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Shoe tightness

7K views 25 replies 20 participants last post by  xxl 
#1 ·
How tight should cycling shoes be? And I don't mean for the toe space, but rather, how tight should the buckles, straps, Boa cables, etc be?
 
#3 ·
I have Sidi Genius shoes. Having tight shoes just feels right to me. The issue is that it tends to make some of my toes go numb. I am working through which straps are the culprit.

If they are not tight, then they feel a little sloppy, but maybe that is what is "normal" and I have not been doing it right for, about, ever (even with everyday shoes)?
 
#5 ·
EIt doesn’t really matter, what ever you find comfortable is fine. You should have some basic stability but honestly, you could damn near screw your cleats to a hard sole flip flop and it wouldn’t matter.
 
#7 ·
For me it is pretty obvious if a shoe is too small or too big.
Also certain manufacturers don't work for me.
Shimano in general feels too loose, Sidi's are too narrow in the forefoot.
I have used a lot of Specialized, but the heel cup is too aggressive. My favorite shoes right now are Gaerne.
 
#8 ·
Personal preference - I like a snug heal and roomy toe box.
 
#9 ·
I like my shoes to be pretty tight, but I have to be careful not to make them so tight that my feet go numb later in the ride. Now I usually have them a little more loose than I actual prefer, just so I make sure I don't have numbness. I think it's a trial and error sort of thing.
 
#19 ·
Yep. Depends on how you want to ride. If hard, tighten the shoes so they don't flip around on the feet. If riding easy, loosen the laces a little. The feet swell slightly riding hard. The shoes get tighter. So adjusting laces on a ride is usually unnecessary.

On shoes with standard laces, mated to toe clips and straps, rider can adjust the straps on the shoe initially, and on a ride tighten or loosen the toe straps at will, depending on demand. :thumbsup:

Micro-adjustable laced shoes are now the latest thing. Massive velcro straps are so '00s. What goes around comes around. If rider likes to spin hard, he needs toe straps, preferably attached to the pedals! Guys who think attaching cleats to flip flops is all they need, must not pedal very hard. :hand:
 
#17 ·
if you need to tighten your shoe to stop your foot from moving around in the shoe, then your shoe is too big. A properly fitting shoe should not require much tension in the fasteners to feel secure. This depends on matching the volume of your foot to a shoe that is designed around a similarly volume foot. You can partially make up for this by using a footbed that has relatively high volume (like a solestar).
 
#20 ·
Fred, I ride sidi mtn shoes.

Even on my steepest ascents, where I'm standing and pedaling so hard I worry about breaking a crankarm, I could have the Velcro straps on my shoes undone and I probably wouldn't notice.

Hence why I agreed that bolting cleats to hard soled flipflops would work for me.

As long as the ball of my foot stays in contact with the sole of my shoe on the upstroke at the back of my spin, I don't need any further snugging into my shoe.
 
#21 ·
I love Fred, but I think he did too much acid back in the hippie days. His argument is one big fail. He argues for cages. Keep in mind the reason for clips isn’t a performance improvement, it’s a shin safeguard. there is no data to suggest clipping in improves performance. In fact, the flats people have the advantage in the argument. A hard sole on a flip flop would be equal to a cage with a solid shoe to bolt the cleat. Yes, I’m being facetious to some extent, but not dramatically. The shoe in this sport isn’t particularly important. Just get comfortable. Done.
 
#25 ·
My feet demand a loose enough shoe to keep the shoe from being too tight when my feet inevitably swell up, but by the same token I don't like it at all when my feet move about inside the shoe. It's something that both tires my feet out and irritates the skin. The solution to these two conflicting problems? I ride sockless. My bare toes allow me to get good grip on the insole. At the same time I can move my feet within the shoe to keep them cool and prevent foot cramps.
 
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