# Suggestions for wide clipless mountain biking shoes.



## fiziks (Jul 22, 2016)

I really want to move up to "clipless" pedals, but I have wide feet. Currently, I am just wearing some slip-on Sketchers and a platform pedal. It does the job. But I can tell on my home trainer (which has cage pedals) that I am using more muscles and have a better pedal "stroke". But because of my wide feet, it seems the only shoes I can find on my own are incredibly expensive. I've talked to all the local bike shops. They have decently priced shoes, comparable with [email protected], even. But a $125 shoe in a wide bumps the price up to over $400. Yikes?

Any recommendations for an inexpensive WIDE shoe?

Thanks,
fiz


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## xxl (Mar 19, 2002)

fiziks said:


> I really want to move up to "clipless" pedals, but I have wide feet. Currently, I am just wearing some slip-on Sketchers and a platform pedal. It does the job. But I can tell on my home trainer (which has cage pedals) that I am using more muscles and have a better pedal "stroke". But because of my wide feet, it seems the only shoes I can find on my own are incredibly expensive. I've talked to all the local bike shops. They have decently priced shoes, comparable with [email protected], even. But a $125 shoe in a wide bumps the price up to over $400. Yikes?
> 
> Any recommendations for an inexpensive WIDE shoe?
> 
> ...


SIDI makes a wide mtb. shoe, they call wide "Mega"), called the "Dominator," and I wear them myself. I've been quite happy with them, and would buy them again.

They are a _little_ spendy, but not outrageously so, and if one sniffs around the internetz (as I did), one can score them for cheap (I paid $120 for mine).

Besides, you'll be riding them for years, so you'll forget their initial cost when you weigh it against the many hours of use you'll get.

Sample links, but as I said, if you poke around, you may well do better on price.

https://www.biketiresdirect.com/sea...m=+sidi +dominator&utm_content=Sidi Dominator


https://www.rivercitybicycles.com/product/sidi-dominator-7-mega-wide-18987.htm


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## bvber (Apr 23, 2011)

+1 for Sidi wide shoes. I bought mine on clearance sale online for under $110. Shopping around helps, especially for previous year new old stock.


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## krisdrum (Oct 29, 2007)

Lake and Shimano make a wide shoe at a variety of price ranges as well. This spring I picked up a pair of Shimano's for under $100 shipped that were last year's 2nd tier shoe. Shop the clearance sections.


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## rudge66 (Apr 1, 2019)

I ride several Fizik's shoes and Specialized. All Shimano SPL-L.
My foot is medium to narrow width with a high arch.
I think Fizik quality and design are great.
What is you height weight .
I don't think Fizik or Rapha products are a fit for you.
Some brands cater to a specific function .
...odd your member name is fiziks... huh?


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## krisdrum (Oct 29, 2007)

rudge66 said:


> I ride several Fizik's shoes and Specialized. All Shimano SPL-L.
> My foot is medium to narrow width with a high arch.
> I think Fizik quality and design are great.
> What is you height weight .
> ...


SPD-SL are road specific cleats. OP is asking specifically about MTB shoes. Two different animals - three bolt vs. two.


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## rudge66 (Apr 1, 2019)

krisdrum said:


> SPD-SL are road specific cleats. OP is asking specifically about MTB shoes. Two different animals - three bolt vs. two.


yeah yeah... yea.. wink

Easy now , I know only about my feet and my bike.
I dont ride Mt. bikes nor there shoes. 

Let's keep people on road bikes and road shoes. 
I see no support for this.

There's a bit of a SandBox consensus on this Forum 
that road shoes and pedals that are Shimano SPD_L 
are unwelcome .


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## Coolhand (Jul 28, 2002)

*Moderators Note*



rudge66 said:


> yeah yeah... yea.. wink
> 
> Easy now , I know only about my feet and my bike.
> I dont ride Mt. bikes nor there shoes.
> ...


This is your final low quality post for a while.


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## krisdrum (Oct 29, 2007)

Coolhand said:


> This is your final low quality post for a while.


:thumbsup:


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## bvber (Apr 23, 2011)

I wonder if "_for a while_" means temporary ban. :skep:


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

bvber said:


> I wonder if "_for a while_" means temporary ban. :skep:


Usually 2 weeks IIRC.


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## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

I've got mountain bike pedals on all five of my road bikes. Andy Hampsten recommended it 20 years ago when I did his bike tour in Tuscany. I commute a lot, or I used to, mountain bike shoes are great if you have to walk any distance. There's no shame in using them on a road bike. 

