I hope someone can help, or at least stop by to ridicule my problem.
I had a minor wreck in April (ran over a dog) and in the accident I pretty much trashed my 20+ year old pair of Diadora shoes. (Which were a little oversize but have worked well and were extremely comfortable.)
So I'm shopping. WHAT A PAIN IN THE !@&(.
What I'm looking for:
Men's
Mountain/offroad style with at least small lugs (no road shoes with slick smooth soles!!!)
SPD mounting point/plate
Size: (this is the killer) I measure 41 / Men's size 8 but need a minimum of 42+ to even get my foot into the shoe. I usually buy wide men's in non biking shoes, at least D but often E.
I'd highly prefer to stay under $200.
I've tried and returned three pairs so far:
Giro Berm size 41 - www dot amazon dot com/gp/product/B07J2RTP7N
Scott MTB size 43 from a LBS
Giro Gage size 43 from a LBS
The recurring problem is absolutely no toe movement possible. I wear them in the store, they seem OK, I take them home and wear them on the carpet, and after 5 minutes or less my feet are going numb.
Right now I'm diddling around on a pair of Shimano SH-XC3 Wide Men's Mountain Bike Shoes size 42 which I haven't returned yet, from Bikeshoes dot com.
I tried a Trek store here in Cincinnati and the awesome young man who waited on me went through about 5 pairs of their Bontragers. I found one that was close but not great and had him make a note if I come back.
The Trek sales guy measured my feet with the metal foot thing (like all shoe stores in general used to use) and it confirmed that my foot size is 41 and that I am wide. But he said he believed my foot has a wider than average circumference, so it's not just wide. My feet aren't swollen either.
I have a big problem with how shoes are made today. Almost every bike shoe seems to be super rigid with no fabric panels or anything that makes the fit relaxed.
Something like my Diadoras - uppers made of half fabric, softer non rigid materials, not narrow - is just not a thing today.
Any advice? Is it possible to stretch the width of bike shoes?
Thanks.