Shoe Sizing Experience

[Dawgwalker]

I've bought several pairs of cycling shoes and there seems to be little
standardization of sizing. Sizing may be consistent by the brand but not
brand to brand. Some shoes are narrower than others.

Carnac width is generous.

I've found Specialized to run large and Nike to run small.

Anyone else had experiences similar?

If you've bought online how do you choose sizes?

 

[Dave Thompson]

Dawgwalker wrote:
> I've bought several pairs of cycling shoes and there seems to be
> little standardization of sizing. Sizing may be consistent by the
> brand but not brand to brand. Some shoes are narrower than others.
>
> Carnac width is generous.
>
> I've found Specialized to run large and Nike to run small.
>
> Anyone else had experiences similar?
>
> If you've bought online how do you choose sizes?
Even within brands, sizing is not necessarily consistent. Shoes are one
thing that I will *not* buy online. Too big a risk.

 

[psycholist]

"Dawgwalker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]
> I've bought several pairs of cycling shoes and there seems to be little
> standardization of sizing. Sizing may be consistent by the brand but not
> brand to brand. Some shoes are narrower than others.
>
> Carnac width is generous.
>
> I've found Specialized to run large and Nike to run small.
>
> Anyone else had experiences similar?
>
> If you've bought online how do you choose sizes?
>
>


A size 43 Sidi Genius for 2004 isn't the same as a size 43 Genius Sidi
Genius from 3 or 4 years ago. My foot's the same (I measured). The shoe
isn't.

-
Bob C.

"Of course it hurts. The trick is not minding that it hurts."
T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia)

 

[Ken]

"Dawgwalker" <[email protected]> wrote in news:hUXxd.5782$Z47.516
@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net:
> I've bought several pairs of cycling shoes and there seems to be little
> standardization of sizing. Sizing may be consistent by the brand but not
> brand to brand. Some shoes are narrower than others.

You need to try them on. Different brands are shaped differently. Some are
longer. Some are wider. Some are taller in the toe or arch area.
Traditionally, Italian shoes were longer and narrower than US shoes, but over
the years Italian companies have adapted their sizing for American fat feet.

 

[Bill]

"Dawgwalker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]
> I've bought several pairs of cycling shoes and there seems to be little
> standardization of sizing. Sizing may be consistent by the brand but not
> brand to brand. Some shoes are narrower than others.
>
> Carnac width is generous.
>
> I've found Specialized to run large and Nike to run small.
>
> Anyone else had experiences similar?
>
> If you've bought online how do you choose sizes?
>
>
Order several shoes in different sizes and return the ones that don't fit.
Only wear on the carpet. The mail order houses are used to people trying on
and returning shoes. IME shops find shoes to be a hassle and can not
effectively stock them. Return freight is the cost of getting a shoe that
fits. Pretend it is the sales tax you are probably not going to pay.
Bill

 

[Matt O'Toole]

Dawgwalker wrote:

> I've bought several pairs of cycling shoes and there seems to be
> little standardization of sizing. Sizing may be consistent by the
> brand but not brand to brand. Some shoes are narrower than others.
>
> Carnac width is generous.
>
> I've found Specialized to run large and Nike to run small.
>
> Anyone else had experiences similar?
>
> If you've bought online how do you choose sizes?

Go to the LBS and try them all on first! Seriously, you can't mess around with
these. If you're going online to save money, it's not worth the trouble. Good
quality bike shoes amortize so well that the cost shouldn't be an issue. I'd go
to the LBS, try them all on, and pay whatever they're asking.

My Sidis are 10 years old, and have at least 50,000 miles on them, plus plenty
of gravelly hike-a-bike. I got them on sale for less than $100, but if I had
paid $300 it would have been well worth it. OTOH, I went through several pair
of cheaper shoes in a short time before buying the Sidis. This is one place
worth spending some money.

Matt O.

 

[[email protected]]

Dawgwalker wrote:
> I've bought several pairs of cycling shoes and there seems to be
little
> standardization of sizing. Sizing may be consistent by the brand but
not
> brand to brand. Some shoes are narrower than others.
>
> Carnac width is generous.
>
> I've found Specialized to run large and Nike to run small.
>
> Anyone else had experiences similar?
>
> If you've bought online how do you choose sizes?

