Voodoo76

Looking at playing a little with shoes this summer. Long time Shimano user. I spent last year in Giro Empires. But ultimately decided they were too tight in the fore foot causing irritation on the outside of my little toe. Over the winter went back to Shimano 320's which eliminated the cramped feeling but give me a little toe numbness at 2+ hrs. I've tried Bont, both Vapor and Vapor+ and just can not get comfortable in them.

Interested in other brands to try. I don't think I need a high volume shoe but a narrow fore foot causes problems. Going back to 20 years ago Sidi just never felt right. I'm particularly nterested in Lake & Specialized. How do those Size?, I'm a 44 in the 320's and 44.5 in the Giro's.

WhyFi

If you're interested in Lake, do the steps outlined in their measuring instructions and then reference their sizing charts. I got great results doing that and Lake will be my shoe brand going forward.

Voodoo76

Seems like I'm always right on the edge of a size when using charts, Lake is no exception. My longest measured length is 275, +5 = 280. So I'm at the very top of 44 and the bottom of their 44.5.

As close as I can measure width is 99. Looks like Standard width for the race last might be tight. The comp ( like a CX238) looks pretty good. I think my feet have a tendency to "spread" under higher pedal pressure. So I'm thinking the 44.5 in one of the standard width Competition shoes.

Another data point, measuring insole lengths the Giro's are 283 and the Shimano's 285.

WhyFi

I would think that the standard width Competition last would work. IIRC, I measured out just 3 or 4mm too wide for a 44.5 in the standard width Comp, but ended up trying them anyway, because they had some silver camo 237s on closeout. Yeah, they were about 3 or 4mm too narrow, so I had to send them back. I ended up going with a 45 Wide for extra sock room in cool/cold weather, but they're great even with summer weight socks.

InvertedMP 

I can’t recommend Lake enough. I hav a pair of CX238s and just picked up a pair of CX403s to try. I have wide feet and Lake wide shoes are fantastic quality. By far the most comfortable shoe I’ve ridden.

EventServices

Send me the Giros. I'll wear thin socks and make them work.

I'll wear them when I GO CANOEING.

bruce19

I decided I needed new road shoes and a sale on Sidis was enticing. Having used Sidi motorcycle boots I was familiar with their quality. So, I bought a pair of their Kaos perf shoes. The look great and the quality is there but the fit is not perfect and their faux Boa system is a PITA. I also bought my first ever pair of Lake cyclo-cross shoes and they are awesome. If I could do it again I'd be looking for Lake road shoes.

Voodoo76

I'll send a pair up if 44.5 works on those canoes.

str8jakett

I also switched to Lake this past fall after years in Northwave and LG Course Air Lite IIs. First bout was in a regular width 42.5 CX218, which I measured out to from the charts, but at the top of the range. Loved the shoes but the toe box rubbed the top of my left foot. I did heat mold twice. Ran across a pair of lightly used 43.5 CX238 wide and they just arrived on Friday. I must have measured my width wrong at first because this time around I got 112mm which put me squarely in a wide shoe. These shoes look so good, and they feel even better. Do feel slightly large in the heel with that jump in size but I can deal with that over being too tight. Plus winter socks will fit at least. I don't know if I can heat mold the heel on these or not.

Voodoo76

Ended up with a set of 238's, 44.5 regular width. Size feels right, not too long or short. A little looser in the heel than the Shimano 320's, otherwise seemed to fit my foot. Liked the Boa placement, nice even pressure across the foot. No red flags right out of the box.

Setting up the cleats (Speedplay) I could not get them quite far enough back with a standard base plate. Fortunately I have a few of the old aluminum extended plates sitting around and was able to get to the correct position (I wonder if Wahoo is going to offer these?). Kudo's to Shimano on the 320 having a lot of fore-aft adjustability, some foreword thinking. I believe this has carried over to their recent models as well.

The Lakes definitely feel wider across the toes but did not feel loose, seem to be the right width. Not as much arch support as my current setup and no adjustability, a feature in both Shimano and Giro. My initial ride was around 2 hours. Really comfortable for the first hour or so & I felt like power transfer was really good. However I still experienced some numbness in the toes about an hour and a half in. And late in the ride/post ride a little soreness in the ball & big toe of one foot.

