LAKE shoes

I’ve got wide feet (XW in Altberg boots). Always struggled to get a cycling shoe that wasn’t agony after a few hours. I even ordered some of the Shimano wide fit gravel shoes (RX8 I think) from America, they were comically small I couldn’t even got them on. I heard Lake and some Sidi’s may be wide fit. Tried a pair of Lake MX238 having used the sizing guide/foot outline and they are the most comfy cycling shoes I’ve ever had. Recommend Salt Dog Cycling for service and advice I’m sure some sizes come up differently depending on the shoe material. They’re not cheap, there are some cheaper versions that don’t come in half sizes but I needed the half size. I’ll be buying more of them for sure.

Thanks, that really helpful!! I'm 12W in Altberg or 11.5 in Meindl comfort fit. My Shimano wide fit are size 47 but aren't wide enough but were the best I could get at that time 

I'll check out that shop.

Yes, Salt Dog is a good chap, I had mine off him, had to send the size 10’s back to change for an 11, I usually have 9 or 10 in normal shoes. I think the Sidi Mega range is wider, I’ve got 2 pairs, one is 20 years old now, and still get used, and are more comfortable than the Lakes, which only get used on the road. Moffat Outdoors had some reduced Sidi shoes in last time we were there, certainly cheaper than anywhere else (I googled after I had bought them).

I have the MX241 wide after spending a lot of time talking to RXM Custom about them.

Keep in mind that Lake use a lot of different lasts and some of their wide fit shoes are actually wider than extra wide on another last.

I'm also an XW in Altberg.

Lots of shoes that claim to have a wide fit option are actually high volume which is not the same thing.

They comfort plus last is the proper foot shaped toebox, I have some mx 201 and from a fit point of view they are very comfortable, but they are clumpy.

https://www.lakecycling.com/collections/offroad

I also have some mx238 in a wide fitting, they are ok but not great, and today I received some mx 146 wide fitting winter boots, and i will be sending them back because they are not wide enough.

My hope is that they will do a more xc style shoe in the comfort plus last in spring.

Is the comfort plus last relatively new? I didn't come across it when I was looking a couple of years back.

Yeah they have just come out this year.

There are some pictures in this thread for comparison.

https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/wide-mtb-shoea/

I have the MX241 wide after spending a lot of time talking to RXM Custom about them.

They caused my MX238 addiction (Size 43 wide), but sadly are no longer going.

Lake's wide fit meant I went down from a 44 in Giro

I've been looking at the basic MX177 shoes

Has anyone got them?

They caused my MX238 addiction (Size 43 wide), but sadly are no longer going.

Lake’s wide fit meant I went down from a 44 in Giro

RXM Custom are no longer going? Or did you mean your shoes are no longer going?

I’d like to try the Bont double wide fit, but at £400 and non-returnable it’s a too much of a risk.

The MX238 wide fit were no good. They’re fairly wide, although not hugely so, but they have a tapered toe box that doesn’t suit my square feet at all.

Luckily the MX242 bunion shoes worked well. I don’t have bunions, but the MX242’s bunion flaps let my stupid wide feet bulge out the sides. They have shorter squarer toe box which made a big difference to me.

I tried Shimano wide fit but I might as well have been wearing ballerina slippers. They ain’t wide, not even compared to the MX238.

RXM Custom are no longer going? Or did you mean your shoes are no longer going?

I don’t think they are still going, seen no posts for a good while. Real shame as he was great to deal with

I've been running a pair of MX238s Wide for three years now. My feet measure up as a 42 on a Brannock measuring gauge but I had to size up to a 43.5 in Lake shoes. I have square toes which cycling shoe manufacturers don't seem to cater for but the Lakes work ok for me.

The retention system isn't as good as the MX-241 / MX-242 though. Can't get them quite as snug, but I did buy a pair of MX-241 Wide and they were far too cramped in the toe box, despite supposedly being the same last.

Would like to try the new MX-242 but they're just too expensive now.

Lake measured my feet at the Rouleur show earlier this winter and it was the most thorough foot measuring I think I've ever had! They've got quite an extensive measuring guide on their site: https://www.lakecycling.com/pages/size-guide

They do have winter stuff, but as they're not new they're not available for testing, so I'm hoping to test some in the new year when the weather perks up a bit!

I have a pair of MX168 that have done many many miles Deliveroo cycling over the years. I can vouch for their quality. The uppers are still in great condition as I think they are actual leather in this model. I have wide feet and they fit good, though I am sure the wide fit would be even better! Same size from other brands were like fitting into a shoe for a child.

Another MX238 wearer here. Went down half an EU size from my Giro shoes that preceeded them. Would agree that the M241's come up narrower, and that they taper a bit which might be an issue if you have very square feet. I would probably have been half a size smaller still if they hadn't rubbed my pinky. SigmaSports were stocking them and had free returns when I was buying so I ended up doing a lot of trial and error and had about a grand's worth of shoes in the house at one point. They don't have much arch support so added the green Spesh body geometry insoles to them.

