loimpact

So I recently bought the Specialized Expert Road shoe. I absolutely love the shoe except for one annoyance. There is some rather distinct stitching up near the top of the tongue and on the inside of the left foot (again, up near the top where that heavy stitching is) gives me something between an itch and a pain. I don't know why the tongue isn't a little more padded in the first place, but to put stiff stitching in there is just weird to me.

I noticed this on the Comp Road as well as I had to use those for sizing when I ordered the Experts. FWIW, the right one doesn't bug me as much. It's still there but more subtle. I'm tempted to put a strip of cloth tape under both tongue as that point but I also feel like I'm fixing a problem that shouldn't be there.

Anyway.....just wondering if anybody else has noticed similar.

Juan Foote

I own that set of shoes, although an earlier year....I can't say that my foot shell notices this issue at all on my left foot....

MakiNn

Have the exact same shoe, never really noticed it either just the ****ty tongue that doesn't like to lie straight and always get pushed off to one side

loimpact

Thanks for the feedback!

My buddy has 1 year earlier and I'm gonna check his & see if he has that stiff stitching on his. (Maybe older ones didn't?)

And funny MakiNn you say about the tongue sliding because I can usually relieve the annoyance when I loosen the Boa and slide the tongue toward the outside of my foot and cinch it down again. Only problem is it only lasts so long as the tongue (at least on mine) always centers itself after a few miles.

MakiNn

That is funny as mine is completely opposite andI even tighten the shoe up a lot to try to prevent it

redfooj

Absolutely yes

Have a pair of Sidis Kaos... Tongue is finished with a serration and bloom-cut -- seems common on bike shoes -- and combined with relatively stiff leather it digs into my feet.

Insanely stupid design... The shoes are for sale...

Replacement pair of mavic ultimate has lined tongue and smooth round finish and feels much more comfortable

Darth Steele

put black tape over the stitching

thin_concrete

^^ or moleskin.

loimpact

Ahhhh.....very smart!! I actually have some somewhere. (Nice & sticky)

I might go thru a few things to try them out.

And sorry to hear about the Sidi's, redfooj. I didn't try on any Sidis at the time, but they are one of the other folks who heavily use "Boa" which I really wanted in a shoe. Hopefully I can remedy this!

Thanks again, gang!!!

rmfnla

Carbonfiberboy 

My new Sidis came with a very stiff top edge of the tongue. I cut slots in it about every 5/16". That worked great. Might not work with your heavy stitching.

loimpact

Well, the moleskin was a significant help!! Believe it or not, I was actually able to still feel it after about 40 miles today but it's much improved!

I still can't believe they didn't design these things entirely void of ANY potentially irritating stitching. If nothing else, an overly padded tongue would be a "no brainer" quick & easy solution. (a la running shoes) and the stitching would be recessed well within. But, alas, that is probably too simple.

There's also the thought that they take the "stiff/rigid/hard" idea a little too far and think that people want it everywhere.

Anyway, might double-down on the moleskin with another strip crossing another direction if I continue to feel it.

Thanks again!!!!!