Almost two years have gone by since my original post of Tales of Woe From a Big Foot Cyclist - Part 1 post and my search for a comfortable cycling shoe that fits my wide feet might finally be over... at least as far as road shoes are concerned.

TL;DR

The Lake CX201 with the Comfort Plus last is a cycling shoe without equal. For cyclist that wear minimalist shoes off the bike and / or have wide, strong feet and splayed toes, the Lake CX201 is likely the first shoe you should try.*

* I have no affiliation with Lake cycling shoes and have purchased all shoes with my own money... Lots and lots of my own money.

The Long Story...

Having started the transition to actual foot-shaped shoes (Altra, Lems, Xero, Vivobarefoot, etc.) when off my bike, my already wide feet have gotten even wider which only exacerbated the issue I've been having finding a cycling shoe that fits. My Specialized Torch 2.0 wide road shoes no longer fit and my Lake MX237s bother my toes on both feet due to the rigid and pointy toe area. I have bunions at the base of my large and small toe on both feet, likely due to a lifetime of cramming my wide feet into narrow toe box shoes. As a result, my toe joints ache after a long ride due to the rigid cycling shoes not only pushing my toes unnaturally inward but also upward. I have no such toe issues when wearing minimalist shoes off the bike.

I an act of desperation to find a shoe that makes my toes happy, I ordered 5 different pairs of Lake shoes from BikeShoes.com (another company I have no affiliation with but highly recommend.) All of which were the wide models as my existing MX237s are regular width and I hoped that the wide width might provide a tad more toe room... which proved to be false.

From left to right in the photo below: Lake MX237 regular width (my current shoes), Lake CX238-X wide (road version of MX238-X), Lake MX177-X (offroad version of CX177-X), Lake CX201, Lems Primal 2 street shoe, and my ugly foot:



As I hope one can see in the photo, all of the shoes are very wide at what would be the base of one's toes. However, only the CX201 has a natural shaped toe box that is nearly identical to my favorite daily driver street shoes, the Lems Primal 2. In addition, the toe area on the CX201 is made of a very soft and pliable material that almost feels like a sock. If you have lumpy feet like I do, this is a blessing compared to the very rigid toe area of the other Lake shoes and of most cycling shoes in general.

In addition to a natural shaped toe box, another feature I like in the CX201 is that there is very little rise in the toe area. As the photo below shoes, the CX201's toe hits the wall at almost the same point my street shoes do. My current MX237s (far left) have quite a bit of toe rise and forcing my toes into that position for hours on end causes my big toe joints to ache. The MX177s (middle) have a surprising amount of toe lift which is likely due to the thicker plastic last versus the carbon sole the other shoes have.



Upon reading other's reviews of the CX201, many have mentioned that the heal area is very wide and loose-fitting for some. The heal is indeed wider on the CX201 than it is on all the other models I have. When the BOA laces are tight, I don't have any noticeable heal slip, but I think a good improvement in a version 2 of the CX201 would be to have a heat moldable heal cup and "cat tongue" material like the other high-end Lake road shoes have.



One more "plus" of the CX201 is that the toe area is extremely breathable, making these great warm weather or indoor shoes. It's currently winter here in Wisconsin while I'm typing this which means I'll be indoors riding Zwift for at least the next few months. Having a ventilated indoor riding shoe is a welcome change from my leather MX237s which make my feet sweat profusely.

The arch on the CX201s is quite low which happens to work well for my feet. Should you have high arches, you can always compensate with custom insoles.

Is there anything not to like about the CX201s?

• I'm guessing that a lot of people won't like the look of the mesh toe area. When fully tightened on my feet, the mesh bunches-up and looks a little weird, but it's a trade-off I'm willing to deal with to have shoes that fit.
• The shoes are only suitable for warm outdoor or indoor riding due to the highly ventilated mesh toe area. If you ride in the rain, cold, or dirty trails, I don't think these shoes will work for you.
• The wide heal area might not work for some rider's feet.
• No offroad version (i.e., SPD 2-hole cleat version). This is a bummer as I'd actually prefer to ride with SPD cleated shoes so I can walk like a human off the bike. I sure hope Lake makes an offroad "MX201" in the near future with the Comfort Plus last to compliment the CX201. Lake will introduce an offroad MX201 counterpart to the CX201 in January of 2023, according to their Facebook page.