Widening shoes to accommodate big and wee toe-ball bunions

Anyone have any guidance on how to widen a shoe across the balls of my left foot? Thinking to heat it up (e.g. on top of the boiler?), then use something like the handle of a garden tool to ‘work’ the shoe wider at each side. 5.10 impact pro.

Would that work?

my left foot has a decent bunion on the inside of the ball of the big toe, and a developing one of the outside of my foot too. A few other toe structure related issues present as well, not uncommon, but managed well with orthotics and appropriately wide size 12.5 shoes for normal usage.

Issue is with bike shoes – there are a very small number of shoes that fit with a wide enough toe box. Spesh roost canvas and 5.10 impact pros are about the best I’ve found one the last 10yrs or so. For riding, Impact pros are by far my fave, but that ‘pinch’ causes agony if I have to walk any distance. but fine when riding. My current Impact pros are new, and as you know are not terribly flexible so breaking in just by wearing will take about a year if my last pair are anything to go by.

cheers for any tips.

I’ve done it on leather for my little toe both sides by heating with a hair dryer and then using the rounded end of a yard brush handle.

Took a little while. Maybe worth soaking them first to make it quicker, but I just used the dry heat?

I have had success using  a steamer to heat the shoe and using a broom handle to stretch the leather.

Yeah ive done it with approach shoes, basically I soaked the shoe in water then rammed in a snooker ball/hocky ball type thing and wedged it in place until the shoe dried out. I did it with some old leather boots doing the same but using a wooden broom handle to push the bit I wanted wider, Had to get a bit medieval with that method!

Have you tried a slimmer or no footbed? Sometimes works to get a bit more volume or to lower the foot slightly

You can get the proper shoe widening tools on Amazon for around £18 – they come with attachments for exactly* your use case.

* may not be exact 🙂

And you can buy shoe stretcher spray to apply first.  It’s just water, just use water.

What about some lake mx169

I used a shoe stretcher and it didn’t work too well on synthetic bike shoes. A cobbler down the road reckons he can do it but there might be cosmetic damage, not that I’m bothered. Not tried him yet though as I’m not riding currently.

Leather shoes, I bought a stretch spray from Amazon and it was miraculous. Spray on, go for short walk and it is sorted by the time you are home. very good but leather only.

I get the feeling, given my 115kgs is transferred through my feet and bunions and it took a year to break in the old Impact Pros, that shoe stretchers may not make much difference.

Good to know re. Shoe stretching spray though, always handy for that initial terrifying period with new work shoes.

But, yes, i think heat/steam and getting medieval with a broom handle is the way to go! 

Cheers folks

Update – warmed up the shoes and got a bit medieval with the end of the broom handle into both inside and outside areas of the to box to better accommodate the balls of my feet.

Worked great – not too much effort (maybe 5 mins of ‘working’ each side) and can now walk on that foot without stabbing pains. Which is nice.

Will report if shoes spontaneously disintegrate, but as mostly synthetic and warmed when I stretched them, hopefully OK in the medium term.

Ta muchly.

Go and have a look at the finger sanding thread.