Do the wrong shoes cause calf/foot cramps?

[Tokie]

My friend had horrible bike shoe fit problems. He used to speed skate with "Bont" brand speed skates. Bont makes bike shoes now (even custom ones I believe) in many cool colors. Not cheap, but my friend loves his, and they solved his foot problems. Me, I love my Sidis after I got them shimmed to be the same angle as my Specialized shoes( which I love the way they make my knees feel but only like the shoe part.) Tokie

[Kitsune06]

I'm really liking my Specialized women's Tahoe ATB shoes. The toebox is pretty wide, which is great because I try to wear Vibram Fivefingers all summer and my forefoot tends to the wide end of the spectrum. The key to comfort with the Tahoe is to not lace it as tightly as one might initially be inclined. oh and replace the original specialized "BG" insole. Dunno who's body geometry it's for, but it def. wasn't mine.

[crazycanuck]

I still have a thing for Sidi's but recently found Northwave shoes & love them. I don't want to waste a ride because of a pair of shoes...

I too for some reason have some sort of odd issue with the right leg when I wear Sidi's...Hence why i've only ever worn them a few times. Should you want to purchase a pair of 38.5 Sidi Dominators hardly worn, please contact me

[Xrayted]

A common problem is to make them too tight. They should be snug, even barely loose when starting, not tight. Your foot swells in your regular shoes from just walking and standing and sitting. Imagine what it may do in form fitting shoes at 20mph sustained for hours. (yeah, I know I dream big on the speed and time, but it makes me feel better to think I can actually ride like that. )

The toe box is one of the main things to feel comfy when buying though, no doubt. When wearing steel toed shoes, they tell you that if you can feel the steel on your toes, they are too tight across there. Steel doesn't give compared to your toes. Same for a pair of shoes that will do 90+ revolutions/minute for hours against your toe area/across your metatarsals. It will feel like a steel toe cap rubbing and tearing you up. The pain transfers up your foot. Now add that you made them too tight. (cuz you didn't listen to me in the above paragraph and loosen them up, did you? )

[mxmus]

Running shoes, gym shoes, cross trainers nowadays are all very cushy. The nice part about the cushy is that it feels nice. The drawback of the cushiness is that it is too easy on your feet that your muscles actually atrophy. Perhaps try wearing Vibram Five Fingers or some other "barefoot"shoes. Or just go around barefoot.