hueyhoolihan

just bought a new pair of cycling shoes. specialized i know. "tahoe" model i think. cleats are recessed.

my previous shoes i had no issue with (shimano) but were showing signs of wear so i bought these new ones.

i have about 200 miles on them and i ride about 20 miles every day. i'm no monster, but have been riding about 30 years and have toured extensively and lived in three or four cities using a bike as my only transportation.

they are bruising my feet in the cleat area (crank brothers pedals and cleats).

the main difference between the new (bruising) shoes and the old (non-bruising shoes) is that once one removes the insole, the old (non-bruising) shoes have a smooth surface, whereas the new (bruising shoes) have a cutout about 3mm deep that allows a metal plate (that the cleats screw into) to be removed and/or shifted fore and aft. there is a thin, completely ineffective, piece of material provided that supposedly fills the 3mm deep rectangle.

maybe the sole is just too flimsy, or maybe the 3mm deep depression is causing the bruising or maybe a combination or maybe something else altogether, but if something isn't done these shoes will be history.

i went back to the nice lbs where i bought these and they seemed willing to "try" something to fix them when i can bring them in and leave them.

BTW the shoes came with a thin piece of rubber on the sole covering the place where the cleats attached. i cut it out, then mounted the cleats. that is the proper way to do it, isn't it?

thanks,
huey

igknighted

The Tahoe is a shoe designed for cycling as well as hiking/walking, so it's supposed to be very flexible. In order to achieve that, it really isn't a great cycling shoe. It's a decent compromise if you need that, but for a pure cycling shoe, I'd avoid it. I wouldn't blame the issue on Specialized shoes in general, as they are generally considered some of the best shoes out there for the money, but rather on the type of shoe you picked (ie, why isn't my road bike good on singletrack!). Specialized usually stands behind their products, so you can probably exchange them for a different style (sport/elite/comp MTB or Road should both work with SPD cleats), so I'd go back to the shop you bought them from and see what they can do.

If you really want to try to try to fix the current shoes, try putting the stiffest insert you can into the shoes. Perhaps even try a firm piece all through the forefoot to spread out the pressure.