I have similar experiences to the others. I bought my first pair of
Carnac shoes from a local shop back in 1998. It was wonderful having a
good fitting shoe. Then I mail ordered the same size but different
model of Carnac the following year. Also great fit. Just last month I
mail ordered the same size Carnac but different model. The new shoe
was narrower than my old Carnac shoes. I tested it on the carpet and
sent it back. If I don't know the exact size, then I mail order
several sizes and send the non fitting ones back. Its not the cheapest
method, but it does allow you to find shoes not carried by bike shops.
In the past decade I have only found one shop that carried Carnac. And
they only had about 3 road shoe models. Sidi, Specialized, Nike,
Shimano shoes are as common as trash on the road.

 

[[email protected]]

Matt O'Toole wrote:
> Dawgwalker wrote:
>
> > I've bought several pairs of cycling shoes and there seems to be
> > little standardization of sizing. Sizing may be consistent by the
> > brand but not brand to brand. Some shoes are narrower than others.
> >
> > Carnac width is generous.
> >
> > I've found Specialized to run large and Nike to run small.
> >
> > Anyone else had experiences similar?
> >
> > If you've bought online how do you choose sizes?
>
> Go to the LBS and try them all on first! Seriously, you can't mess
around with
> these. If you're going online to save money, it's not worth the
trouble. Good
> quality bike shoes amortize so well that the cost shouldn't be an
issue. I'd go
> to the LBS, try them all on, and pay whatever they're asking.
>
> My Sidis are 10 years old, and have at least 50,000 miles on them,
plus plenty
> of gravelly hike-a-bike. I got them on sale for less than $100, but
if I had
> paid $300 it would have been well worth it. OTOH, I went through
several pair
> of cheaper shoes in a short time before buying the Sidis. This is
one place
> worth spending some money.
>
> Matt O.

I do not wear Sidi shoes. I will never wear Sidi shoes. The regular
shoe is much too narrow for normal feet. The Mega models are much too
wide for normal feet. They are also made entirely of plastic. I've
never been fond of plastic shoes. I prefer leather on my shoes.

This odd concept proposed by many people to buy shoes from the local
shop and try them on does not work. Unless you wear Nike, Sidi,
Specialized, or Shimano shoes, you cannot try on shoes at your local
bike shop. These are the only shoe brands carried by about 99% of the
bike shops. And even then they only carry about 1/4 of the models sold
by these companies.

Mail order is the only place to find any and all shoe models sold by
any and all shoe makers.

 

[Tom Paterson]

>From: russellseaton

>I do not wear Sidi shoes. I will never wear Sidi shoes. The regular
>shoe is much too narrow for normal feet.

Maybe they don't fit *your* normal feet. They fit *my* normal feet just fine.
Peachy.

>The Mega models are much too
>wide for normal feet.

My normal heels pulled out of the Megas, but the regular Genius III's and IV's
in a half-size are comfy.

>They are also made entirely of plastic. I've
>never been fond of plastic shoes. I prefer leather on my shoes.

On "street shoes", maybe. Lorica works great for riding shoes. Great wear
resistance and no problems dealing with shrinkage and deterioration as with wet
leather shoes. The Sidi buckle (III's, IV's) is super, again IME.

>This odd concept proposed by many people to buy shoes from the local
>shop and try them on does not work.

Maybe it didn't work for odd you. It worked for odd me.

>Unless you wear Nike, Sidi,
>Specialized, or Shimano shoes, you cannot try on shoes at your local
>bike shop. These are the only shoe brands carried by about 99% of the
>bike shops.

Reflecting a total for all brands of shoes sold...??? Maybe not 99%, but
begging the question: "What brand did you want?"

>Mail order is the only place to find any and all shoe models sold by
>any and all shoe makers.

Luckily my research was brief. --TP

 

[[email protected]]

Tom Paterson wrote:
> >From: russellseaton
>
> >I do not wear Sidi shoes. I will never wear Sidi shoes. The
regular
> >shoe is much too narrow for normal feet.
>
> Maybe they don't fit *your* normal feet. They fit *my* normal feet
just fine.
> Peachy.

