use? patience? works every time.

sorry, i'm just being a gnome, but it's true!

 

Hmmm. No cycling shoe I had it the past 12+ years really broke in, per se. I've ridden them in soaking rain, and kept riding them as the dried out. Still no real change in fit. Basically, they need to fit very well brand new, as they're not going to change significantly with use.

 

Unfortunately synthetic leather doesn't break in.

 

What they said. If the shoes don't fit, they don't fit. That material will not change significantly. Sorry.

 

Again.... what they said.

 

Come on, people...you can't all give the same answer! Somebody has to add a contradictory opinion just to confuse the OP....

 

It sounds like you bought shoes that are too small for you and you were hoping they would stretch? Once someone told me to buy some leather bike shoes a size too small. They never stretched enough to be comfortable. Shoes should feel really good when you buy them.

 

Actually they are probably pretty close to the right size. Just that I had trouble getting them on. I do have a wide foot and generally have to buy shoes a little long to get width I need. Uppers just don't flex enough for my foot which doesn't have straight sides to match the shoe. I had the same issue with another pair I bought at the same time, different maker. The toe box was wider. The vamp just didn't flex enough to put my foot in. The openings are too narrow. They don't need to stretch, but shoes do need to have sufficient flexibility to conform to the shape of the foot. Related but different issue.

I did check shoes. Everything seems to use synthetic leather. I can't imagine that the market would continue to buy shoes that didn't have some degree of conformity to the wearer's foot at some point in time. It's the only reason you can buy a shoe that isn't built on a custom last. I would question whether even a custom last would solve the problem. The material still has to conform to the last

 

I have had similar experiences, particularly with soccer shoes. I just had to find a brand with a wider last to feel comfortable, most brands are very narrow.

 

you ride a bike with soccer shoes?

 

Back in the early 60s when I 1st started to ride I wore baseball shoes with cycling cleats nailed on the soles. Nobody, but nobody made cycling shoes in my size (48W). You could get them custom made but I couldn't afford them then & still can't.