Cyclists with wide feet are at a disadvantage when looking for bike shoes since many manufacturers don’t even offer a wide shoe. The Sidi Genius 6.6 Carbon Lite Mega road shoe is great, but certainly not priced for anyone on a budget. Fortunately, Lake Cycling has a lower-priced road shoe that I think you will be very happy with.
Lake CX165 Wide Road Bike Shoe
The Lake CX165 Wide Road Shoe has a fiberglass-injected nylon sole that provides excellent power transfer from your foot to the pedal. I have found this shoe to be true to size (something a lot of companies cannot say). The shoes are held in place with a triple Velcro strap closure. Once you strap these shoes on they are going to stay in place, but I still found them easy to adjust while cycling. The uppers are made of leather and have mesh inserts for breathability. Personally, I wish the mesh inserts were larger because my feet were getting hot when I rode with these shoes today and the temperature was only 84 degrees. However, riding with these in cooler weather is a very pleasurable experience.
One thing not mentioned in most of the reviews I’ve read about these shoes is that they have a bit of tread at the front of the shoe (like a mountain bike shoe). This tread is not very big but it sure helps you keep your balance at the stop lights.
This shoe is available in both regular and wide (EE) sizes. The men’s sizes go from 39 to 48, with half-sizes available up to 46.5. The women’s sizes go from 36 to 43, with half-sizes up to 42.5 They are available in either silver and black or black and silver.
I bought my Lake CX165 Wide Road Shoes early last winter from Bike Nashbar. The list price is $80.00, but Nashbar often has this shoe on sale for $60.00. Let’s face it, $60.00 for a well-built leather road shoe is a great buy!
The only downside to this shoe is Lake Cycling itself. I don’t know of a single manufacturer or distributor of cycling products that has a worse reputation for customer service than Lake Cycling. The shoes they sell are fine, but if you ever need help from Lake Cycling you are out of luck.