If you do a search on this very forum you will find about 99% of the
people describe Sidi regular shoes as narrow. But you think the Sidi
shoes fit your normal feet. Obviously your opinion of the width of
Sidi shoes differ from the other 99% of people on this forum. I'd say
you have narrow feet, not normal width feet.


>
> >The Mega models are much too
> >wide for normal feet.
>
> My normal heels pulled out of the Megas, but the regular Genius III's
and IV's
> in a half-size are comfy.

Someone with narrow feet probably would pull out of the wide Mega shoes
and fit the regular Sidis. Regular Sidis are narrow shoes.


>
> >They are also made entirely of plastic. I've
> >never been fond of plastic shoes. I prefer leather on my shoes.
>
> On "street shoes", maybe. Lorica works great for riding shoes. Great
wear
> resistance and no problems dealing with shrinkage and deterioration
as with wet
> leather shoes. The Sidi buckle (III's, IV's) is super, again IME.
>
> >This odd concept proposed by many people to buy shoes from the local
> >shop and try them on does not work.
>
> Maybe it didn't work for odd you. It worked for odd me.
>
> >Unless you wear Nike, Sidi,
> >Specialized, or Shimano shoes, you cannot try on shoes at your local
> >bike shop. These are the only shoe brands carried by about 99% of
the
> >bike shops.
>
> Reflecting a total for all brands of shoes sold...??? Maybe not 99%,
but
> begging the question: "What brand did you want?"

Carnac of course. The best shoes. As I stated above, almost every
bike shop around carries one or more of the following brands: Sidi,
Nike, Specialized, or Shimano. Almost nothing else is carried by bike
shops. If you do not like one of those brands, you cannot buy shoes
locally at your bike shop. Period. Very similar to the prevalence of
Trek, Giant, Specialized, Cannondale dealers in the US. Numerous
people talk about taking a bike for test ride before buying it and
buying a bike locally and having them fit it to you. If you do not
want one of the above four brands of bikes, this may not be possible
without a considerable search or drive. The local bike shops do a very
good job of limiting your choice to one of four shoe brands and one of
four bike brands.


>
> >Mail order is the only place to find any and all shoe models sold by
> >any and all shoe makers.
>
> Luckily my research was brief. --TP

Please describe the number of bike shops in your area of the country
and all of the brands of shoes they carry. Sidi apparently. What else?

 

[Tom Paterson]

From: russellseaton

> I'd say
>you have narrow feet, not normal width >feet.

Mine measure out EEE or more on the usual plate-style measuring devices:

<http://www.abctarget.com/index.php?page=show_prod&prodnum=676&s=GoogleAdW
ordsSearch&kw=measuring+shoe+size>

common to all shoe stores. I'd guess yours (feet) are wider and/or more
voluminous than mine somehow, if Sidi's feel "narrow", esp. in a half size.
Repeating that I happily used the "narrower" Sidi even size until middle age
spread spread to the feet, too.

[What brand RS was looking for]

>Carnac of course. The best shoes.

"Only if they fit". Citation on the "best"?

>The local bike shops do a very
>good job of limiting your choice to one of four shoe brands and one of
>four bike brands.

Where I live, the bike trade supports a pretty wide choice of products.

>Please describe the number of bike shops in your area of the country
>and all of the brands of shoes they carry. > Sidi apparently. What else?

Hmmm, Freewheeling, Nelo's Pro Shop, Bicycle Sport Shop, Cycle 360 I guess
would be the most pertinent ones here in Austin. Houston, where we lived for a
few years, also had at least four pro shops that offered a large variety of
frames and bikes (and shoes, Carnac incl.). I haven't seen them here but then
I'm not looking to change brands. --TP

 

[Jeff Starr]

On 21 Dec 2004 15:31:33 -0800, [email protected] wrote:

>
>
>If you do a search on this very forum you will find about 99% of the
>people describe Sidi regular shoes as narrow. But you think the Sidi
>shoes fit your normal feet. Obviously your opinion of the width of
>Sidi shoes differ from the other 99% of people on this forum. I'd say
>you have narrow feet, not normal width feet.
>
>
Well, then I must be part of that 1% who find the regular Sidi fits my
normal sized foot. I went from a pair of Pearl Izumi Vortex to a pair
of Sidi Genuis 4 and they work great for me.
I bought mine mail order and got a good deal on them.
Shoes are like a lot of things, what works for me, might not work for
you.

