Vagaries in shoe sizes of one manufactuer?

ajoten

I have some veeery comfy Specialized mtb shoes which are about 4 years old, size 45.

What are the chances that getting Spesh road shoes of the same size will fit exactly the same?

What are the chances that getting a NEW pair of Spesh mtb shoes will fit exactly the same?

What are the chances that this should be an MTB section thread?

I know one really should try shoes on before buying, but it's a right struggle for me to get to a suitable shop.

daniel_b

Invariably they NEVER have the sizes or styles you are after either :roll:

Big Red S

I did exactly that a year ago - replaced a pair of Specialized 45s (sonoma) from 2002ish with a pair of 2007 45s (Trail 110). And today I just bought another pair of 45s (Sport Mountain).

All fit fine.

Aidocp

My spesh Tahos are 43 and fit good, however when I bought a pair or roads shoes (Shimano) I got 44's tried on Spesh 43's too and they were too short (pity they were sale and lbs never had 44's)

baudman

Shoes are something I'd always get from LBS (or at least a shop somewhere that had them in stock).

Unless I was replacing the exact ones I had with newer ones of the exact same model, then I may think about interweb.

Lagavulin

I've noticed a very (and I mean very) slight difference between the Spesh MTB Sport shoes I've had about 10 months and the Spesh Expert MTB shoes I bought just last week in the Edinburgh Bike Co-op sale.

Same size (44). Thought the stiffer carbon sole would be more suited to my roadie and I'd relegate the Sports for XC escapades since sticking SPD's on my hardtail but there are definitely subtle differences between the two models and I'm guessing they're at most 12 months apart.

God know show they might have changed in 4 years...

baudman

Lagavulin wrote:

I've noticed a very (and I mean very) slight difference between the Spesh MTB Sport shoes I've had about 10 months and the Spesh Expert MTB shoes I bought just last week in the Edinburgh Bike Co-op sale.

Same size (44). Thought the stiffer carbon sole would be more suited to my roadie and I'd relegate the Sports for XC escapades since sticking SPD's on my hardtail but there are definitely subtle differences between the two models and I'm guessing they're at most 12 months apart.

God know show they might have changed in 4 years...

Could those slight differences just be the older ones were 'bedded in'? I renew my running shoes each 12 months (or so). Always the same model (as suggested by my physio) but there are slight changes year to year (more than just the colour). But the difference between the old and the new is enormous - coz the older shoes are bedded in (or perhaps closer to the truth, getting close to wearing out).

Of course, bike shoes aren't near as pliable as running shoes, so there would be less of an effect, but I think it could explain some of the 'slight' changes.

fossyant

I'd recommend going to a shop and trying the newer road models on... and comparing from trying - don't just buy from the web or you could waste your cash.

If the shop is nowhere near on web prices (you'll find many are close) then try elsewhere.

John Stevenson

Specialized changed their lasts on some models a couple of years ago so that their BOA shoes were too tight for me in the same size as the previous year's Pro shoes.

Go to shop, try, buy, be happy.