I'll give these another ride on an easy day, would like to try them with a little added arch support. Fiddled with the Shimano insoles, they don't put the arch in the right location inside the Lakes. Perhaps a G8 insole? I may cobble something together.

str8jakett

I stole the insoles out of my LGs which have swappable arch support pads. Although I don't need much, and have the lowest inserts attached right now, I did feel like the Lake insoles were trash after about an hour on the trainer getting the cleats in position. I planned on a real test yesterday but rain and high winds killed that so the 238s wait another day.

Will you try to heat mold your heel? I haven't deeply researched yet, but light Googling hasn't brought up anything about the 238 being moldable. I thought all Lakes were though. Made a big difference in the 218s.

eduskator

Curious to know if you had the normal fit or the wide one? It makes a good difference when you have a wider foot.

Voodoo76

Normal fit. I don't have particularly wide feet but wanted something slightly wider across the toes than I'm currently wearing.

EventServices

https://shoprowing.shimano.com/colle...x-rowing-shoes

garciawork

So, I have a pair of specialized S works MTB shoes that are... 11 years old I believe (I use eggbeaters on all my bikes). They are still going strong. I just snagged a used pair of a newer version (version 6, I believe) off eBay that are on the way, only because I will be heartbroken when these bite the dust one day. I di go through one set of boa's, but they have a lifetime warranty so it was easy to call up and get a replacement. I do not like specialized as a company but man, they KILL it on shoes and helmets.

Voodoo76

No $500 S-PHYRE version?

Voodoo76

Update, ordered a set of G8 insoles & some of their Metdomes to try out in these shoes. A cool story related to that. I didn't notice that they do bundle pricing on their add-ons (like pads & wedges). G8 noticed that when processing, corrected my order, and sent an email that they were refunding the price difference.

I'll work with these a bit then perhaps take a trip to my fitter up in Austin.

tangerineowl

Could also be worth looking at the higher-end Specialized road shoes. Am about 279mm / 103mm with the old S-Works XC 6 standard-width 43cm which had the same last as the road version. I have a fairly narrow heel which these fit very well. (Spec widened the heel a little in the 7).

Their modern shoes do also have a nice round-shaped front. A touch narrower than that CX238 though.

Haven't tried on the latest models but they may not have quite the height/volume you're chasing for the arch.

Hiro11

The 320s are an eight year old model, why not try the newer Shimano shoes? I'm currently using the latest RC-7s (SH-R701) and they're very comfortable, well made, reasonably priced and attractive shoes. They retain the traditional Shimano fit with a broad forefoot.

Voodoo76

Give it time. I always try something other than Shimano first, then eventually go back to them. It's a methodology that has worked for me for since the early 90's lol

Actually the little bit of toe numbness is something I wanted to see if I could eliminate (it's better in the 320's than the Empires but still there). I thought that a little more volume might help and if not it would give me more room to work with some insole changes. Lake being famous for volume, and a brand I've never tried, were first up.

Hiro11

Lol. This is me as well with Panaracer Gravelkings on my various gravel bikes:
"Let me try every other tire even though I know I like Gravelkings."

*tries every other tire*

"Well, that was fun."

*goes back to Gravelkings.*

Voodoo76

Set up the G8 insoles last night and did 2 ½ hours with them in the Lakes today. Used the #3 arch in both and the #1 Met domes. A big improvement over the OEM insoles, particularly the arch support. I have not used these before and have to say they are very nicely put together and allow a lot of fine tuning in the arches. Magic, no more excess pressure on the ball of my right foot.

Toe numbness, the reason for doing this, was greatly reduced but not entirely eliminated. I’m guessing that may take time.

Did some additional trimming to the insoles after the ride, perfect fit now. I’ll give these shoes a couple weeks to break in and see how it goes but looks promising.

fattires

Lake CX241 is what I went with for a higher volume shoe. Most comfortable shoe I've had--loving the independent flap (or whatever they are called) adjustment. However watch the sizing. I was a 46 in an old Sidi model and bought 48 Lakes, though the Sidi were a little tight.

thehammerdog