Bike Fitter Ranks Cycling Shoes Worst to Best

Choosing the right cycling shoe can be a difficult task. Here's popular shoe brands ranked by bvike fitter James Thomas
Check out James' new YouTube channel here: @Bikefitjames

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[Cederien]

Great start, can we now please get part two with MTB shoes? I'm sure a lot of us are not using road shoes for either gravel bikes or bike packing, hence I think it makes sense for this channel to cover MTB shoes in this instance, even if otherwise more road centric. (Personally I've move over to SPD and MTB Shoes completely, mostly because I didn't want to bother with two pedal systems and shoe types, given that one type already covered 3/4 of my usage anyways.)

[albertomorales]

Your comment on the non-neutral stance of the specialized shoes and your suggestion to use a wedge to bring them back to neutral is spot on! I had gotten used to having pain on my right foot, all along the outside of my foot; however, after placing a wedge on the cleat the other way around, to lift the outer side of the shoe, omg, what a difference! no more pain. Thanks!!

[Oversroadie]

Lol - My S-Works are the best shoes Ive ever had. Fantastic. The "neutrality" causes absolutely zero issues. Even after 7 hours sportives, my feet, knees etc are all absolutely fine.

[AndresGarcia-huij]

James hates both my saddle and my shoes! But the Pro Stealth fits my bum perfectly, and Specialized shoes match my feet so well, that I have their shoes for every discipline I ride (admittedly compared only to Giro, the other brand I've owned)

[jrldude]

I've been cycling for 30 years, and have only worn Specialized shoes since they fit me the best AND I have bowed legs. I started out just MTB'ing, but have road biked for 20+ years. I also played hockey for 20+ years, so it's amazing my knees and hips haven't blown out yet.

[spaceburge]

Been for fits, bought shoes and bikes with Bicycle. I am able to put out more power, for longer periods on various terrain thanks to the time spent with James and the team.

If you don’t need the external support to get comfortable riding or help and advice to buy the right bike, power to you. When I’m making big purchasing decisions however, I’ll always call these guys.

[smudger]

Lake 238 advocate here as well. My bike fitter did a great job of properly reviewing my feet, and these were the stand out choice and have never looked back since.

[crypto_que]

I started doing longer rides this year & my feet started hurting really bad. I switched from my super expensive Giro Empire SLXs to my “cheap” Shimano [nomenclature]-E WIDE shoes. I usually wear the wide shoes with thick socks ONLY in Winter. Switching shoes allows me to add ~20miles more to the ride. Also DITCHING the Pro Stealth saddle was the best thing EVER! After a few hundred Ks the minimally gripped surface wears off and one just slides around, it like the SLXs are for racing short distances not for endurance riding. Moral of the story don’t go blowing money on all the latest kit, when comfort is the name of the game in the long run.

[jamesmckenzie]

I'll agree with the wearing SIDI too long. But when you are spending 300USD for a pair, they better last a long time.

[briannicholson]

Great review and for me I recently got a bike fit and also during rides got a line of pain on the outside of my right foot with a pair of sidi shoes, especially on long rides.

I now have the Lake 238 in the wide and no more pain...😊👍

[joekawasaki]

Lake cx238! After Fizik r1's & then Shimano S-Phyre's both strangled the ball of my foot almost to the point of breaking, I was guided towards the 238 in regular width to give room to my regular width feet!

[hmar]

Switched from Bont to Lake, and am so much happier. If your foot is not only wide, but splays when you step down, as mine does, Bont's "bathtub" sole design can create problems. That part is not heat moldable. Lakes are so much more forgiving, and totally worth the cost for my feet.

[smdnl]

Sells Lake in his shop, what's the best shoe mate? Lake 👍

[mornenaude]

Personally love both my S-Works pairs. Can’t see myself buying anything else in terms of a shoe

[BigPlanker]

Love the S-Works shoes. Have been wearing them for road and gravel for YEARS! No problems whatsoever.

[astaines]

As an owner of 3 pairs of specialized shoes, imagine my grimace in the opening seconds of this video 😂. Anyway, I love the this type of content and respect James’s knowledge of what works and what doesn’t for the majority of riders out there!

[shepshape]

I had a pair of the Giro tech lace shoes, and he's right, they were awesome. I actually had them for about three years before one of the boas broke. I called Giro to see if there was any way to fix the boa, and do you know what they did? They sent me a pair of brand new Empire shoes to replace them. And yes, I told them how long I had the Tech Lace shoes. Amazing customer service, and I happen to love these Empire shoes. I live in Florida and the fact that they are so light and breathe so well is a major plus. Also, why would I need to retie my shoes while I'm riding? I'm not a pro racer, so I don't need to tighten them for the sprint. They're sharp looking shoes, super comfortable, and I love them.

[robinseibel]

Lake 238s. Best fitting cycling shoes I've ever worn. I wore Specialized shoes for a while and hated them. I tried Sidis, and that was a huge mistake. Wore a pair of Shimano's but they were just too narrow. Giro Factor ACCs were pretty good but couldn't match my Lake shoes.

[ryanS]

Used many brands or shoes. Sworks, Bontrager, Shimano, Lakes, Giant and so on. The one I love the most that works for me that’s comfortable, carbon sole and just supports so well is VeloKicks. Ordered them and I couldn’t be happier.

[donjuandeaustria]

The shoes are cool and all, but I wouldn't mind a short focused on that Stelbel, what a beauty!