Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride

[Brucey]

FWIW in some shoes the half sizes (eg 43.5 rather than 43) are built on the same sole moulding as the smaller size, just with a revised upper.  You can tell if this is likely the case by careful measurement. In some cases it is more obvious; the '.5' bit either isn't marked at all on the sole moulding or is marked in a very different typeface or something.

Needless to say sometimes the half size is noticably wider and sometimes it isn't.

cheers

[Oxford_Guy]

FWIW in some shoes the half sizes (eg 43.5 rather than 43) are built on the same sole moulding as the smaller size, just with a revised upper.  You can tell if this is likely the case by careful measurement. In some cases it is more obvious; the '.5' bit either isn't marked at all on the sole moulding or is marked in a very different typeface or something.

Needless to say sometimes the half size is noticably wider and sometimes it isn't.

Thanks Brucey, I hadn't thought of that. As far as I can tell, there are no markings on the sole moulding for my existing Specialized Torch shoes. I can't measure the shoes without ordering them in, either through my LBS or online, as my LBS doesn't stock half sizes, though I guess I could just return them, if they're no wider. I'm just concerned that 44 are going to be too much larger.

BTW what other makes of cycling shoes either come up quite wide (not Fizik, I'm guessing!) or have specific wide options?

[Brucey]

quite often there is a mark somewhere on the sole moulding which indicates the size. Often you have to pull the insole out of the shoe to see it.

Dunno much about wide shoes; I have fairly narrow feet; I have only ever rejected one pair of shoes (that I got as far as buying) which were narrow enough to hurt my feet.

cheers

[Oxford_Guy]

quite often there is a mark somewhere on the sole moulding which indicates the size. Often you have to pull the insole out of the shoe to see it.

Under the insole my current (size 43) Specialized shoes say this on the top of the sole: 1802031306 (same for both shoes), but not sure of that's particularly helpful

Dunno much about wide shoes; I have fairly narrow feet; I have only ever rejected one pair of shoes (that I got as far as buying) which were narrow enough to hurt my feet.

I've never needed particularly wide normal shoes before, so it does surprise me a little in this case, especially as I'd understood Specialized shoes where wider than many, but perhaps I just got too small a size?

[Little Jim]

Snip

Thanks Brucey, I hadn't thought of that. As far as I can tell, there are no markings on the sole moulding for my existing Specialized Torch shoes. I can't measure the shoes without ordering them in, either through my LBS or online, as my LBS doesn't stock half sizes, though I guess I could just return them, if they're no wider. I'm just concerned that 44 are going to be too much larger.

BTW what other makes of cycling shoes either come up quite wide (not Fizik, I'm guessing!) or have specific wide options?

Lake.  Yes, and they are Italian.  I got talking to the salesman on the Lake stand at Bespoked last year.  He suggested I try some shoes on, I laughed at him and said he hadn't got any wide enough.  "Oh yes we have, try these".  They were comfy, really comfy.  And they cost £270!  They were a pair of shoes with the new knitted uppers and a series of sort of straps which came up over the knitted upper.  Great in Italian sunshine, but not so good in the cold on our mucky roads, but they were comfy...

[Oxford_Guy]

Lake.  Yes, and they are Italian.  I got talking to the salesman on the Lake stand at Bespoked last year.  He suggested I try some shoes on, I laughed at him and said he hadn't got any wide enough.  "Oh yes we have, try these".  They were comfy, really comfy.  And they cost £270!  They were a pair of shoes with the new knitted uppers and a series of sort of straps which came up over the knitted upper.  Great in Italian sunshine, but not so good in the cold on our mucky roads, but they were comfy...

The pricing was a little more sane for the Specialized Torch shoes, around £125 I think. I wouldn't fancy knitted uppers, though, even in Spring (and what often usually passes for "summer" in the UK) that would probably be a bit too chilly

[CJ]

Hi @oxford_guy - any update on your insoles and numbness? How are you getting on? I think I just need to bite the bullet and get a shoe fit done somewhere in south london to sort my shoe size/innersole/cleat type out once and for all.

If anyone has any good recommendations / ideas on how I can do this (as cheaply as possible) that would be great.

[Oxford_Guy]

Hi @oxford_guy - any update on your insoles and numbness? How are you getting on? I think I just need to bite the bullet and get a shoe fit done somewhere in south london to sort my shoe size/innersole/cleat type out once and for all.

Bit early to tell, have not done any long, fast rides since I've got the new footbeds. I did a slow 30 mile leisure ride with some friends last weekend and didn't get any numbness or feeling of a bar under my feet for that, but I really wasn't pushing hard on the pedals for that ride. The shoes did feel a bit tight, as mentioned previously, though.