yeahdanny

Hey all, new to the forum and new to cycling. i plan on doing a 14 mile ride to/from work twice a week, and am under the impression it would be a good idea to get some decent shoes for the amount of riding i plan to do.

first question is regarding fit... i have very flat feet, and am starting with no basis as to brands, so any recommendation as to what to start looking at would be awesome!

second, should i stick with the toestrap/clip in pedals that came on my bike, or should i look into a clipless pedal/shoe combo?

finally, should i look for a pretty snug fit and expect some stretching of the upper material, or do bike shoes generally hold their shape?

thanks!

TCR

I would stay away from anything that remotely look like these. Just sayin.

10 Wheels

I use toe clips No Straps.
Rockport Walking Shoes

yeahdanny

well dang, guess i should return them. ronald was such a good salesman....

Shimagnolo

As someone who has had flat feet all of my life, but never knew it was a problem until I had to have surgery on the left foot for Hallus Valgus (Bunion), I'm going to tell you what I wish someone had told me before I was 20:

GET ORTHOTICS MADE FOR YOUR SHOES!!!

*After* the surgery, I had a prescription pair made by the surgeon. I move them to whatever shoe/boot I am wearing, and that includes my cycling shoes. The only exception is my ski boots for which I had a custom-molded footbed made.

f4rrest

I have flat feet too. Used my gym shoes with toe clips for a few months last year and got tendonitis. When I finally gave in and got road pedals (SPD-SL) and Specialized BG Comps, I couldn't believe how much more support the hard floor of the shoe helps to support. I'm still not totally over the tendonitis yet, unforturnately.

My feet are also narrow, and the low-end Specialized shoes fit them really well. I also run Superfeet black soles in them.

yeahdanny

f4rrest, i just looked into them, however on the conversion chart it says i need a 43.5 in euro, as i have 10.5 in US, however i have not seen that size listed anywhere. is it uncommon to find half sizes like that?

f4rrest

I but tons of stuff online, but went to the bike shop to buy the shoes. Fit is important, and these were only $80. As to your question, I'm not sure. All I know is mine are 48, and I normally wear 12 to 12-1/2 US sized shoes.

Beaker

Another vote for Specialized. I have a pair of the Pro road shoes, and learned that I pronate on my right foot more than the left. I also got their inserts/wedges and alternative insoles that allow you to customize each shoe to the needs of your feet. Really helped me with alignment.

yogi13

Another vote for specialized from a flat-footed lad. The BG models (which I think is all of them) have a bit of a shim worked into the design to correct for pronation. I wear size 10 1/2 US, got size 44 in specialized, and they fit. You should try the fit in store, especially as specialized stuff only goes on sale on the web on their website.

I'd definitely go clipless on the pedals.

JSWhaler

Look to northwave as well. I have large flat feet and their shoes fit me quite well. I did find that their sizing ran a bit on the small side though.

kyriefurro

I don't have flat feet, per se, but I have weak arches. I ended up getting a pro cleat fitting yesterday to try to deal with the problem. I guided towards a Specialized shoe because it's got some decent built in arch support, and then we added a shim into one of them for extra support. If that doesn't work, Specialized also makes inserts with varying degrees of arch. If I remember right, they run about $45 at my LBS.