I stopped during the ride today and thought about the pain that I was getting. Tried to be analytical about it.
I moved the cleats in, to move my foot farther out so that the pressure is going thru my arch and not the small toes.
I started with one side and it felt better, so I did the same on the other side.
It seemed to do the trick.
As far as the shoes, I can get them snug enough.
I know many will say Sidis are narrower than Shimanos but I measured a couple of models side by side (Sidi Alba vs Shimano RC300) and on this case regular Sidis were wider than wide Shimanos. However the toe box in the Sidis were pointy, like a triangle and the Shimanos were more rectangular, if that makes sense. So, depending on the shape of your feet the Shimanos could feel wider but that’s only in the toe box.
Regular Lakes are wider than wide Shimanos. Lakes have different lasts so it’s worth checking that before trying them.
Laces are equally hated and loved, but it’s an option for for people with specific needs. They could be a better way to control volume than boas or straps.
Fiziks are generally narrow but the Terra Atlas model is wider than most of their models.
I’ve observed this too. If you have flipper feet, SIDi are not the shoe for you. They narrow in very aggressively across the toes. I was actually cutting one toe with the nail from the other.
That’s crazy, I wore Sidi for most of my road racing time and never remember having issues.
For high volume shoes: push your heel back, against the back of the shoe. Dial tightly the Boa dial by your toes, and then the Boa by your midfoot. Your foot shouldn’t have much moving space then
I have owned a pair of Sidis in wide for 5 year or so. The fit was alright, but the shoes were utter garbage. Despite greasing the cleat bolts, they rusted in place twice and required surgery with a Dremel. Never again. And for the price, the shoes were not great. They were only slightly cheaper than my S-Works 7.
One big problem is that very few shoe companies make a true wide soled shoe but rather make a high volume shoe and all it wide or in Sidi’s case Mega. These are built on the standard last and may not fully support the 1st or 5th metatarsal depending on one’s individual needs. This leads to all sorts of issues that could and in my case did lead to podiatric help to fix the pain. As stated Lake and Bont make actual wide soled shoes. With Lake you can go one additional size wider when going with their custom program which was my solution. The upcharge is quite minimal and pain was eliminated entirely. Awesome shoes. I do want to try Bont’s, just need to locate a shop that sticks to verify sizing.
I ordered a pair of Bont Vaypors in double wide ( this was a custom option, so no refunds). They were still too narrow for me, narrower than both Lakes CX238 in wide fit and the CX201s which I found fit me best.
That’s great info. Where were they narrower? In the toe? Along the width of the foot?
at the ball of the foot(widest part for most people). Also because the Bonts are a bathtub construction you really feel it squeezing your foot because they are so stiff.
Has anyone tried any of the new model Bonts? The vaypor or riot look like they had a redesign. I’ve tried them in the past and didn’t agree with me but was curious if the changes resulted in a different fit.
I’m on the verge of getting some of the Vayor Gs. I like the look of the road offerings, but I don’t ride a road bike any longer.
I’m still trying to work out which size I need.
I’m thinking of doing a tracing and sending it thru to see what they recommend.
Definitively talk to support, their recommendations were spot on.
This thread has been super helpful, and I’m hoping to avoid having a fourth pair of expensive cycling shoes sitting in my basement. I’m considering Lakes and Bonts now, but how walkable are Bonts mountain shoes, generally speaking?
Bont MTB and gravel shoes are pretty much just the carbon soled road shoes with tread screwed onto the super stiff carbon fibre soles. i.e. ok for a race but not for hike-a-bike, similar to high end race shoes from Shimano and the like.
Thanks! There’s a lot overlap between some of the gravel and mountain bike riding here, so it looks like the Lakes are a better bet.
My experience with the LakeMX332 in wide was similar to other shoes…too much up and down volume for a flat foot.
You can walk in them, but you realize quickly they aren’t made for walking long distances. The rubber compound on the sole is also a tad hard, which means you have a bit less grip than with other shoes. If you do XC racing or hard XC riding with the occasional coffee stop, these are great shoes. For my commute, not so much. On the bike, they are amaze balls because of their stiffness. Especially on softer MTB shoes you can tell when the pressure is concentrated around the cleat area. Due to the exceptional stiffness the Bonts are super comfy while riding, provided your feet fit into the bathtub.
Once my S-Works give up the ghost, though, I will look into getting a pair of Bont road shoes. Their new Riots look great and are still reasonably priced. The Riot MTB+ were a complete steal, price-wise, they put more expensive shoes to shame. I paid 3x for my Sidis and the Sidis were complete garbage.
The most walkable shoes, which are somewhat stiff are from a small Australian brand called VeloKicks. The company is owned by a podiatrist and even though they don’t market their shoes as wide, they fit my feet. And my feet are definitely wide. Their mountain bike shoes are an absolute steal. Their sole nicely balances stiffness and comfort. Unlike the Bonts, Nick, the owner, explicitly specced a less stiff sole for their mountain bike shoes to make them more walkable.
I currently use a pair of Lake MX169 as daily drivers, and they are quite soft. Intentionally soft. Still, the VeloKicks felt even more comfortable even though their sole was stiffer.
You had me sold until I saw they only go up to 47!
Those Velokicks look pretty great, but they’re out in my size, unfortunately. I emailed to see when they’d be getting more sizes in, so we’ll see how things play out there. I’ll probably end up trying some Lakes. I don’t do a ton of walking in them, but I do occasionally need to push a bike up some steep, loose rocky stuff, so a good, walkable shoe is important.