The heels on the MX238s are quite wide and I get heel slip - was a bit worried about it but it's just not a problem on the bike although I wear them on the road. The Lakes have eliminated pain where the cleat engages which I was getting particularly badly in the cold, imagine I'll buy Lakes again next time I need shoes which will hopefully be in 10 years or more because blimey they are expensive now.

The reason I went MX241 rather than the MX238 was because of the mouldable heel cup and the fact that I could unhook the bottom Boa guides at the toes and have more wiggle room, so mine only fasten over the top of the foot.

The mx242 fastening system with a mx201 shaped toebox would be my perfect cycling shoe.

. deleted post, realised I'd confused road SPD with MTB SPD!

I've just followed the measuring guide on the Lake website and come out as 43 wide.

Do I trust the guide (and my measuring) and go 43 or do I go up a size for thicker socks? Has anyone followed it and found it wrong? 

It's the MX146-x boots that I'm looking at. 

I would go up a size, the MX146-x  boots I bought in my normal lake size wouldn't allow for thicker socks.

@bens The winter shoes have an internal lining so sizing up is recommended. Speak to Richard at Salt Dog Cycling, he is very knowledgeable.

Kate Bush’s favourite shoes

Thanks.

I ordered some 146-x in 43 (usually 42) which on paper should be fine. Got them from Salt Dog following Richards (excellent) sizing guide.

Width wise they're good. Perhaps a little long but that gives a decent bit of wiggle room in the toe area. Rest of the shoe is generally too large though even with thick socks. I'm not able to get the cuff tight enough around my ankle and by the time it's close enough, the front of the shoe is distorted enough that the lace flap isn't engaging properly. I'm going to try a 42 to see if they're any better. Otherwise I might look at the MXZ 304 instead which looks like it's should be slightly less big all over.

If anyone uses the 146, do you get the cuff tight around your leg? To me it has to be tight to stop the water getting in! Maybe I'm looking at it wrong though? Ok, it's never going to stop all the water but surely it should be tight enough to keep most of it out?

Yes. GX238. Very comfortable on multi day audaxes, and the double boa works really well.

I have a pair of Lake MX 146s for winter and some Sidi Mega Dragons for summer.

Not sure any online discussion is good for choosing a shoe. But FWIW…

For me, Sidi’s are way more comfortable and fit like nothing else. I’m in a 44 in them (43 in terms of normal foot length) and they are perfectly close fitting across my foot. I’ll forgive them any snags with the own brand Boa as they are so comfortable and very, very robust. I’ve replaced the rubber feet on the soles, but uppers are doing fine despite an absolute beating over the years.

As for the Lakes… They are nice and warm.

I got them from Richard at Salt Dog and he helped me choose the size online. So my bad that I had to send back the 44’s and get a 45 ( the same as I was in Northwave GX winters). Should have gone to see him!

The heel is a bit loose in the bigger size and it feels sloppy compared to the Sidi’s, but width is just about OK. Looser than the Northwave’s in the same size that I gave up on as they were too tight.

Thing about the Lake’s for me is the cleat. Somehow the indent around the cleat just stops the engagement, so I spend an age trying to get clipped in. Enough to drive me to distraction!

So overall, a huge recommendation for the Sidi Mega. I can’t say I have much expereince of Lake either, other than the MX146, but based on that alone I’m not wowed. But they are OK for winter.

Anyway, that’s my two pen’orth

If anyone uses the 146, do you get the cuff tight around your leg?

They tighten round the bottom of my calves OK. But then I have ‘ample’ calves. And below the fat part of my lower leg the boots go nowhere near my ankles. There is indeed a gape there.

Thing about the Lake’s for me is the cleat. Somehow the indent around the cleat just stops the engagement, so I spend an age trying to get clipped in

Lake recommend using a cleat spacer if the gap between the cleat and the floor is more than a couple of mm. I put spacers on my MX238s and my MXZ304s and I have zero engagement issues.

Lake recommend using a cleat spacer if the gap between the cleat and the floor is more than a couple of mm

Didn’t know that. Makes sense in retrospect.

But another reason not top recommend them. Why not fit an spd cleat out of the box?

Why not fit an spd cleat out of the box?

I think it’s the extra deep tread on the MTB/Cyclocross type shoe that requires this and although I’ve never used anything other than Shimano SPD there are others that could be a slightly different profile I suppose. 🤷‍♂️

Shimano make a specific cleat spacer for SPDs, no idea about other brands though.

https://amzn.eu/d/94iBy3h

https://www.lakecycling.com/pages/cleat-installation

Why not fit an spd cleat out of the box?

That would annoy us Time ATAC users. 😉

More seriously, different cleat types will be slightly different heights and different different pedal types (even if SPD) will be slightly different too. And then there’s rider preference when using caged or semi-caged clipless pedals.