# Wide shoes



## telemike (Jun 20, 2011)

Like many older riders, my arches have fallen both ways. I've gone from a size 9 D to a 10.5 EEEE to avoid pain in the front of my feet. This is called a "morton's neuroma" and probably began with Scarpa plastic tele boots many years ago.

I now ride Shimano M 089 shoes in the wide size which is about an EE size. They are OK but are still a bit narrow. I have tried on some Sidi shoes that also come in a wide but they were significantly narrower than the Shimanos not to mention ridiculously expensive. I have some lake boots in a wide that I use with the fat bike on snow but they aren't all that wide either and are huge chunks for general mtb riding.

Does anyone know of any other shoes that come in seriously wide sizes? Thanks in advance. 

67 by the way and still riding, hiking, skiing (if it ever snows again), and paddling.


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## coyotegulch (Jun 25, 2008)

I too am a 4E for width, but have been my whole life. As a kid I wore some seriously ugly shoes. Most of my younger life I have had to go 1-1.5 sizes bigger to move the toe box in shoes. I bought a shoe stretcher about 20 years ago and it does the trick with my MTB and road shoes, and in fact many dress shoes as well.

I have worn the Sidis for the last 20 years. Takes about a two weeks to stretch them to a comfortable width for me. The fact they are leather makes it easier and more effective to stretch. This is the only solution I have found.

Rivo and D2shoe make custom shoes.


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## jrm (Jan 12, 2004)

Mike do you use insoles @ all? Ive found that green superfeet insoles actually widen my specialized shoes a bit by pushing the shoes materials outward.


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## milliesand (Jun 29, 2015)

I've always had wide feet, high instep and arch. I also need a sole that resists twist.
Newbalance 958 or 857 with flats work well, esp if I have to walk a section.

Outside of that, RedWing make great boots.


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## kosmo (Oct 27, 2004)

I have heard tales on the world wide interweb of some ski boot fitters being able to "punch" some kinds of bike shoes to widen them, in the same general manner as ski boots.

Might be worth checking into.

Just goes to show you, nothing good ever came of telemarking!


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## Prophet Julio (May 8, 2008)

I've had my ski boots punched out to fit my 7 toes, normal 5 plus some protrusion on each side. I don't think they can do that to shoes. So I wear Shimano sandals, clip in, for my wide feet. Wool socks and Sugino booties in the winter. I got my third pair about 6 months ago. I even race in them, (50+ of course).


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## eb1888 (Jan 27, 2012)

If all this doesn't work or even really matter go to flats, use the low heels technique and whatever runners with minimal lugs or trailrunners you already find comfortable and enjoy.


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## ArronV (Dec 20, 2015)

For my MTB I use clip on peddles and finding a bike shoe that is wide enough is really tough. I have yet to have one that is truly comfortable. Fast forward to this winter and my first fat bike using flats. I really don't know why I have never really thought of flats for year round. This summer I am going to give them a whirl with comfortable shoes. I will probably loss some efficiency but will take the comfort vs tight pinched shoes and numb toes.


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## k2rider1964 (Apr 29, 2010)

Northwave or Sidi "megas" work for me...


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## Prophet Julio (May 8, 2008)

I took up downhill lift served riding at the behest of my children. Flats are the norm. Most (all) of the best riders in the world (freeride, DH) ride flats. There is a study of the power curve for pedaling that I read, and flats do not penalize you. So if flats work, ride them. I've been considering going flats with pegs since I started this DH thing. It makes you rethink the connection to the bike.


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## k2rider1964 (Apr 29, 2010)

I don't know a single person who buys into the logic that you don't derive more power in your pedal stroke when riding stiff soled clip-ins....including my 17 year old daughter who noticed the difference the first day she ever rode with stiff soled bike shoes. Every person in our group that has tried flats has come back to clip-ins. There is one guy that actually ride legit DH trails, takes 8-10 foot drops and does use flats with that bike.

I do agree that the great majority of DH and Enduro riders are running flats but some of them, like Aaron Gwin who is the very best DH rider in the world, switches back & forth between flats and clip-ins during the race season.



Prophet Julio said:


> I took up downhill lift served riding at the behest of my children. Flats are the norm. Most (all) of the best riders in the world (freeride, DH) ride flats. There is a study of the power curve for pedaling that I read, and flats do not penalize you. So if flats work, ride them. I've been considering going flats with pegs since I started this DH thing. It makes you rethink the connection to the bike.


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## iamkeith (Feb 5, 2010)

Well, darn it. Maybe this is where I belong after all... I'm turning 50 in just a few days, so I decided to finally check out this subforum. And wouldn't you know it? I immediately find a thread to which I can contribute something.

I've had extremely wide feet my entire life but, as the OP suggests, they're spreading out even more with age. Being warm blooded and a river rat from from an alpine climate, I also dislike closed shoes in general. Starting when they were first released, I used Shimano SPD sandals quite happily for years, for everything other than bashing through sagebrush. However, it's been quite a while since even those fit. Damn velcro straps aren't even long enough to overlap, at this point.

Lacking a good spd-compatible shoe, I did switch to flats for a while, learned to appreciate them for many things, and will from now on have them mounted to at least one bike at all times. But I (and my shins) were missing clipless pedals this past year, so I began seeking out new options in earnest. I found a couple that are now working very well:

- *Exustar* sandals are _much_ wider than any other sandals I've found, and very well made. Only problem is that they're not always available in the States. However...

- *Rose* brand sandals - though I haven't tried them - seem to be identical to the Exostars and simply re-branded, and...

- *Nashbar* sandals are aparantly made by Exustar as well. They're not quite as well made or durable, but they're almost as wide (if not identical), and they're much cheaper. Best kept secret out there, in my opinion. I like them enough to buy a couple of spare pairs, because I always worry about availability.

- *FiveTen* "Dirtbag" shoes are pretty wide, and good for platform pedals.


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