Good to see this article & thanks for the comments, too.
As someone who doesn’t quite fit into a Euro size 50 (I need a 51 wide-fit), & having tried the likes of Lake (even in their longest & widest fit/last) & others in vain, I’ve relied on Sidi Dominators (& more recently Sidi Eagles) in 51 wide fit (wide=’Mega’ fit in Sidi-speak) for the past twenty or so years, where they actually made up to a 52 Mega …
… until a couple of years ago that is, when Sidi stopped making any MTB/CX/gravel shoes in anything bigger than a 50 in the wide fit!
After years of searching, I had thought that that Sidi model in a 51 Mega was literally the only clipless shoe from any manufacturer that fitted me.
So, as I now try to eke a long life out of the couple of pairs of Sidis that I have left, I was recently intrigued to see that Shimano do in fact do the XC3 / XC300 in up to a 52 wide.
The XC3 seems to be the biggest Shimano go in a shoe, & is now, I think, the only off-the-shelf clipless shoe in size 51 or 52 (& in wide fit) from any manufacturer.
If anyone knows of any other wide-fit size 51 clipless shoes then I’m all ears! 😀
Not that I have the cash for it, but there are ‘full-custom’ bespoke-sized shoes out there such as those from Bont, plus some independent shoe builders like Lamson in the US – the shoe is built specifically to your foot measurements … but expect to take out a mortgage to buy a pair! 😞