Cycling UK Forum

Afternoon all. Can anyone recommend touring shoes for my odd shaped feet? They are wide, I have bunions, and I have had a plantar plate tear, which means that the centres of my feet (just where the SPD cleats sit) are sensitive - possibly caused by using rather soft-soled SPD shoes in the past.

I have found Specialized Body Geometry shoes very comfortable in the past, but the current ones seem much too narrow.

I would like to be able to walk in the shoes - which I think means SPD cleats - but they need to have fairly stiff soles to protect the sensitive soles of my feet.

Thanks in advance!

I suffer the bunions (one foot) and I've mostly switched to the Shimano sandals (SD5?). The straps are velcro adjustable so can be set as lose as you want. https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/product/ ... SD500.html

They are clipless sandals but come with a clip covers (mine did) so should also work with flat pedals.

That said, I'm finding a fair amount of my bunion pain is aggravated by big toe movement rather than pressure or rubbing on the bunion.

Ian

Welcome

Recent discussion of sole stiffness and SPD shoes:
viewtopic.php?t=157472

Jonathan

SD5 sandals for me too.
Shimano shoes are far too narrow for me, but with the sandals you just expand what upper there is by loosening the straps.

Pete.

I find these very comfortable. A wide fitting.
However, I don't suffer from bunions.

https://williamlennon.co.uk/product-cat ... cle-shoes/

As you can see, they are not SPD. For me, in deference to my knees, that is a good thing.
Others, no doubt will condemn them for that reason alone.

I currently wear 276, but will try C2 next.

IMHO an excellent UK product.

EDIT: Note reference to bunion in C2 review.

I have a pair of MXZ200 Lake boots and recall that Lake do have especially wide fittings - they're not cheap though

Salt Dog Cycling was where I got mine from:

https://www.saltdogcycling.com/mountain ... t=priceasc

Psamathe wrote: ↑17 Mar 2024, 3:08pm I suffer the bunions (one foot) and I've mostly switched to the Shimano sandals (SD5?)...

Thanks, Ian. I should have mentioned that my bunions don't hurt in themselves, but they just make it awkward finding shoes to fit around them. I am tempted by Shimano sandals, but as I will be touring in Donegal I probably need something a bit more...weather-appropriate!

scandalxk wrote: ↑17 Mar 2024, 5:23pm

Psamathe wrote: ↑17 Mar 2024, 3:08pm I suffer the bunions (one foot) and I've mostly switched to the Shimano sandals (SD5?)...

Thanks, Ian. I should have mentioned that my bunions don't hurt in themselves, but they just make it awkward finding shoes to fit around them. I am tempted by Shimano sandals, but as I will be touring in Donegal I probably need something a bit more...weather-appropriate!

I wear my SD5s all year round, always with hiking socks (which provide some padding and avoid rubbing). Right through winter. Been in some horrendous thunderstorms in them (in France) and they dry quickly (plenty of air movement).

Ian

You can stretch just about any leather shoe. Apply a 50/50 mix of water and alcohol to the parts to stretch and insert feet with thick socks covered by poly bags. Walk around, repeat for a few hours. If your feet hurt when doing this you'll need some kind of last to push into the shoes. I made a pair of Exustar cycling shoes fit me this way. I've done it for Panama Jack boots too (not for cycling).

Do you really need spds?

Touring I just use normal shoes or sandals.

Perhaps some leather walking shoes could work with flats?

Whalley warm and dry (best boots shop in the world IMO) will steam leather boots or shoes to fit bunions.

Unfortunately, I too have a bunion and pain in my right foot, partly hereditary and partly due to a childhood injury which has resulted in badly aligned and occasionally painful metatarsals of my smaller toes. I just can’t manage my feet clipped in, as the hard structures in the soles of the required shoes seem to exactly clash with my damaged feet!
I have had great success ( after much trial and error) with flat pedals and Meindl walking shoes from their ‘comfort fit’ range - which have extra space in the toe box. They have the advantage of being relatively slim fitting in the ankle area, compared to Keen shoes, for example, which, though having a reputation as a ‘wide fit’ shoe, I find too large as they are wide all over in a kind of ‘rectangular’ kind of way.
I have just purchased a pair of Altra running/leisure shoes for indoor wear which are extremely comfortable. They advertise as ‘foot shaped’ i.e a particularly wide toe box which does not constrain the smaller toes in any way. The salesperson told me they had often heard of wearers with mild to moderate foot deformities managing to reverse these by regular wear of Altra shoes ( including themselves). Also that foot strength is significantly improved ( I agree that my foot strength is generally poor, exacerbating my bunion/foot abnormality). So far, my Altra shoes are extremely comfortable to wear but the softness of the sole and upper would make them unsuitable for cycling, in my opinion. There are other styles however, and I might be converted from my favourite Meindl shoes.
One other tip for foot soreness is to maximise comfort and fit for the other contact points - seat and hands. I’ve certainly found that too wide handlebars or a badly adjusted saddle position exacerbate any foot pain I’m experiencing.

Thanks for your comments and suggestions, everyone. I should have been clearer that my bunions don't actually hurt, they just make it difficult to find shoes to fit. And I want to be able to clip in when I'm on the bike, but also be able to walk, which rules out road shoes. (Do I really need SPDs? No. Do I want them? Yes. I find they give a sense of security which is lacking with straps and toe clips, especially when climbing.)

The older thread supplied by Jdsk reminded me about Exustar Stelvio shoes which I have seen strongly recommended in the magazine, and I think I will try a pair of them. But, plancashire, does your comment about stretching a pair of Exustars imply that they may be made a bit narrow to start with? (A Google search reinforces this fear...)

L+1, thanks for your lengthy reply. I also have a pair of Meindl comfort fit shoes which fit very well, but the soles are very soft and the tread is wearing out quickly. And they are very, very expensive for what you get. And anyway I want SPDs. I don't think I would use Meindls for cycling.

So I'm going to talk to Spa Cycles about the Exustar unless any more recommendations come in. Thanks again everyone.

freiston wrote: ↑17 Mar 2024, 4:30pm I have a pair of MXZ200 Lake boots and recall that Lake do have especially wide fittings - they're not cheap though

Salt Dog Cycling was where I got mine from:

https://www.saltdogcycling.com/mountain ... t=priceasc

+ 1 for Lake. Boots and shoes. Very Wide feet.

My second recommendation:

EXUSTAR Stelvio. Comfy and reasonably wide. SPD fitting, if that's your thing.
From our friends at Spa Cycles:

https://spacycles.co.uk/m6b0s154p3382/E ... 5-SPD-Shoe

scandalxk wrote: ↑17 Mar 2024, 9:42pm ...
The older thread supplied by Jdsk reminded me about Exustar Stelvio shoes which I have seen strongly recommended in the magazine, and I think I will try a pair of them. But, plancashire, does your comment about stretching a pair of Exustars imply that they may be made a bit narrow to start with? (A Google search reinforces this fear...)
...
So I'm going to talk to Spa Cycles about the Exustar unless any more recommendations come in. Thanks again everyone.

Exustar Stelvio shoes are the ones I have. I bought them a very long time ago and I seem to remember that they were a bit narrow for me - I have very wide and flat feet, like a duck. They do lace almost to the toe and they are made of thin leather with no lining, so stretching worked very well for me.

On walking with them, they are not great. The recess with Shimano multi-cleats (the ones that are easy to release) is not quite deep enough, so walking on anything other than an absolutely flat surface causes the cleats to scrape on the ground. The rubbers also have no tread worth mentioning. When they fall apart or the rubbers are so far gone I can't walk, I plan to look for shoes that make walking easier.