Made to measure cycling shoes - anyone?

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mark aldridge
Posts: 184
Joined: 6 Nov 2012, 4:54pm

Re: Made to measure cycling shoes - anyone?

Post by mark aldridge »

I have tried a lot of so-called wide fitting shoes because I suffer from cold feet and need room for socks and wiggling.
Beware of a lot of the so-called wide fitting shoes. Most brands just use the regular sole unit and bond on a wider upper. If your feet are very wide you often feel the edges of the sole unit.
Lake sole units are different widths as well as lengths so you get a truly wide shoe. This does not make them cheap and you have to be very lucky to find them in any shops. I initially got ten pairs of varying sizes and models from the internet to try on at home and managed to get a perfect fit (if you time it right with your credit card you can get them back and the refund processed so it doesn't result in an horrendous bill).
A lot of the Lake models also have leather uppers so they tend to mould to your feet over time.
Good luck.
Mark
LittleGreyCat
Posts: 1177
Joined: 7 Aug 2013, 8:31pm

Re: Made to measure cycling shoes - anyone?

Post by LittleGreyCat »

Spa toe clips?

Could be, although there is no logo.
Just been out for a look and checked against another set of clips by Christophe which have the same profile.

I may order the Zefal ones just to see.
Tao
Posts: 48
Joined: 30 Aug 2016, 5:12pm

Re: Made to measure cycling shoes - anyone?

Post by Tao »

:mrgreen:
Last edited by Tao on 26 Dec 2020, 10:52pm, edited 1 time in total.
steady eddy
Posts: 676
Joined: 1 May 2008, 11:02am
Location: Norfolk

Re: Made to measure cycling shoes - anyone?

Post by steady eddy »

I have odd shaped feet and use an orthotic in my shoe. Willam Lennon were very helpful in adjusting their shoes for me. They look a little old fashioned in brown, but work well with toe clips. They suit the style of my Pilgrim Audax bike perfectly and are fine to walk in.
LittleGreyCat
Posts: 1177
Joined: 7 Aug 2013, 8:31pm

Re: Made to measure cycling shoes - anyone?

Post by LittleGreyCat »

LittleGreyCat wrote:Just come back to this because I suddenly realised I will be in the Peak District in February so have a chance to visit the shop.

Also noting that I now have a set of pedals with plastic toe clips but my trainers don't fully fit in because the toe is so tall. I'm happy to ride for the moment with the clips underneath but it would be nice to try with my feet in the toe clips.

As for the suggestion of walking shoes, I think if the trainers won't fit then my various boots won't either but I must remember to try them out.


Just tried an old pair of Berghaus Explorer Trail Light walking boots into the toe clips (by hand, not wearing them) and they seem to fit.

So this may well be an option.

Waterproof and quite toasty, too.
LittleGreyCat
Posts: 1177
Joined: 7 Aug 2013, 8:31pm

Re: Made to measure cycling shoes - anyone?

Post by LittleGreyCat »

Quick update:

I tried cycling in the walking boots but getting my toes in was a bit hit and miss because the toe clips were a bit squishy. Stiffer Zefal toe clips might be worth a try.

Popped into the William Lennon factory at Stoney Middleton which was a very pleasant experience. Had my feet drawn round by an expert and ordered some standard shoes in boring black. I hadn't twigged that they were made to order (that is they start making them when you order) but not made to measure. However I am assured that they can tweak them on the production line.

Good to see a traditional firm still working, and in such a lovely setting as well.
NickJP
Posts: 793
Joined: 24 Sep 2018, 7:11pm
Location: Canberra, OZ

Re: Made to measure cycling shoes - anyone?

Post by NickJP »

Lake make some of their cycling shoes in a wide fitting: https://lakecycling.com/search?q=wide.
LittleGreyCat
Posts: 1177
Joined: 7 Aug 2013, 8:31pm

Re: Made to measure cycling shoes - anyone?

Post by LittleGreyCat »

NickJP wrote:Lake make some of their cycling shoes in a wide fitting: https://lakecycling.com/search?q=wide.


Searching through, https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Lake/CX332-Extra-Wide-Road-Cycling-Shoes/KI2V looked promising however they cost as much as an entry level bike! £335 is a bit outside my budget, I'm afraid.

Just for laughs https://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/193793-6-best-road-bikes-under-ps300-join-road-bike-adventure-without-spending.
slowster
Moderator
Posts: 4612
Joined: 7 Jul 2017, 10:37am

Re: Made to measure cycling shoes - anyone?

Post by slowster »

LittleGreyCat wrote:I tried cycling in the walking boots but getting my toes in was a bit hit and miss because the toe clips were a bit squishy. Stiffer Zefal toe clips might be worth a try.

Back in the days before clipless pedals when I used a standard cage pedal with metal toe clips, toe straps (which I never did up tight), and flat soled leather touring shoes, very occasionally I would fluff the manoeuvre of flipping the pedal with the bottom of my shoe to get the pedal roughly horizontal in order to slide my foot quickly into the toe clip, and would end up with my foot on top of the toe clip. Sometimes I would squash the clip underfoot in the process, and would then have to bend it back into shape by pulling it away from the pedal to have enough space for my foot to get in the toe clip.

However, I've never had this problem with the full size version of the Zefal plastic toe clips. I think the reason for that is that the rearmost part of the toe clip (where the foot enters the toeclip) is so high that it results in a much larger gap for the foot to enter. That larger gap makes it much easier to perform the pedal flip and slide my foot in almost without fail every time (and that is with MKS Sylvan Touring pedals, which don't have the little triangular tab on the bottom of the cage of most racing pedals for the sole of the shoe to catch on to help flip the pedal).

The fact that you are finding the half toe clips a bit hit and miss makes me wonder if the full version is easier to use: with them if you successfully flip the pedal then you are probably almost certain to get your foot inside the toe clip, whereas maybe with the half toe clips it requires a more precise technique, i.e. it's not enough to just flip the pedal, you also then have to bring your foot 3 inches forward before it enters the half toe clip. With a moving/spinning pedal, the need to bring the foot further forwards before it enters the half toe clip, and also a smaller/lower entry gap on the half toe clip which makes it a smaller target, that manoeuvre is probably a lot less tolerant of not getting the technique right.

So maybe rather than the Zefal version of the half toe clip, it might be worth trying the full version as per the links above. I appreciate that the toe straps supplied with the full toe clips might give you the impression that your foot could be trapped/unable to get out of the clip and strap quickly in an emergency, but I have the strap extremely loose: it does not not grip the shoe at all, and I probably wouldn't even notice if the strap were removed. Indeed, if you were concerned about using toe straps, you could try the full clip without them to begin with.
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