I've got wide feet and buy Shimano shoes -- they come in wide sizes. Not sure if the lower end ones come in wide sizes. Don't be afraid to spend what seems like a lot of money on a pair of shoes. They last forever -- literally pennies per mile. I think carbon soles are worth the extra cost -- they're a lot stiffer. More expensive shoes tend to have better closure systems too.


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## krisdrum (Oct 29, 2007)

pmf said:


> I've got mountain bike pedals on all five of my road bikes. Andy Hampsten recommended it 20 years ago when I did his bike tour in Tuscany. I commute a lot, or I used to, mountain bike shoes are great if you have to walk any distance. There's no shame in using them on a road bike.
> 
> I've got wide feet and buy Shimano shoes -- they come in wide sizes. Not sure if the lower end ones come in wide sizes. Don't be afraid to spend what seems like a lot of money on a pair of shoes. They last forever -- literally pennies per mile. I think carbon soles are worth the extra cost -- they're a lot stiffer. More expensive shoes tend to have better closure systems too.


Agree 100%, I've never owned road specific shoes and pedals and have been riding mostly road bikes for 20+ years. Never felt like the shoes/pedals were holding me back.


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

krisdrum said:


> Agree 100%, I've never owned road specific shoes and pedals and have been riding mostly road bikes for 20+ years. Never felt like the shoes/pedals were holding me back.


Agree 100% here too. I tried road specific pedals/shoes once and hated them. Went over to MTB pedals and shoes and never went back. The greater float on MTB pedals is more forgiving on knees and the metal cleats take forever to wear out unlike the plastic road cleats.


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

All told, I continue to prefer road shoes and pedals, this despite having an excellent Shimano MTB shoe/pedal combo. No matter how much I adjust things, I can never eliminate the sideways rocking that afflicts the MTB shoe/pedal combo. My MTB shoes' soles may be macho as hell but I still feel the hot spot when when I really bear down. By contrast, when I'm on the road bike, I never feel anything beneath my feet but my S-Works road shoe insole. When clicked in to my Mavic road pedals, everything feels far more secure and, for want of a better word, benign. Plus, I get lots more lateral rotation to keep my knees happy.


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## fiziks (Jul 22, 2016)

I appreciate the advice. I will see if I can find some SIDI Dominator Megas in my size. I do ride a road bike and I know other bikers that put MTB pedals on their road bikes. I like the idea of being able to get off the bike and be able to walk somewhere.

There are pros and cons to both road shoes and MTB shoes. To each their own.


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## gfz84 (Jun 9, 2020)

Until recently I was using Tomasso's Montagna shoes which were decent and under $100 (on Amazon). If you have wide feet they would work for you. For me personally, I wanted a more road shoe-like glove fit without sacrificing the walkabiity aspect and a stiffer sole for less wastage of power so I moved on to the Shimano RX-8. Now at $250 for a pair its an expensive shoe but I have treated like a long-term investment (and implicitly committed to having SPD pedals for a long-time).


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## JimPacNW (Jun 21, 2018)

My toe area widened a few years ago, apparently that happens to some people in their 50s, here's my experience.

Sidi Mega are pretty wide, and a very similar fit to Lake Wide, also similar length to Specialized wide (although Spec don't seem to be quite as wide, mostly just in the toe area). Shimano is about one size smaller in my experience than Sidi, Lake, or Specialized: if you use a 47 in Sidi you would need a 47.5 or 48 in Shimano XC-7, and Shimano does not seem to be as wide as the others. 
I've got Lake road and Mtb shoes, I've been able to widen my toe 'hot spot' in my non-wide Lake mtbs with cheap little $7 shoe wideners (threaded middle, plastic bits on each end), my wide toes may be more challenging than your regular wide feet if you have more regular narrow toes. My Lake road shoes are Wide.
I do prefer road shoes for road bike, the pedal platform is wider and seems to be more solid and comfortable than spd. - I did recently develop some knee pain from Ultegra 6800 pedals that are known to be tightly sprung, but the knee is feeling better with a 105 pedal. 

I would recommend Lake or Sidi to start with, and Lake used to have a pretty good printable sizing paper/tool on their website (again, Sidi and Lake fit very similar in my size 47). 
For road I've been using Lake CX161, which is their cheaper shoe, but other than them being a bit heavy, they've been really great for 2 years. I've got some Sidi Dragon 4s for the mtb, those see terrible abuse in the winters and are holding up quite well after 3 or 4 years, - you'll get a lot of years from a good (expensive) shoe, so your price per year is actually pretty low for a good shoe. 
In my experience, Lake is just a bit more comfortable than Sidi, but both are good. 
For inexpensive/wide/comfy, look for a Lake cx161 wide.


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