So my old beloved trustworthy Specialized Ground Control shoes finally bit the dust. This was the black shoe with laces, and a velcro cover over the laces, with the stylized S logo in red on top. The heel also had a velcro strap to adjust the tightness of the heel counter. That was one of the major reasons why I had bought them in the first place, because of good overall fit. A picture (courtesy of google search) is here: http://www.northeastcycles.com/recycledproducts/item.nhtml?profile=recycledproducts&UID=134
I went to my LBS in search of some replacement shoes. All the shoes I tried had loose heel counters, most noticeable when standing up and with the toes bent (as if walking). I'm not sure if the "perceived" loose heel counters were a "side effect" due to to stiff soles (hence desirable). How significant would a loose heel counter be in riding? Are there any remedial/workarounds if loose heel counters do present a sufficiently non-trivial issue for riding purposes? I'd hate to get heel blisters.
So my old beloved trustworthy Specialized Ground Control shoes finally bit the dust. This was the black shoe with laces, and a velcro cover over the laces, with the stylized S logo in red on top. The heel also had a velcro strap to adjust the tightness of the heel counter. That was one of the major reasons why I had bought them in the first place, because of good overall fit. A picture (courtesy of google search) is here: http://www.northeastcycles.com/recycledproducts/item.nhtml?profile=recycledproducts&UID=134
I went to my LBS in search of some replacement shoes. All the shoes I tried had loose heel counters, most noticeable when standing up and with the toes bent (as if walking). I'm not sure if the "perceived" loose heel counters were a "side effect" due to to stiff soles (hence desirable). How significant would a loose heel counter be in riding? Are there any remedial/workarounds if loose heel counters do present a sufficiently non-trivial issue for riding purposes? I'd hate to get heel blisters.
That is the only shoe that I've seen with a heel strap, which makes me wonder how necessary they are. I have "duck feet" (narrow heel, wide toe), so all of my shoes tend to be a loose fit in the heel, but I've never had any problems (several brands: Sidi, Northwave, Diadora, Nike) with any of my shoes with heel chafing. My guess is that the foot motion of cycling doesn't create those problems. I do a lot of distance riding (up to 250 mile rides so far), my problems have always been with soreness in the forefoot, which makes sense since that's where all the load is.
I went to my LBS in search of some replacement shoes. All the shoes I tried had loose heel counters, most noticeable when standing up and with the toes bent (as if walking). I'm not sure if the "perceived" loose heel counters were a "side effect" due to to stiff soles (hence desirable). How significant would a loose heel counter be in riding? Are there any remedial/workarounds if loose heel counters do present a sufficiently non-trivial issue for riding purposes? I'd hate to get heel blisters.
Cycling shoes don't need to hold your heels in place, and thanks to the stiff soles it'd probably cause blisters if they tried, since the natural bending of your foot when walking forces your heel partly out of the shoe.
Once you're on the bike, you'll see that your heel doesn't move, even though it's not restrained, although I suppose having your cleats too far forward might cause this.
