Light, crazily narrow shoes

[aaric]

So, I've been trying to get some lightweight narrow shoes.

For reference, the only shoes I've got that properly fit are Sidi 44.5 narrows. So take Sidi (which is supposedly already narrow) and go to their narrow width. Unfortunately, the lightest shoes that Sidi runs in a narrow is the Genius 5.5. I have an old pair. Decent shoe, but a boat anchor comparatively. I had some Mavic Zxellium's that almost worked, but I ended up tearing out the kevlar straps from cinching them down so much, and the heel clamps would bottom out. I loved the lighter weight however.

So I spent about an hour yesterday in the local bike shop, and tried on all their shoes (Giro, Sidi, Mavic, Specialized, etc) and nothing would work without being terribly overtightened, or too short in a width that worked. So, I have a pair of 44.5 Sidi Genius 5.5 narrows on order to tide me over till I can sort out a lighter shoe.

Looking around it appears my choices are Bont Vaypor+, or possibly Specialized S-Works (the website shows a coming soon for the narrow sizes). Looking at ~$400 for either, and am leaning towards the Bont, simply because of the moldability.

Anyone have any other ideas?

[Maximilian]

I'm pretty much in the same situation. I tried the narrow Bont Vaypors on but the were still too wide. They were unmolded but I was with my fitter who have moulded hundreds of Bonts and he didn't think the molding would make them fit. I'm leaning towards the S-Works narrow shoes.

[Tricky1]

Size 48, AAA here. I'm using two pair of Sidi's, Ergo 2 and Carbon lites, but with Align insoles. I had a fitter dial me in and and at the same time correct some alignment issues.

Without the insoles my feet swim in these shoes (and anything else for that matter). The stock insoles are worthless as i'm sure you know, but find an insole system that works for you and you'll find more shoes will fit with them.

[aaric]

Ok, I'll try my luck with Bont. Looks like 6 weeks until I get them though.

[petromyzon]

Please re post, I'm very interested to know how narrow Bont narrows really are!

[113245]

just FYI the bottom of the bonts is basically a carbon tub with the sides coming up. You can really squeeze in the sides when heat moulding so if a narrow is too wide you can probably still reduce it a bit.

[szymonef]

Are new Shimano road shoes models like R107 and R170 narrow? Any thoughts?

[joshvoulters]

It sounds left-field, but I think you should try on the new S-works shoes- I have very narrow, low volume feet and I was shocked that they fit like a glove- really wasn't expecting it given the 2012 shape were way way too big.

[aaric]

Thanks joshvoulters - the s-works shoes were too high volume: both the new and old ones. The width was close. Volume was too much though, as I had to cinch the wires down to the point the front of the shoe started to fold which would create a hot spot on the top of my foot. Specialized's website lists a narrow size as "coming soon", which shows some promise.

I'm still patiently waiting for 1) a pair of sidi genius 5's in narrow as a fallback (bike shop is guesstimating May 25 for them) and 2) a pair of Bont Vaypor+ 44.5 Narrows, which are due May 8-15 (if Bont's 6-7 week estimate is correct)

[davidalone]

I've used shimano shoes (R310) and if their lasts havent changed, I don't think they are narrow. I have wide front feet.

[aaric]

My Vaypor+ shoes showed up via FedEx yesterday.

287g for the left one, 284 for the right (44.5N). I'm a bit disappointed in the weight, but I think they'll end up working out fine.

Pretty sure they are going to work: baked them last night, but ran out of time to get them completely molded, as I am being a bit conservative with the process.

[Oswald]

I've used shimano shoes (R310) and if their lasts havent changed, I don't think they are narrow. I have wide front feet.

For me Shimano fits best, and I also have wide front feet. So indeed they aren't narrow.

[elviento]

Or you could get Giro stage winner to make you a custom pair.

[campbellrae]

Hi all,

Have just bought my GF a road bike and need to get her some shoes. The problem we seem to be having is she has pretty big feet(size 44) but they are very narrow, particularly behind the arch and around the heel. So while most brands 43 or 44 fits length wise, her heel is very loose. Admittedly we have only tried on men's shoes as no shops round here stock such a large women's shoe size. The internal length needs to be > 27.7cm, which puts her in a 44.5 or even 45 in some brands which makes the heel problem even worse.

Do you know of any brand that either tends to be small around the rear of the shoe or offers specific narrow fit shoes? I think Sidi and Mavic should be narrower but I haven't found anywhere locally that stocks them so trying them on hasn't been possible yet.

Unfortunately we are only looking at entry-mid range shoes, preferably less than £100 as she is st starting out. They also need to be compatible with MTB cleats.

So far we have tried:

Bontrager
Shimano
Specialized
Louis Garneau

Thanks,

Campbell.

[lannes]

Usually the italian brands like Sidi, Diadora and Gaerne have a narrow curved last and a small heel cup