New shoes for summer!

[KLizotte]

We are now guaranteed another month of winter. I have just sent all of my winter coats to the cleaners and bought a brand new pair of *white* mtn biking shoes for the summer.

Sorry everyone!

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[rcannon100]

So, not to hijack the thread – but I have a new shoe question.

I am a size 13 shoe.

When I bought cycling shoes, they sold me size 49 Pearl Izumi Men’s X-Alp Seek V Cycling Shoe. Love them.

But they are too small. My toe is jammed up front (this is something yousse guys have to look forward to – when you get old your foot can actually get bigger as the ligaments relax). I need a size 50.

And I am wearing speedplay frog cleats.

So apparently the all powerfully cycling lobby despises tall people. Cant find size 50 shoes. Everything seems to max out at 48 or 49.

Any recommendations?

[ShawnoftheDread]

@rcannon100 81723 wrote:

So apparently everybody despises tall people.

Fixed.

[hozn]

I am a size 13 in some shoes (e.g. Asics) and 12W in others (e.g. Clarks). So for me the constraint is width so my advice will likely be worthless I wear a Specialized and Northwave in size 48. The Specialized seem sized a little larger/longer, but I don’t think they come in 49. I think Shimano have size-50 shoes? Bont may be a good option too, the heat moldability may address any specific irregularities.

[rcannon100]

Shimano has a size 50 in: Shimano 2014 Men’s Mountain Bike Shoe

???? I am likely to buy it in that, well, it fits. Any opinionates?

[hozn]

Maybe just get it from somewhere you can return it easily? I seem to remember Shimano fitting smaller than Pearl Izumi. I also seem to remember zappos.com or endless.com carrying Shimano cycling shoes; if true, that might be a good online option from ease-of-return perspective.sss

[Rod Smith]

It’s confusing. I wear 11.5-12US but the idea that feet get longer makes sense. I thought shoes were getting shorter! :p Shimano sizes (and perhaps cycling shoes in general?) are different from street shoe sizing. Shimano sizing,

http://www.shimano.com/publish/content/global_cycle/en/au/index/products/shoes/road/footwear_sizing_chart.html

General shoe sizing,

http://www.zappos.com/c/shoe-size-conversion

http://www.shoesizingcharts.com

So size 46 in normal shoes should fit 13, but Shimano 46 pinch the toes of my size 11.5-12 feet when worn with thick socks. The Shimano size chart seems pretty good, 46 lines up with 11.25. The 46 actually closer to 11.5 in my experience, so I think Shimano 49 might fit you best, 50 should be plenty big.

[KLizotte]

Yes, your feet do get longer as you get older because your plantar fascii (the tendon that runs along the botton of the foot) stretches with age (or excess weight). This is why older runners/walkers tend to get plantar fasciitis (a horrid inflammation of the tendon that takes forever to heal – you can guess why I know these things). My left foot is now longer than my right foot because of tendon stretch which is a major PITA.

Anyway….you need to buy cycling shoes a half size larger than normal to account for your foot pushing down toward the toe when cycling. They may feel comfortable walking but after a few hours in the saddle you may feel your toe rubbing uncomfortably against the front (I learned this the hard way). Make sure your heel feels as snug in the back as possible since it will be trying to pull out of the back with each pedal rotation.

For my recent purchase, I ordered shoes from Zappos and REI online. Zappos sent mine out via overnight at no additional cost with free return shipping. The Pearl Izumis I tried were very narrow and definitely ran small. The Scotts I ended up purchasing from REI (courtesy of the 20% coupon and annual dividends check) definitely fit better: more of a box toe and wider/bigger for the same size as the Izumis. I’ve been wearing a pair of Shimanos for over a year which have been fine except for heel rub which doesn’t bother me at all while riding but is slowly destroying the back of the shoe.

I got lucky that I found a pair that fit quickly as I was prepared to start hauling ass to all LBSs in the area in my quest for white mtb shoes (hopefully to keep my feet cooler this summer). I’ve noticed big discrepencies between brands so one size xx does not necessarily equate to xx with another brand.

Good luck!

[mstone]

This is another case where cycling cliquishness drives away customers for no good reason. Why on earth does the industry think it needs to have shoes sized completely differently than the rest of the world?

[cyclingfool]

In this case, it’s kinda like the metric system and the US is actually the pariah. The shoe sizing system used for clipless is standard continental European (and much of the rest of the world, methinks), so the sizes are actually what the rest of the world is used to.

That said, I agree that cycling manufacturers and vendors should do a better job translating those shoe sizes for potential customers in the US market and help avoid the cliquishness of which you speak.

[KLizotte]

When I was in the UK I was surprised to learn that they have their own sizing system that is different from the US or continental Europe. On the plus side, their men’s and women’s sizes were the same.

[mstone]

@cyclingfool 81776 wrote:

In this case, it’s kinda like the metric system and the US is actually the pariah. The shoe sizing system used for clipless is standard continental European (and much of the rest of the world, methinks), so the sizes are actually what the rest of the world is used to.

This does not explain the fact that cycling shoes in a particular european size are different than other kinds of shoes in a particular european size, or the incredible disparity between cycling shoes at a given european size.

[hozn]

@mstone 81791 wrote:

This does not explain the fact that cycling shoes in a particular european size are different than other kinds of shoes in a particular european size, or the incredible disparity between cycling shoes at a given european size.

I think it depends on who you ask for sizing conversions. e.g. http://www.i18nguy.com/l10n/shoes.html shows a US M size 13 being somewhere around 47 (and a 14 being 48). That is consistent with my experience in cycling shoes; I tend to get a 48 for the extra width though those are often longer than necessary. In some brands I can comfortably wear a 47.

As for the variation between companies; I haven’t found this any more extreme than regular shoes. I think cycling shoes are less forgiving (usually not leather, worth with less tolerance for error, e.g.).

Don’t get me wrong; I do wish the situation were better, but I’m not sure cycling clothing is any different from anything other type of clothing. I especially wish that stores stocked more shoe brands and that there were better sizing systems and/or trial programs. I have probably tried a dozen different brands of cycling shoes over the year to arrive at what works. Usually I don’t know that a shoe is going to work until I’ve ridden it for a few hundred miles (at least), long past any reasonable return-to-store level of usage.

[consularrider]

@hozn 81793 wrote:

… I have probably tried a dozen different brands of cycling shoes over the year to arrive at what works. Usually I don’t know that a shoe is going to work until I’ve ridden it for a few hundred miles (at least), long past any reasonable return-to-store level of usage.

And of course when you do find a shoe model that really works for you, it is discontinued the next season.

[mstone]

@hozn 81793 wrote:

I think it depends on who you ask for sizing conversions. e.g. http://www.i18nguy.com/l10n/shoes.html shows a US M size 13 being somewhere around 47 (and a 14 being 48). That is consistent with my experience in cycling shoes; I tend to get a 48 for the extra width though those are often longer than necessary. In some brands I can comfortably wear a 47.

I think the width part is the killer–some manufacturers apparently target people with freakishly narrow feet. One of the most egregious examples was the keen commuter bike sandles–for some reason, since it was for bikes, the sandles were like 3/4 the width of any other keen sandle. It would presumably help if the manufacturers reported width in addition to length, but that’s seemingly not pro enough.

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