I don't know where you are getting this 99% figure though? I have been
around long enough that I would know if my feet were narrow.


Life is Good!
Jeff

 

[A Muzi]

>>>From: russellseaton
>>>I do not wear Sidi shoes. I will never wear Sidi shoes. The
> regular
>>>shoe is much too narrow for normal feet.

> Tom Paterson wrote:
>>Maybe they don't fit *your* normal feet. They fit *my* normal feet
> just fine.

[email protected] wrote:
> If you do a search on this very forum you will find about 99% of the
> people describe Sidi regular shoes as narrow. But you think the Sidi
> shoes fit your normal feet. Obviously your opinion of the width of
> Sidi shoes differ from the other 99% of people on this forum. I'd say
> you have narrow feet, not normal width feet.

Yes it is relative of course.

For years my Italian feet fit SiDis perfectly. Now I use
the women's model SiDi. Their 'medium'

is wider than it
once was.

How much is too much? I have no idea.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

 

[Tom Paterson]

From: A Muzi:

>For years my Italian feet fit SiDis perfectly. Now I use
>the women's model SiDi. Their
> 'medium'
>
> is wider than it
>once was.

(I tried to reproduce the EEEE spacing of your post as it appeared on my AwOL
screen)

I go back to 1980 with those leather Ti Sidi's, three-bolt white cleat. I was a
10-1/2 D width back then. Size 44 worked great. Bought in a bike store (memory
fails on the name) in Boulder, Co., the *second* pair tried for fit. (Detto
Pietro's were a no-go, BTW. Comedic possibilities: very, very long shoes with
sufficient width for my normal, non-Italian feet).

"Width", a many-splendored thing. --TP

 

[[email protected]]

Tom Paterson wrote:
> From: russellseaton
>
> > I'd say
> >you have narrow feet, not normal width >feet.
>
> Mine measure out EEE or more on the usual plate-style measuring
devices:

It seems odd you and Mr. Starr below consider your feet normal width or
EEE width and think the Sidi shoes fit. Do a search on this forum
using Sidi and narrow and you will return many, many posts all saying
the same thing. Sidi shoes are narrow. And such was my experience a
few years ago when I tried a pair on at a bike shop. Much too narrow.

>
>
<http://www.abctarget.com/index.php?page=show_prod&prodnum=676&s=GoogleAdW
> ordsSearch&kw=measuring+shoe+size>
>
> common to all shoe stores. I'd guess yours (feet) are wider and/or
more
> voluminous than mine somehow, if Sidi's feel "narrow", esp. in a half
size.
> Repeating that I happily used the "narrower" Sidi even size until
middle age
> spread spread to the feet, too.
>
> [What brand RS was looking for]
>
> >Carnac of course. The best shoes.
>
> "Only if they fit". Citation on the "best"?
>
> >The local bike shops do a very
> >good job of limiting your choice to one of four shoe brands and one
of
> >four bike brands.
>
> Where I live, the bike trade supports a pretty wide choice of
products.
>
> >Please describe the number of bike shops in your area of the country
> >and all of the brands of shoes they carry. > Sidi apparently. What
else?
>
> Hmmm, Freewheeling, Nelo's Pro Shop, Bicycle Sport Shop, Cycle 360 I
guess
> would be the most pertinent ones here in Austin. Houston, where we
lived for a
> few years, also had at least four pro shops that offered a large
variety of
> frames and bikes (and shoes, Carnac incl.). I haven't seen them here
but then
> I'm not looking to change brands. --TP

Austin has about 1 million people more or less. Houston has about 2
million people more or less. Not exactly your average size US town.
And I bet in Houston and Austin almost all of the bike shops carry
several of the four brands I listed. So even in two of the more
populous cities in the US, the shoe choices are extremely limited.

 

[Tom Paterson]

From: russellseaton

>And such was my experience a
>few years ago when I tried a pair on at a >bike shop. Much too narrow.

