitting the crank arm!

Thank you for your suggestions - my next step is the inserts -I will start with the non-custom.

I think I have the smallest volume feet known to woman! length is "normal" at an 8.5 - just small everywhere else! Oh....and I wear a low volume bra too!!!

[Jiffer]

I have very narrow feet and, apparently low volume, yet I never realized that was the term for it. I just knew my feet were "thin" from top to bottom, in addition to being narrow. So, thanks for teaching me the right term!

I feel your pain. I have the hardest time finding shoes that fit, particularly anything sports related that needs to fit well, i.e. cycling shoes and snowboarding boots.

I, too, have Sidis. First pair were Shimanos. Not sure if there is a pair of Shimanos out there that would fit my foot better, but these so did NOT. Plus one of the things that helps Sidis fit is that the soft fabric conforms to your feet. So next I got a men's narrow Sidi shoe, because in addition to having narrow and "low volume" feet, I happen to have very long fee. A women's 10. This makes it even MORE difficult to find the right shoe. For some reason, my husband was sure I needed a 43 length cycling shoe, which only comes in men's sizes. Therefore, I tried the men's "narrow", which no stores carry, cause I called them ALL. Had to buy online. I used those for a couple of years, but they were never quite right. I knew after some time that they were too long, but didn't want to fork out the money to replace them. Eventually, when I came home from a horrendously painful long ride (hot spots on my feet), my husband told me to buy some new shoes. Yay! Now that I knew I needed a smaller size, I was able to buy women's Sidis. I searched and searched for any that specifically came in "narrow", but apparently they don't exist. They just simply ARE narrow compared to most shoes.

So, how do they fit, you ask? With Superfeet inserts, they seem to work okay. I wouldn't say they are perfect, but they are WAY better than my previous two pairs. Sometimes I wonder if I should go a half size smaller or try a different, thicker, insert. I notice it most when I'm really focusing on my pedal stroke ... pushing and pulling all the way around the pedal stroke, which makes my feet move in the shoe. I have learned to keep them pretty snug until I get close to two hours on the bike, which is when I start to get a hot spot on my left foot, so I loosen that one.

I too had the two pieces of leather on top almost touching when first started wearing them. But I think that was before I put the custom inserts in, because they aren't like that now. I'm glad you posted this, because I think I'll go search for other insert options. I'll be curious to know what works for you.

Good luck!

[oz rider]

Steve Hogg has a useful article on shoe fitting, but given you're already on the Sidis, maybe just for background. He suggests custom for some and there must be similar in the US - maybe worth checking out.

[jessmarimba]

GoWest - I have the same problem! I wear "minimal" running shoes with a Sole insole b/c otherwise they are just too big

My bike shoes are Shimano commuter shoes that lace b/c they were the only ones I could tighten enough to be comfortable in.

Please let us know what you eventually settle on!

[RolliePollie]

I think I have the smallest volume feet known to woman! length is "normal" at an 8.5 - just small everywhere else! Oh....and I wear a low volume bra too!!!

I think we're twins in the "volume" department, lol! I also have extremely narrow and low volume 8.5 feet and wear a very low volume bra!!!

I wear Sidis with an insole and they fit pretty well. I have the road shoes with 3 velcro straps and I just cinch them up and go. They are still too wide in the heel though.

Oh, and btw, Moving Comfort Alexis sports bras are great for us "low volume" girls...they have some padding and actually give a little shape!

[smurfalicious]

Have you looked into Conform'ables? They're fairly expensive, about $100, but you can get them in varying thicknesses, too. I'm getting a shimmed one to bring me "even" in my running shoes.

I imagine your Sidis weren't cheap though, so getting them to work beats starting all over. I've avoided them because they are legendarily "tight" shoes. I can't think of anything known to run more narrow. Specialized's BG shoes I believe are shaped to be a little more in tune with the length of the foot they're fitting, but if you're a skinny 8.5 chances are you'd have the same issue. My fat feet are only happy in Northwaves and my matching tatas get smooshed into Moving Comfort "Phoebe" bras.