Lace up cycling shoes

Kirby Krieger said:

Does anyone make an off-the-shelf lace-up cycling shoe?

I have a low-volume, low-arch foot with a square forefoot, pronounced pronation, and size 46
metatarsals on a size 42.5 foot. What that means it that shoes that are long enough for me are way
too roomy, shoes that are snug are way too short, and all of them cut the circulation to my smaller
toes. The one shoe which fit well was a custom Rocket7 TT shoe which laced up and had no toe box
(they came w. a stiff cover one attached w. Velcro). It was heaven on earth. Unfortunately the
heel cup broke on one of them and the covers never fit properly -- I'd been covering my exposed
toes w. toe warmers. With some worry for the safety of my toes and encouraged by Rocket7 I had the
shoes rebuilt as the standard three-strap model. These never fit well in spite of going back to
the factory twice, and now the other heel cup has broken (I've had them just over a year and a
half). Rocket7 now charges $975 for the TT shoe -- perhaps they had so many returned they really
don't want to make them. That is WAY out of my price range. I'm looking for a lace-up shoe I can
put custom orthotics in (I'm considering Sole Custom Orthotics, which you bake in your over and fit
yourself). I will counter the pronation w. Big Meat wedges (now sold as Lemond Le Wedge). I use
Speedplay pedals. All suggestions welcome. Thanks.

Kirby.

Apologies for not really addressing your question, but I want to ask if you've already tried Sidi road
shoes. I have narrow feet (42 1/2 B) and the Sidi Genius 4 is almost narrow enough for me. They also
open sufficiently if you want to put extra doodads in, instead of the regular innersoles. A combination
of velcro and microlock closures means that they're not laced, though . . .

Just an idea.

/Robert

Kirby Krieger said:

Does anyone make an off-the-shelf lace-up cycling shoe?

[snip]

Quoted message said:

I use Speedplay pedals. All suggestions welcome. Thanks.

I hate velcro shoes. Hate 'em.

But I also hate "gear". So you might not like the suggestions I'll give.

I have about six pair of cycling shoes. I bike everywhere and use SPDs,
so a variety of shoes is handy. They all have laces except for the
Shimano sandals (which are quite nice, though quite ugly).

I'll tell you about the three pair I wear most often in order from most
roadie/sporty looking to least. They are all quite inexpensive for a
decent shoe and I've had all of them for quite some time with very little
visible wear (with one noted exception).

The first is a great, inexpensive shoe called a Sonoma from Specialized.
It is low on splashy colors and the logo is discrete (a big deal for me),
though non-removable (it's embroidered). I think I bought mine for ~$60.
They're super comfortable and hug my foot with great support in the sole.
I had a bit of an accident where I struck the side of a parked car around
a very steep corner and tore open the side of my left shoe (while bending
the cleat bracket inside the shoe to nearly 30 degrees). So it has a hole
there where they scuff plate was torn back a little. A new cleat plate
and it works just fine. I love it.

Next would probably be my blue suede Lake shoes. These look more like
walking shoes than anything. I don't know the model number, but I saw one
the other day labelled "Grandad" or something that looked very similar.
I'm a big fan of SPD shoes that don't look like SPD shoes and this one
surprises everyone who notices. I bought these on Ebay (brand new... $10
and the seller was local so I tried them on first and picked them up at
his house).

Last, I have a pair of Vans that I bought on clearance from a vendor
table at the annual Community Cycling Festival swap meet. They look like
BMX or skate shoes. Not for everyone. They're also the ones I wear least
because I think they're a half-size too big and the soles are a little
flat. I'm considering getting some good insoles that just might solve
both of those problems, but haven't as yet. The oversized toe extends the
already problematic overlap with my front wheel (on fixed... no good), so
I don't wear them too much. I think I paid $35.

The Holy Grail of cycling shoes, for me, will be the day I find a leather
dress shoe built for SPD. An oxford or a wing-tip would do. I've
considered several times buying a steel-soled contractor's shoe (for
people who have to wear suits around construction sites) and cutting out a
patch on the sole and drilling slots in the steel. Haven't really taken
that plunge yet because I could botch the job and those shoes aren't cheap.

There's my cents, sir.

Please let us know what you find.

Elmo King
Ryzb Xvat

Kirby Krieger said:

Does anyone make an off-the-shelf lace-up cycling shoe?

I have a pair of Specialized MTB Sport shoes from about
three years ago that have two velcro straps, but also
provision for laces. These are basically like their road
shoes with MTB lugs on the sole; not like the MTB shoes
that are lace up but more like sneakers. I don't know
if the corresponding road version had laces. Anyway, you
would never know about the lace holes without looking inside.

It's also likely that a cobbler could put eyelets for laces
into a shoe for you, if the fit and construction allowed it.

Kirby Krieger said:

Does anyone make an off-the-shelf lace-up cycling shoe?

I have a low-volume, low-arch foot with a square forefoot, pronounced pronation, and size 46
metatarsals on a size 42.5 foot. What that means it that shoes that are long enough for me are way
too roomy, shoes that are snug are way too short, and all of them cut the circulation to my smaller
toes. The one shoe which fit well was a custom Rocket7 TT shoe which laced up and had no toe box
(they came w. a stiff cover one attached w. Velcro). It was heaven on earth. Unfortunately the
heel cup broke on one of them and the covers never fit properly -- I'd been covering my exposed
toes w. toe warmers. With some worry for the safety of my toes and encouraged by Rocket7 I had the
shoes rebuilt as the standard three-strap model. These never fit well in spite of going back to
the factory twice, and now the other heel cup has broken (I've had them just over a year and a
half). Rocket7 now charges $975 for the TT shoe -- perhaps they had so many returned they really
don't want to make them. That is WAY out of my price range. I'm looking for a lace-up shoe I can
put custom orthotics in (I'm considering Sole Custom Orthotics, which you bake in your over and fit
yourself). I will counter the pronation w. Big Meat wedges (now sold as Lemond Le Wedge). I use
Speedplay pedals. All suggestions welcome. Thanks.

Kirby.

Many Lake road shoes have laces under the velcro flap. I cut off the
flap on one pair and use them as traditional lace up shoes. They work
and look pretty normal.

Kirby Krieger wrote:

http://tinyurl.com/yu392

I luv 'em.