The full size (even number) are narrower than the half sizes. I wear a half
size. My feet are beat up (and one operated on) to the point where I can't wear
most street shoes without strong discomfort. Sidi in 45-1/2, both Genius III
and IV, work fine, for hours. "I'd know if they didn't". Since Carnacs have the
rep of being "wide", if my spreading continues I may have to switch, since my
heels will probably pull out of Sidi Megas. "Brand loyalty" is fickle around
here.

>Austin has about 1 million people more or less. Houston has about 2
>million people more or less. Not exactly your average size US town.
>And I bet in Houston and Austin almost all of the bike shops carry
>several of the four brands I listed. So even in two of the more
>populous cities in the US, the shoe choices are extremely limited.

Well damn, Russell. The shops have to carry stuff they can sell. If it's Big
Four, that's it. I did see Carnacs at Boone's in Houston approx. three years
ago, along with a couple of Sevens, Merckx, Ciocc, and several other frame
brands. What can I say, you seem to be happy with MO in the first place, so
what is the problem? I'll still go with buying at least the first pair of a
given shoe in a shop, because as evidenced by all the slightly used shoes on
sale on ebay and elsewhere, many plans to save money by MO'ing hit a snag. --TP

 

[AB/9000]

Jeff Starr wrote:

> Well, then I must be part of that 1% who find the regular Sidi fits my
> normal sized foot. I went from a pair of Pearl Izumi Vortex to a pair
> of Sidi Genuis 4 and they work great for me.
> I bought mine mail order and got a good deal on them.
> Shoes are like a lot of things, what works for me, might not work for
> you.
>
> I don't know where you are getting this 99% figure though? I have been
> around long enough that I would know if my feet were narrow.

I second that. If anything my feet are on the wide side - and my
currrent SIDI Genius IV's fit perfectly.

Anders,
Denmark
- who's been riding Adidas (black Eddy Merckx's with laces and nail-on
cleats and later the grey/yellow/green with adjustable (twin) cleats),
SIDI (3 pairs incl current), Shimano, Gaerne, Brancale, Carnac, Time
(2), Diadora (2) and Northwave shoes from 1981-2004. The list doesn't
include my very first real cycling shoes, a long gone french brand,
forgot the name.
No, I'm not the Imelda Marcos of cycling .......

 

[Diablo Scott]

AB/9000 wrote:

> a long gone french brand,
> forgot the name.

Le Coq Sportif? That was my first pair. Nail-on cleats, perforated
leather, and long laces. I might still have them in my big
box-O-bike-junk. I remember putting them on in the shower so they would
shrink to fit my feet when they dried. Turned all my socks black though.

Count me in the 1% also - Sidis fit great and my feet are not narrow.

--
My bike blog:
http://diabloscott.blogspot.com/

 

[Peter Cole]

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]
>
>
> I do not wear Sidi shoes. I will never wear Sidi shoes. The regular
> shoe is much too narrow for normal feet. The Mega models are much too
> wide for normal feet. They are also made entirely of plastic. I've
> never been fond of plastic shoes. I prefer leather on my shoes.

Hmmmm. I have both the regular & the "mega" shoes in the same size (52,
yikes!). Maybe I'm not too picky. The normals fit like a glove, the megas
fit like a mitten. I just put an extra insole into the megas for riding in
the warm weather (they're my ultra-cycling shoes) and wear thicker socks in
the winter. I love that they're plastic, since they have been soaked so
many times that if they were leather they'd be ruined. Of course I wish the
size 50 that a sales-droid talked me into buying *were* leather because
then they might have stretched enough that I could wear them without my
toenails falling off.

 

[Tom Paterson]

From: "Peter Cole"

> Of course I wish the
>size 50 that a sales-droid talked me into buying *were* leather because
>then they might have stretched enough that I could wear them without my
>toenails falling off.

All kidding aside, you may have much worse problems than "nails falling off" if
you wear too-short shoes. That would be "bone spurs".

That's one thing I really like about the Sidis. I can run the toe box nice and
loose, and control fore-aft movement with the buckle, preventing the toe from
hitting the inside end of the shoe. Even after "surgical correction" (not
complete), contact is still painful. Works great and so much for the "snug
shoes for power transmission" myth. It's bull. I only wish I'd wised up a lot
sooner. --TP