Big shoe update

joseph.santaniello@gmail.com

Hi All,

My home-made shoe project is on hold for a while. The lexan I ordered
turned out to be quite heavy, so I plan on making a plywood prototype
first. But since I am supposed to be using carpentry tools to finish
the house, and not monkey with bike suff, I punked out and ordered
some Northwave Vertigo shoes size 50.

They are quite a bit longer than the size 50 Diadora Gekos I have, and
WAY bigger than the useless Sidi 50's I got off eBay. They have an
internal hard sole that is wider than the external plastic sole. They
seem to be made for people with long toes. The cuve of the sole fits
well, and everywhere else, but the toe-box is quite long.

Two complaints, which may be minor and only apparent because I am not
yet used to them:

1. The cleat holes are too far forward, and too far outboard. I have
to have the cleats all the way back to get acceptable fore-aft foot
placement, and all the way to the side to have enough clearance not to
be too close to the cranks. This also makes it impossible to get the
toe-out I want without hitting the big plastic heel-cups on the
chainstays. When it gets warmer, I can adjust for less crank clearance
as I won't need shoe-covers, and then I can toe-out a bit more.

2. The straps are attached to pleather that leads rearward in a swoopy
way that looks cool, but when you pull the straps tight, it wrinkles
the pleather creating pressure spots. It would be better to have more
direct angle pulling toward the sole.

Joseph

Tim McNamara

Clothing for large folks is rife with these sorts of problems.
Manufacturers often just scale things up, not noticing that proportions
may be different in larger people than more average sized people.

I'm only 6'4"- tall but not abnormally so. There's a lot of guys who
are my height, at least here in Minnesota I'd say I am at the tall end
of the average range rather than being outside the average range. I am
relatively lanky at 215 lbs, a bit over the top end of my ideal body
weight range but nowhere near obese. Built more like a track rider than
a roadie. I wear a 45L suit.

But jeez, try to buy a shirt! I need a 17 neck - 36 sleeve dress shirt,
but these invariably are proportioned for someone who would fit a 50L
suit. Yikes! Cycling clothes, on the other hand, are almost always
proportioned for whippets which I am not.

I wear size 48 shoes (12 UK, 13 US). My feet are average width, but
finding a pair of cycling shoes that fits has been a challenge for
years. The best fit I have found has been with Lake shoes. Similarly
sized friends have found Shimano shoes to fit well; I don't know who
makes those for Shimano.

Glad you hear you have found something that works at least somewhat
better for you. I wonder if the cleat slots can be extended backwards a
bit to give you more adjustability without weakening the sole.

joseph.santaniello@gmail.com

On Apr 27, 7:28*pm, Tim McNamara <tim...@bitstream.net> wrote:
> Clothing for large folks is rife with these sorts of problems. *
> Manufacturers often just scale things up, not noticing that proportions
> may be different in larger people than more average sized people.
>
> I'm only 6'4"- tall but not abnormally so. *There's a lot of guys who
> are my height, at least here in Minnesota I'd say I am at the tall end
> of the average range rather than being outside the average range. *I am
> relatively lanky at 215 lbs, a bit over the top end of my ideal body
> weight range but nowhere near obese. *Built more like a track rider than
> a roadie. *I wear a 45L suit.

Sounds like we have a similar build. I'm 6'3" and comfortably padded
at 225 or so. I'm working my way down to my fighting weight of 205.
Around 210 now. I'd probably be a track rider too if I weren't 700km
from the nearest velodrome...

> But jeez, try to buy a shirt! *I need a 17 neck - 36 sleeve dress shirt,
> but these invariably are proportioned for someone who would fit a 50L
> suit. *Yikes! *Cycling clothes, on the other hand, are almost always
> proportioned for whippets which I am not.

Shirts are hopeless. They are usually huge in the waist, so it looks
like I'm wearing a tent. Cycling clothes aren't so difficult. Most
Italian clothes fit pretty good with a slimmer waist than American
clothes. I have a few "club fit" American jerseys from Voler and
Nashbar, etc and they are serioulsy pear shaped. Same with shorts.

> I wear size 48 shoes (12 UK, 13 US). *My feet are average width, but
> finding a pair of cycling shoes that fits has been a challenge for
> years. *The best fit I have found has been with Lake shoes. *Similarly
> sized friends have found Shimano shoes to fit well; I don't know who
> makes those for Shimano.

I was undecided between trying Lake and trying the Northwave ones.
Everything has to be ordered, so I chose Northwave because it was
easier. I might still go for some Lake ones if these don't work out. I
like my Diadora ok, but they are a bit worn and I have been worried
about losing/breaking them and being hosed for weeks and missing rides
and races, so I decided to get an additional pair of shoes.

> Glad you hear you have found something that works at least somewhat
> better for you. *I wonder if the cleat slots can be extended backwards a
> bit to give you more adjustability without weakening the sole.

Doesn't look good. But if I replace the wide head bolts that came with
the cleats, I should be able to get a few more mm's. I also have a new
bike in the works that has a slimmer chainstay arrangement that my
present bike which should help.

Joseph