I have been wearing the same pair of specialized cycling shoes for almost 7 years now and they are way over due for replacement. But finding something to replace them has not been very easy. I initially went to local-ish bike fitter who is highly respected. Of all the appropriate options she had in stock only the specialized Torch 3 and Sworks 7 felt any good on my feet. She also carries Shimano shoes buy I wasn’t a fan of how they felt. During the shoe fitting process she also informed me that I have high insteps which finally explains why the shoe laces seem short on every pair of shoes I have ever owned…..Anyway, I left with the Torch 3s and a new pair of blue specialized foot beds. I got several trainer rides in using them and I had some pretty bad spots & toe numbness. I returned them and gave the Sworks 7 a try. Did one Zwift race in them and new they had to go back. They fit like slippers, no hot spots or toe numbness, but they didn’t have enough volume for my high insteps. After about 30 minutes on the bike my foot swelled a bit and the mid foot portion of the shoe felt like it was going to explode. Those went back and now I was looking into other options.

Lake shoes were recommended to me and I picked up a pair of CX241’s directly from Lake. I have not ridden the Lakes yet because once I mount cleats to them I own them, and at just under $400 I need to be certain about these shoes before I decide to keep them and finally ride in them. My initial impression of the Lake shoes when first putting them on was wow, these are more comfortable than some of my casual shoes. They just didn’t feel and fit like I think a pair of performance cycling shoes should fit. I love how much room they have in the toe box, but it also feels like there is a little too much room in the mid foot and heel, like the shoes are just a little too wide at that part of the foot. I only feel the shoe upper in contact with the top of my mid foot, not the sides of my feet like with my old shoes and I am worried there might be a little too much play in the shoe when putting down any sort of power (not that I have much). My inclination is to send them back, but what next?

One option would be to try something else in the Lake line up that uses their narrower race last such as the CX332. But the Tow box in that show is much narrower and I am not sure if that’s the way to go

The next option would be to give the Sworks 7 wide a try. It was explained to me that sole of the shoe isn’t actually wider, the upper just has a little more material making it more like a high volume shoe that should work with my high instep.