Just wondered what cycling shoes everyone else is riding in and any problems you have. I have been finding that I scrunch my toes up when I ride, mostly when I am climbing and standing in the pedals, I don't notice I am doing it until I start to get pins and needles and have to straighten my toes out to get some blood to them! I would have thought that this would be something to do with the shoes being too big, but I don't think I could get them any smaller. They are Specialized Torch road shoes, so ladies specific. I don't feel as though my heel is lifting out of the back, but I think the shoe must be wrong somehow. Anyway, just wondered what shoes other people would reccomend.

I've just got Diadora Geko womens specific have only tried them a couple of times on the rollers but seem OK. It was a toss up between those of the Spesh Torch ones.

Have you checked that your shoe plates are in the right place - not sure if it would have that effect.

I found some of the womens shoes very wide in the toe box (or whatever it is called)especially the Torch could that be the problem?

I think it must be something like that, its strange though because you would think that they would make toe box smaller on womens specific shoes, because I would have thought that women don't just have shorter (less long!) feet, they are smaller too. Anyway, I think it might be something to do with the buckle on the top not being very good. It doesn't tighten very well, but I can't actually feel my feet lifting out when I pull up on the pedal. Sidi Genius next time I think, my aim for this season is to wear out the specialized shoes!

Another vote for the Sidi shoes - they do come up quite small so try before you buy!

I invested in a pair of Sidi MTB shoes as well last year and even though they were a little pricey, they are the best shoes so far for getting them fitted right in my boney feet.

i've got the nike altea womens specific ones and they are really lovely.

http://www.richmondcycles.co.uk/html/shoes_nkalteaw.html

i've got really narrow feet and tend to scrunch my toes too cos of tight ligaments but the soft fabric over the toe means this isn't a problem and the shoes are narrow enough to support my foot without any problems.

Scrunchy toes here, too. Nike and Sidi shoes work well for me, they have a deeper heel cup than most.

The Body Geometry wedge in the Specialized shoes can actually be problematic for a minority whose feet are already supine - thankfully they're bringing out corrective wedges soon and one will be available which negates the in-built tilt, so I can wear their lovely shoes again!

Screwing your toes up is often as much to do with concentrating and trying very hard as much as the fit of your shoes, as well. Relax, not just through your feet but all the way up through your legs, back and upper body as well - concentrating on bending the arms to the 'correct' angle seems to help me .

I've got the sidi genius shoes and they have been very comfortable from the start. My problem is that I keep over tightening the ratchets so end up almost cutting off the circulation to my toes. Yes I know they are ice/artic/baby blue but that just seems to go with most of my wardrobe these days. The sidi shoes are supposed to come in two widths but I've yet to find anyone who stocks both so I guess I have the bog standard width. I have quite wide feet and they don't pinch over my conky joints.

I go for the Nike shoes too - Ventoux for road, Kato for mtb. And Lake tri-specific for triathlon racing - they have just the one velcro strap.

If your shoes are at the wrong angle, you might be scrunching your toes up, so check that the cleat's at the right angle for you - I know that my right foot points in slightly more than my left so I have to take that into account when fixing the cleat position.