fitting/feel of road shoes

saunaboy

Alright,

I'm in the process of buying a pair of road shoes for clipless pedals.

This might be a daft question but...what should the fit be? Very close fitting or a bit looser to allow for any feet swelling when riding?

The shoes I'm looking at, a smaller size is pretty tight without any movement in there at all, and the larger one is comfy but has a little give in there that can't be removed by tightening the straps.

any advice most welcome!!!

jonmack

I usually wear a UK8, in cycling shoes I wear a UK9, gives room for as you mentioned, feet swelling due to heat, and also allows me to wear slightly thicker socks in the winter.

cougie

Yes - you dont want them too tight.

walsht1105

I would say get the tighter ones but thats personal opinion... I prefer a tighter fit as the pedal stroke feels better for me, especially on the pulling up motion.

But if you get the loose fit you could probably make it tighter by wearing an extra pair of socks and / or different footsole inserts....

I wear a UK8-8.5 casual/going out shoe and a UK7-7.5 Cycling shoe. I like a loose fit on casual shoe.

Monty Dog

Cycle shoe fit is very different to say, a running shoe - you want it firm but not tight/restrictive. You might want a little bit of expansion room, but still need to adjust it out using the straps. Floppy shoes and fit means loss of power transmission. Different brands of shoes are 'lasted' ie shaped differently, so best try on a few before you buy - what works for one can be purgatory for another.

Chris James

I like snuggish shoes for summer.

(I am size 9 and wear size 44 Shimano).

For inter though it is worth getting a size larger as your feet WILL get cold.

Rouge Penguin

Get a pair of over shoes too. Great for the winter and spring.

Chiggy

When you go for a fitting in a bike shop, the shoes should metaphorically disapear.

Walk around the shop and apart from the obvious stiff sole, you shouldn't feel that you are wearing them.

If you are racing, you are going to be transmitting 1/2 a horsepower through them. If you are randonneuring, they will be on your feet for over 16 hours at a time.

Chris James

Rouge Penguin wrote:

Get a pair of over shoes too. Great for the winter and spring.

Yes, but the potential problem is that overshoes on tight shoes won't keep your feet warm as the tight shoes will restrict your blood flow!

Rouge Penguin

Chris James wrote:

Rouge Penguin wrote:

Get a pair of over shoes too. Great for the winter and spring.

Yes, but the potential problem is that overshoes on tight shoes won't keep your feet warm as the tight shoes will restrict your blood flow!

So overshoes aren't a problem, tight shoes are?

Chris James

Rouge Penguin wrote:

Chris James wrote:

Rouge Penguin wrote:

Get a pair of over shoes too. Great for the winter and spring.

Yes, but the potential problem is that overshoes on tight shoes won't keep your feet warm as the tight shoes will restrict your blood flow!

So overshoes aren't a problem, tight shoes are?

I refer you to the title of this thread

'fitting/feel of road shoes'

Buckled_Rims

philthy3 wrote:

After several months now my pain has not subsided resulting in a referal to a consultant surgeon who has diagnosed something called cuboid syndrome in the foot. Undoubtedly the cause was riding with the shoes too tight placing pressure on the cuboid and tendons that didn't allow them to expand with the foot. The result will now be either a cortisone injection into the foot, manipulation of the cuboid or surgery to release the pressure on the tendons.

So the moral is don't ride with your shoes too tight!

http://www.myfootshop.com/detail.asp?Co ... 20Syndrome

I've copied this over from another post, hope the nobody objects to the cross post but it is relevent

Erudin

I wear size 44 Shimano SPD-SL shoes in summer, size 45 Shimano SPD with thicker socks/overshoes in winter or rides where I'll be walking a bit. The road shoes are basically a size down from shoes I normally walk in.

Rouge Penguin

Chris James wrote:

Rouge Penguin wrote:

Chris James wrote:

Rouge Penguin wrote:

Get a pair of over shoes too. Great for the winter and spring.

Yes, but the potential problem is that overshoes on tight shoes won't keep your feet warm as the tight shoes will restrict your blood flow!

So overshoes aren't a problem, tight shoes are?

I refer you to the title of this thread

'fitting/feel of road shoes'

Lets not get pedantic, in the body he asks for advice. Mine is if youre buying shoes buy booties as well.

Chris James

Rouge Penguin wrote:

Lets not get pedantic, in the body he asks for advice. Mine is if youre buying shoes buy booties as well.

Indeed.

And my advice is that tighter shoes are more efficient, but colder in winter. Overshoes on tight shoes will not make your feet feel much warmer.

So tighter shoes may be better in sumemr, looser shoes with overshoes may be preferable in winter.

saunaboy

thanks for the advice everyone. I bought a pair of Gaerne shoes from Chain Reaction in a size smaller & they were too small. Returned them with a request for the size I'd normally wear in trainers. Guessing they'd be fine. Very nice shoes I have to say.

So oversocks don't make too much of a difference in the winter? I've just bought the Mrs a pair of poncey Rapha wool oversocks for xmas to wear on her commute. Guess she'll be disappointed then. Nice pair of socks mind but they should be for the money. Would never have bought them for myself.

Chris James

Overshoes DO make a difference in winter.

All I am saying is that your feet can get cold for two reasons. One is that your shoes are tight and blood flow in your feet is restricted. But the other is simply that the weather is cold!

Some people put thicker socks on in winter, but this doesn't necessarily work if it means that your shoes become tight.

Oversocks add a small amount of warm (although being exposed to the cold air means they don't do a lot). But they do keep the muck off your shoes.

Neoprene overshoes add decent warmth assuming they themselves are not supertight. Sometimes it is worth playing around with sock combinations as thinner can end up warmer in some instances.

I find winter boots warmer than shoes and overshoes though.

Rouge Penguin

I found with the amount of ventilation on the Northwaves, that even with thick socks my feet were like ice when its cold outside. The overshoes work perfertly, cutting that out and keeping some warmth in.

It might just be that model/maker of boot, i definately need them though.

Chiggy

Get a pair of shoes with a dialy thingie on them to loosen and tighten on the move. Or some with Velcro straps.

The main body of the ride along the flat will be with loosened off shoes and then the climbs and sprints will be with tighened up adjustments.

"Tighten the straps and ride on the rivet", as Mr Porter used to say.

StillGoing

Pokerface, no objection. What I will say is after an MRI scan my injury actually turned out to be a ganglian on the foot still caused by overtight cycling shoes. For me they need to be loosish with the ability to be snug on start off and able to be loosened off once I'm under way. The ganglian is right in line with the ratchet strap.