I am looking around at some new XC shoes. Well really just MTB shoes because I wear them for everything.
I am considering some Shimano shoes (XC903 S-phyre) because I can get a decent deal on them.
Is their sizing pretty accurate?
I have been using some Bonty XXX in size 46 for a few years now. they are just a smidge narrow, and I have to just leave the front BOA a little loser than I like for them to be comfortable.
Prior to that I had some SIDIs in size 46 that fit great.
TLDR: if Bontrager XXX mtb shoes feel narrow, do I need the regular or wide XC903 Shimanos? I know that Caley’s review said they feel a bit wider than previous models.
I have the XC903 regular width and they’re about average width with a pointier toe box than I’d like. I previously had the XC902 in wide and they were very voluminous but the last/sole wasn’t any wider - this is how Shimano does wide shoes.
If your feet are really wide, wide Shimano shoes won’t really do it for you because the lasts are the same and your feet will overhang the edges. They’re technically high volume, not wide.
I think in length they are fairly true but the pointy toe box means that my smaller toes sometimes hit the front when getting bounced around the rough stuff. I found them to run a bit smaller than Specialized if that’s any help.
I feel like Shimano’s S-Phyres are low-volume compared to some others I’ve tried. In fact, I got the wide S-Phyres as a result. The wides certainly do not feel very voluminous to me. I think these are the RC-902s.
Interesting comment. My feet are E width with a high instep and I get on with wide Shimanos quite well - my XC502s certainly aren’t high volume (the toe box particularly is actually quite low volume), but they are plenty wide enough.
As a comparison, I previously had to go with wide Lake shoes to get enough width, but I find the wide Shimanos to be every bit as comfortable as those now.
FWIW, Quoc tell me their Gran Tourer XC comes up quite wide. I run their Escape off-road shoe which isn’t wide but does ‘give’ reasonably well - when I asked how the GT XC compares they said it runs notably wider.
Otherwise, Bont, but try before you buy. I say that because they size up differently to other shoes, and to each other, to the point where I have the Riot road in one size and the Vaypor road in another size (44 and 44.5, but I forget which model is in which size). I find the Asian fit toe box to be much better than the standard wide toe box too - the rest of the shoe can be molded, but the toe box can’t, and I have w*nky long second & third toes which don’t suit more typical shoe lasts.
Bont for me was a very long process of trial and error (and money) trying different sizes by mail order until I finally arrived at something that worked. I don’t think I’d recommend to most people unless they can try on in a store. Their latest Vaypor SL seem more pliant and forgiving, so maybe that’s changed.
I sized down a half size when I switched to wide Shimano shoes. The last is a bit too pointy for my foot shape, but going wider and shorter worked perfectly.
I found Shimano fits big, or the two shoes I have purchased. The one pair I just don’t like even after getting the correct size and the sandals (because you have to Hipster sometimes) is about a size too big for me.
If money is NOT an issue, Lake has very good wide shoes. I do not have a pair, but my friend does and they allow him to keep cycling.
This now quite late and you probably bought the shoes already but my experience with S-Phyre shoes is completely different. They run very small for me and I wear a full size bigger than in other shoes.
