Getting a bit of ‘hot foot’ on the cx/road bike when out doing some miles with me mates. Using SPDs so I can swap shoes/winter boots around on all the bikes. Done the usual ploy of moving the cleats right back, so I’m thinking of actually trying proper roadie pedals and shoes.

The obvious thing experiment would be to try stiffer road shoes and leave the spd pedals on, though I am right in thinking that, say, Sidis equivalent mtb and road shoes (Dominator versus Genius) are just the same upper and sole stiffness, with just some rubber bits on the mtb version? In which case that’s probably not much use. Got Spec shoes at moment so no point swapping to their road equivalent if it’s just the same show sans tread.

Anyone got the Mega versions of the Sidis? – just wondering if there’s much wiggle room in the toe box for my plates of meat.

You should just use stiffer mtb shoes – ie the more racy ones that have stiffer/carbon soles.

Most brands’ road and mtb shoes of the same level are very similar – certainly in terms of stiffness. For road riding, using ‘proper’ road pedals with larger cleats (ie Look, Shimano SPD-SL, etc) makes a big difference, especially if you’re not using stiff shoes.

It can also just be that the shoes don’t work for you so it’s worth trying different brands.

Clubber – I’m using Specialized Comp XC shoes already so I’m assuming they’re pretty stiff.

Gets expensive trying out different shoes at £100 a pop! £40 for a set of pedals seems cheap in comparison!

Though I think I’m secretly resigned to ‘proper’ road pedals and just having the one pair of road shoes (and maybe some overshoes for winter).

Anyone recommend some roadie shoes with a big toe box?

Spesh Body Geometry shoes have a big toebox – it’s part of their schtick. I personally love their shoes and would buy more. If it weren’t for the bargain Shimano ones I got from my LBS 🙂 Nice shoes but not as comfy as Spesh BG to be honest.

I have loads of problems with shoes (very wide feet in the middle) so I’ve tried loads of shoes… Best way to avoid the expense is to buy them cheap on ebay, try and then sell if they’re no good. If they are ok, then buy some new ones or ones in better condition.

Just out of curiosity Clubber – what ones have you ended up with?

the spesh road shoes are pretty good – it’s amazing how much the larger cleats help out ‘hot foot’. i never noticed it til after i’d had road shoes for a while, then went back to using mtb pedals for a few on-road rides. big difference imo.

it is however a large outlay to get shoes and pedals simply to get the larger cleats! plus you mention CX, so i’m not sure any of this is relevant…

Just out of curiosity Clubber – what ones have you ended up with?

Well…

My most comfortable ever shoes were a pair of Pearl Izumi Vapor 2 mtb shoes but the died after a couple of years and my search started again.

I found Spesh Comps good (more comfortable than the sports which felt narrower)

I currently have a pair of PI shoes for my road bike and a new pair of Shimano M086 for mtbing/cx – the M086 is noticeably wider/roomier than other Shimano shoes I’ve had though I don’t know if that’s this particular model or across the range.

In the past, I’ve also found Time and Carnac shoes to be good.

Brands that I’ve never found wide enough are Northwave, Nike and Sidi (though I’ve never tried their wide fitting sizes).

Cheers Clubber.

Spookily the road equiv of the M086 was one on my list to try – t’interweb seems to be saying Shimano have started going a bit bigger in their shoes, so that kinda confirms the rumour. And maybe some Times.

Looks like a quick trawl through the local bike shops before hitting eBay/Wiggle/CRC for any bargains to try out.

Cheers all.

Well as I said above, I did a lot of ebay shoe shopping – most of them only cost between a fiver and £15 so I usually recouped the cost when I sold them on.

i am size 11, wide feet and have a pair of Sidi Dominators – wide fitting.

They have been extremely comfortable from the outset and are still in very good condition after two heavy years of wear. i love them and would highly recommend them.

i bought them form CRC and initailly they sent the wrong size and changed it with no problems.

I suppose all feet are different but these certainly seem to cater for those with wide feet.
cheers.