I’ve gone through just about all my LBS’s stock of roadie shoes (to fit a 3 bolt cleat for Look pedals) and just can’t get anything that’s comfy. I’ve tried Shimano (my present ones), Sidi, Specialized, incl S-Works and am now going to try some Mavics, but wonder if anyone with fairly wide (but not massive) feet has any suggestions?

I’m almost at the point of running MTB shoes on the road bike, but would prefer not too, though soon, aesthetics will give way to comfort.

I’m going up a size usually on the shoes – 43 to a 44 – but it’s still not leaving much space in the toe box. Does anyone have any bright ideas please for something, preferably under a £100?

Try the wide last sidi, or else something like Lake.

I can see that Wiggle do the Lake shoes – do you know how they compare for size?

Carnac used to be quite roomy but my current pair seem much smaller, whether this is just the particular model or they have changed the lasts i don’t know.

Scott road shoes have lots of room, as do Northwaves.

Try MK cycles in Bolton, and take their sizing advice; they come up different to others

Have fairly wide feet myself, using Spesh s-works ones atm and they do feel tight when off the bike but I find are fine once pedalling. I’d try a Sidi mega version though if I were you (although being able to try on first might be an issue). Tried 3 or 4 of the Mavics on the other day and they seemed quite a tight fit.

I get on well with the Mavic Shoes… Nice and roomy toe box compared to shimano. Well, thats how it feels on my feet!

Mavics are based on the old Adidas shoes, which were always a bit small in sizing terms.

It’s the toe box where I feel I need the room. My Shimanos do feel tight around there – I’m hoping to try some Mavics today, so will report back later… I did wonder about the NW ones too, so will see if I can track them down.

Look for shoes that are ‘deep’ at the front; it’s the height of the toe-box that seems to make the difference in terms of feeling roomy. Northwaves can take an extra insole in my experience, and the Scotts above come with a very plush 3 or 4 differently textured insole that just feels dead comfy.

Just found Scott Pro shoes (as pictured above) at Evans, so might go for a wander there later as well. Thanks for the advice – I feel a bit more hopefull now! I’ll report later on what I’ve found…

Update / long (boring) review ahead – look away now if your shoes fit.

Ok – so maybe it’s “problem solved” now. I went to Evans and tried the Mavic Avenir, the Shimano RO86 and the Northwave Vertigo SBS – all around the £90 mark. I wanted to try the Scotts as well, but they didn’t have them in my size as they’re closing them out, I think.

The Mavics felt snug around the toe box, but the material felt like it would give. Even so, I could feel my toes being squeezed together. They fitted well around the heel and looked like a really good shoe. The RO86 again looked like a nice shoe (these two got top marks in Cycling + last month for their ‘sub £100 shoe’ test), but as soon as I put it on, I felt my toes being squashed in. I have been wearing size 43 R085’s for a couple of years, and have decided that I need a 44, but even this still felt narrow – and narrower than the Mavics.

Evans had the non-SBS Vertigo on the shelf (the 3 velcro strap version, as opposed to the 2 strap + ratchet SBS model) and when I tried that, it was instantly obvious that there was really room to move in the toe box. It felt higher / deeper (like crikey previously suggested) as well as wider, and I could actually move my toes around. I was concerned though, as the heel felt a bit loose in it – what I didn’t want to happen was that I was gaining width in the toe and getting a wide shoe all over. However, although it wasn’t on display, the guy in Evans found the SBS version out the back, in the colourway I wanted and had seen on the web. The ratchet adjustment seemed to sort the heel holding without any undue pressure, so I handed over my cash. Their price matching makes doing your homework worthwhile – I got them for £76.49 – matching Rutland Cycling’s price – instead of the £89.99 as advertised. (That helped offset the £6 parking in the centre of Manchester, and god knows how many pairs of shoes the missus bought while I was getting mine…!)

So – I rode out this morning – just 25 miles in the sunshine, but enough to tell that whilst they’ve not totally fixed the pins and needles, my feet were more comfortable than they’ve been on a road bike for years. I might just go back and get the MTB version (which I also tried yesterday), and strongly recommend trying the Northwave shoe range if you need a wider fitting.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, most especially crikey for the Northwave idea. Oh happy feet! 😀