Shoes for the broader foot

secretsam

Hi there

Am thinking of getting some proper road shoes, as am beginning to get some discomfort around the cleat area from my DHB leisure shoes; reckon I need stiffer soles. I find the DHBs 'pinch' my toes slightly, may be due to them using laces rather than straps?

The three slight flies in the ointment are:
1. I use SPD pedals (not SPD SL), and don't really want to spend more money on new pedals
2. I've got quite broad feet
3. I don't want to spend more than £50

All advice gratefully received!

cougie

I have wide feet and use specialized shoes. But you need to try them for fit I find. Mail order shoes are a waste of postage

stevepercey

I had similar issues and couldn;t find anything I was comfortable with (always found Shimano really tight although the length may have been fine). That was until I tried on Northwave shoes. They're made to accommodate the wider foot. I have footwear for both my Road bike and MTB and find both excellent shoes. I'm not sure whether they make anything to suit your budget, but if you could confirm the size you'd probably pick something up 2nd hand which suits.

I'm a 9.5 (44) in my shoes and trainers, and I take a 44 in a Northwave shoe if that helps at all.

tedwards

definitely Specialized - look for 2010 stock, i got 2010 S-works shoes with carbon fibre soles reduced to £110 down from £200 the other week, sure you could find a similar deal on a £100 for £50-60.

Bozman

Northwave.

federalski

Northwave +3

springtide9

Also have wide feet and have the same issue with Shimano shoes.

And the solution is.... Northwave [+4]

Just got the Vertigo Pro SBS - great fit. Usually a size 10-10.5 and the 45 fits perfectly.

dombo6

Northwave or Specialized.
I have had both and on balance would go with Spesh for the BG footbeds.
But as others have said, try them on in a shop.

springtide9

Dombo6 wrote:

Northwave or Specialized.
I have had both and on balance would go with Spesh for the BG footbeds.
But as others have said, try them on in a shop.

Cool. Always good to know that there is a second make to try.... I have tried a few brands over the years and came to the conclusion that I had weird shaped feet!

lostboysaint

I have broad feet and have DHB R1 road shoes. I'm a size 9 but went up to a 45 (10) and they are excellent. On budget for you as well.

crankycrank

Shimano also makes wide versions for some of their models. Check their website.

secretsam

lostboysaint wrote:

I have broad feet and have DHB R1 road shoes. I'm a size 9 but went up to a 45 (10) and they are excellent. On budget for you as well.

I've looked at them but my experience of my commuter shoes (also dhb) is that they are a little narrow - like you, I'm a 9/43, upsized to a 44 in the dhbs but no good - otherwise well pleased with them, just need something stiffer

smokeysmoo2

I've used Sidi Genius 5 but found them too big. I now wear Lake shoes and Northwave boots and find them both very comfortable. The Lake shoes have the Boa lacing system which makes adjustment on the fly a doddle.

Im Bald Ok

SecretSam wrote:

lostboysaint wrote:

I have broad feet and have DHB R1 road shoes. I'm a size 9 but went up to a 45 (10) and they are excellent. On budget for you as well.

I've looked at them but my experience of my commuter shoes (also dhb) is that they are a little narrow - like you, I'm a 9/43, upsized to a 44 in the dhbs but no good - otherwise well pleased with them, just need something stiffer

I have quite broad feet and have the DHB carbon soled shoe. Think it's the one above the R1? Something like £70 (wait for 20% off shoes or a cheeky £5 off voucher). Really stiff and the 2 velcro straps towards the bottom of the shoe really make a difference. The buckle is also good, but doesn't really effect your problem.

I ordered 1 size up and find them great.

T-Rekster

lostboysaint wrote:

I have broad feet and have DHB R1 road shoes. I'm a size 9 but went up to a 45 (10) and they are excellent. On budget for you as well.

Seconded, I have wide feet normally a size 10 tried a DHB R1 size 11, fits perfectly and has transformed my ride

k-dog

I got some Sidi Mega's last year and they have been by far the best shoes I've ever had. my feet even look different now after spending a decade jammed into slightly narrow shoes. They are like wearing slippers.

They were quite expensive but all the parts are replaceable so really don't show much wear after spending £5 or so replacing the heel pads.

Well worth it IMO.

Steve_F

Hmm, I have wide feet too and found that I had to go up two sizes to get wide enough Specialized shoes. Found the same with this year's range.

Couldn't find anywhere locally to try Northwave and found that Bontrager shoes feel pretty wide. Seem to be a bit shorter than the length they say but when I tried on the next size up from what I need (44/45 -> buying a 46) the length and width felt perfect.

Still waiting for the new ones to be delivered (was only the high end carbon ones in stock to try on) so have got my fingers crossed the cheap ones still feel as wide!

Steve_F

Verdict on the Bontragers, not as wide as I'd hoped

Fitted very nicely at home with every different type of sock on so fitted the cleats and headed out to work in them this morning, only a few miles and they're squeezing my feet.

Will try a few more rides to see if they break in and experiment with the strap tightness but it looks awful like Northwave is the way to go.

secretsam

So sizing up a notch is one option? I'm going to have to go to a shop and try some shoes, methinks.

Northwave sound good but a) not within price range and b) hard to get hold of...still...