noglider 

I'm 56 years old, 5'9" tall and only 153 pounds. My feet measure to be size 11 but I can't get into size 11 shoes, even extra wide shoes. Sometimes I wear size 12, sometimes even 13.

Some knee problem is pretty common for people my age, and mine hasn't been too bad. Descending stairs became a little tricky.

With all my foot problems this year, I decided to try new bike shoes. I've been using cleats for a long time. I got some expensive mountain bike shoes with SPD cleats, size 48 or 49 (around 12-1/2 US). I had the shop mount the cleats for me using their special alignment tool, which ensures the knee points straight forward. The mechanic mounted the cleat far back, following instructions from my podiatrist. I also got some nice new Shimano M324 pedals; no more messing around with off brands.

Wow, not only is my foot pain gone 95%, so is my knee pain. I can nearly run down stairs now.

You may not want cleated shoes, and there are reasons for that preference, but this is a reason to consider them.

Yesterday I rode without my cleats because these shoes are not warm enough. I try to mimic the fit I get from the cleated shoes.