Hi folks. I’m converting from SPD to SPD-SL this spring, so I’ll be needing some new shoes. I’ve been using Pearl Izumi and the fit is pretty spot on. I am making some assumptions that the low end shoes I have now with extra flex and padding are getting a comfort bonus compared to “good” shoes, but I think if I could find a shoe with similar width, toe box shape, arch, ect, I’ll be in pretty good shape.
My question is, of the higher end shoe brands can anyone tell me which might trend towards fits similar to Pearl Izumi All Roads? I’ll be trying on shoes before I make any purchases obviously, but I’ll likely need to travel to find bike shops with items in stock, so I’d like to be as judicious with that as possible. Thanks!
If you’re good with the fit of Pearls, you should be pretty good with specialized and shimano shoes I’ve used comfortably. Bontrager has a comfort 90 day comfort garranty, which is awesome if you’re in between sizes.
Shoes are definitely something you need to try in person, I’m a 42 in Sidi road shoes and 44 in Shimano MTB shoes, normally wear a 43 / US 9.5 in sneakers… minefield!!
I don’t necessarily disagree but I have had good luck ordering 2 pairs of shoes online from brands I had never tried on previously - Bont and Lake. Both fit well and were easy to measure as per their site specs. I could not find either locally not even within a 4-5 hour round trip drive so I bit the bullet and luckily it worked out well.
