Now I wanna bolt some SPD-SL cleats to some bowling shoes.
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BikeFitBro recommended Lake MX 237 MTB shoes may fit my feet well. Any experience with Lake? I’ve only ever worn Shimano slippers before
I’ve got pretty long, skinny feets and lakes have been fine for me in winter boot form.
Only shoe I bottomed out the lacing on was the newer pearl izumi project shoes with the double boa. Probably could have put in a bigger insole to take up some space, but I just missed the velcro and ratchet combo the previous gen had that were warrantied after carbon sole cracked on em.
Just got these. Been wearing gaerne for years and they just work well for me. Doesn’t hurt that the US distributor is in town and I can just go there to get whatever I need.
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Oh dang I might do that to mine
I have these and they’re fine. Regulars are more voluminous than Specialized wide/hi-volume stuff (at least when I was messing with their stuff a few years ago) and sort of in between Sidi regular and wides, heel cup is a little loose for me (Specialized heel cups are my favorite). I wish the Boas on them were the turn one way to tighten, turn one way to loosen, but oh well.
Never done Shimano so can’t compare there.
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Mavic Allroad Pro are now in stock!
Also new:
Sorry Mr. Squirrel, you need to buy a pair in each color so you can wear one of each.
Those mavic allroad shoes look awesome. Are you getting a pair to review?
Those are pretty neat but I think I am done with historical reenactment laces forever.
Boa shoes have been fantastic so far, might never go back.
I ordered a pair in “44 2/3” a couple days ago
I was a boa hater for many years but my new 45north shoes may have changed my mind. As long as the damn things don’t break after one season of use, I may become a convert.
I don’t really like boas. 
They’re just not for me.
I was really attracted to those 45North shoes you picked up, interested to hear how they work out. I want to eventually replace the Giro Alpineduros with something wintery but a little thinner, less booty, more shoey.
The fully reflective version was intriguing too but probably hard to keep clean & effective
I got some of those Specialized “gravel” shoes because they were on mega-closeout, and they have laces, which I actually didn’t know because I never enlarged the photo on the Specialized backend website. Anyway, laces fucking suck and I’ll probably sell the shoes soon because of it.
Counterpoint: I have those same shoes and I love them.
I’m still really into Velcro. Boa doesn’t quite work with my feet. Or I’m just so in love with Velcro that the ships sailed and I’m on board.
BoA is the best. Fight me.
no seriously though, the LAKE shoes I have with the BOA are the best shoes ever but I’m missing the rear heel cleat and I haven’t worn them in a while. That and I’m fat and slow bc residency (just kidding went vegan not fat anymore)
real talk: I can get my dancing shoes on in like 3 seconds and its snug and hugs my feet like a BDSM leather daddy suit thanks to the magic of BoA. If they made BDSM suits with BoA closure I might break the speed of light.
i refuse to get lacey shoes
i have been wearing the same pair of sidi dominator 5s since 2007 almost every day for commuting/chill riding around
and another pair of hideous camo sidi dominators for actual spirited riding
what are the advantages to the boa as opposed to the normal clicky closure on sidis?
I’ve had a few pair of lacey shoes now;
Giro VR90: got em from some dude on craigslist for 60 bucks. worked well for about two seasons but the lugs started ripping off of the extremely stiff carbon soles. were definitely a narrow/low volume/long shoe, and my feet are high volume/wide/short, so, opposite. not a “shoe” shoe.
Specialized Recon: I got the extremely flamboyant pair in the yellow/orange fade. fit my foot type better, but the upper is a really stiff material and they were hard to lace and unlace. Also the rubber compound on the bottom of the shoe was kinda… too hard to be grippy. Wanted to like these more considering they’re the TAFest lace shoes available.
Shimano XC5: now these, I love. fit my foot shape very well, nice supple synthetic upper with lots of ventilation, sole that’s pretty stiff for pedaling but also good for walking around, grippy rubber sole that seems pretty durable. Shimano is making some really nice shoes lately, there’s a couple more I want to try on, the new XC7 with the boa + velcro lower, and the MT7 which looks like a great adventuredork shoe. But XC5 is totally worth a try if you like laces.
would love to try a pair of those Lake MX237 because I like boa, have em on my winter shoes, Lake MX145. Boa tends to be easier to operate with gloves/one handed IME, push and twist the dial to tighten, pull the dial out to release. They also feel more adjustable and because the boa lace actually “ties up” the shoe like a normal lace, they make the shoe more form-fitting to your foot- so you can crank em down without hot spots.