Lowest volume road shoes for narrow, shallow feet wanted.

[sungod]

Thanks guys! What thicker/custom insoles do you recommend?
I did some quick research and found that: https://www.footbalance.com/custom-insoles/performance but it still looks thin:(

try the specialized bg ones, they are high density foam and take a bit more volume than the minimal insole provided in many shoes

[TobinHatesYou]

If I use an off the shelf footbed, I default to the blue Specialized BG ones. I don't think the thickness really changes between the different colors. It's mostly the arch support and size of the metatarsal button.

I had custom footbeds molded by my fitter.

[welchy]

I have relatively narrow feet compared to most, so far I have found the following:

-Bont Vaypor Narrow - Good
-Giro Empire SLX - Very Good but still bunch near toe box
-S Works Sub 6 - best by an absolute mile
-Sidi Wires - Not so good

[hlvd]

I’ve similar feet, got a pair of Bontrager size 47 xxx shoes which are narrow and Bontrager insoles to support arch and reduce volume.
I’d suggest getting insoles with an arch support as without them I could never get the shoe tight enough when closed.
I was using Specialized green but now use Bontrager blue. I can have the fasteners quite loose and makes no difference as my foot is supported by the insoles, no unwanted movement .

[dmp]

-Sidi Wires - Not so good

Interesting- I have B width feet (US sizing- low volume, narrow forefoot and heel) ) and the Wires work well for me. Sidi does make a specific narrow fit, but not in their highest end shoes.

[robertbb]

Italian shoes in general are pretty good for small/narrow feet.

For my narrow (size 44) feet I've had:

Lake CX301 (fit nicely, but absolutely horrendous heel lift)
Sidi Shot (fit nicely but just didn't do it for me in terms of usability)
Giro Factor Techlace (Using these now, and absolutely love them)

Had to try 3 pairs of Giro's, all in a 44, to find ones that fit properly for both feet. Hand made means there are small variations in last length and toebox shape/size, and only a few mm in either direction can be the difference between fits like a glove, fits like a loose tshirt, or fits like a chastidy belt.

[pdlpsher1]

I ran an experiment today. Instead of getting a new thicker insole I made a thin ‘spacer’ out of a Domino’s pizza box it’s corrugated cardboard so I crushed the middle and flattened the cardboard. The end result is a 1mm thick spacer to be placed under the existing insole. Although it’s only 1mm thick it made a big difference in reducing the total internal volume of the shoe. I took a pic comparing the difference. The right shoe is without the spacer and the left shoe has the spacer. I really like the new setup after doing a long ride with it. Total weight added is 14g.








Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wheelbuilder]

Your feet aren't THAT narrow pdlpshr.........I have Wires as well in size 47 and can get the two halves of the uppers to almost touch eachother when tightened down.

[TobinHatesYou]

Yeah, there's a difference between narrow and low-volume, though usually people with narrow feet also have low-volume feet. My feet are only slightly narrow, but have a very "low" cross-section, so they are very low in volume

[pdlpsher1]

Well, I don't really know what my exact problem is since I don't ever put my foot beside someone else's to compare. All I know is I have to tighten the shoe a lot so my foot doesn't feel too loose in the shoe. After adding the spacer I feel my foot is in more uniform contact with the shoe. My shoe size is a 41 or a 7.5 U.S. Before I read this thread I never gave it a second thought about shoe fitting. So thanks to the thread I'm now more aware of how to improve the fit.

[wheelsONfire]

I need a tight heel and room for outside for my big toes.
Have really difficult to find any shoes (cycling or ordinary shoes) fitting these freaky feets.
Almost always need a longer shoe to fit me.
I have 285mm long feets, but always end up with 46-46.5 size.
What brand of shoes would possibly fit me best?

[muti]

I have similar problem(narrow heel but need room for my big toe)and I found comfort on Suplest shoes.I wear 46 and on Sidis I always ended buying 47 because of the toe box(46.5 is almost the same with 46 since they use the same outsole length with 46).Suplest 46 are spot on and due to their fit I don't have to tight them up so much.Just for comparison,Fizik r1 are good lengthwise,but they feel "big"overall.After Suplest for people with the same problems I would rank Mavics(46.2/3 in my case).
Note:Both Suplest and Mavic are relatively flat(not Nortwave flat,but flat nevertheless).Their outsole is a little bit less contoured than Sidi and certainly less than Shimano,Specialized.

[otoman]

I have skinny low volume feet as well with high arches. Size 47.

I cam from Sidi Wires which I was only somewhat happy with. Always hotspots and heel slippage despite cranking down the heel cup mechanism.

S-Works 7 did not fit well at all, I tried them in at the shop.

I agree about the Giro SLX, those fit like a glove and I have used them for a couple years with custom orthotics.

I have used the high end Shimano road shoe here most recently - excellent fit when paired with a Specialized green (high arch) footbed. The “shark skin” fabric in the heel eliminates heel slippage. The Boa string can be looped in different ways over the forefoot to provide broader compression if needed.

I’d recommend either of those two with the previously mentioned custom cycling orthotic or just a Specialized or similar brand insole/footbed to take up some space.

[wheelsONfire]

I have similar problem(narrow heel but need room for my big toe)and I found comfort on Suplest shoes.I wear 46 and on Sidis I always ended buying 47 because of the toe box(46.5 is almost the same with 46 since they use the same outsole length with 46).Suplest 46 are spot on and due to their fit I don't have to tight them up so much.Just for comparison,Fizik r1 are good lengthwise,but they feel "big"overall.After Suplest for people with the same problems I would rank Mavics(46.2/3 in my case).
Note:Both Suplest and Mavic are relatively flat(not Nortwave flat,but flat nevertheless).Their outsole is a little bit less contoured than Sidi and certainly less than Shimano,Specialized.

muti, interesting read!
I also use Mavic 46 2/3, Giro 46.5, Northwave 45.
Recently bought Shimano s-phyre rc9 in 46.5 but these came out too long.
Swapped to 46 and it's same length as Giro 46.5.
I have wondered about Suplest. So these are .5 smaller than Giro just as Shimano.
Good to know.
BTW, my feets are 285mm long

[muti]

@wheelsONfire,my feet are 291mm and 46 are spot on(listed as 295mm).Observing the sizes of your previous shoes,except Mavic,on all other brands I consistently wear half a size bigger than you(Shimano 46.5,Northwave 45.5).On Mavic 462/3 I experienced some big toe rub but it was not disturbing due to the softness of the material on the toe cup.So I think you would be best served by 45.5 on Suplest,which to my knowledge does not exist.The 45 (286mm)would be an edgy fit.In any case,I think you should contact them first,they usually reply quite fastly.I hope that helps,cheers!