Louis Garneau shoes "Racer Fit" - compared to SIDI

[Wayne77]

Hello,

Does anyone have experience with Louis Garneau shoes? On their website the higher end cycling shoes are labeled as "Racer fit", others are labeled as "Standard Fit". I read somewhere the racer fit is a little tighter, maybe not as roomy in the toe box. Has that been your experience?

I'm looking at the Carbon LS100 http://www.louisgarneau.com/us-en/product/827745/1487212/Road_Cycling_Shoes/CARBON_LS-100_CYCLING_SHOES

I wear a 45.5 SIDI and wondering if a LG 46 is a good comparison. Unfortunately no stores around here carry LG. Knowing there is a risk of having to do an exchange, I'd like to order as close to the SIDI fit as I can to minimize that, but the online store does have a good return/exchange policy. I'm wondering if the LG 46 (since it is "racer fit") is a good equivalent to a SIDI 45.5 or not.

**UPDATE: please see my notes after ordering these shoes later in this thread**

thoughts?

[kramnnim]

Weird, so "racers" have skinny feet?

[Wayne77]

Weird, so "racers" have skinny feet?

Makes no sense to me either. Whatever their logic is, wondering if anyone has experience with that. thanks

[AngryScientist]

yea, i mean, i get a race cut jersey, but presumably you want your shoes to fit correctly whether you're racing or strolling. lol at marketeers.

[azrider]

When CC was giving away pts for Strava I dumped my max pts on some Garneau shoes and have been very pleased so far. I have clown feet that require 47's and for what it's worth there's no less room in the toe box when compared to my Mavic's, SWorks, or Bont's.

Hope this helps

[Wayne77]

When CC was giving away pts for Strava I dumped my max pts on some Garneau shoes and have been very pleased so far. I have clown feet that require 47's and for what it's worth there's no less room in the toe box when compared to my Mavic's, SWorks, or Bont's.

Hope this helps

It does help, thanks. Can you recall what model your Garneau shoes where?

[Mark McM]

Weird, so "racers" have skinny feet?

Probably not specifically, but they may have different expectations of performance vs. comfort. There is a similar theme in ski boots, where racing boots are stiffer and have less padding than other boots.

[azrider]

It does help, thanks. Can you recall what model your Garneau shoes where?

dees ones'............ :D

[Wayne77]

Thanks. That's the same model I'm looking at. Since I wear a 45.5 SIDI (the half size indicating a little more toe box volume), I'm thinking a 45.5 in the LG would work as well. Sounds like it may have a bit more volume in the toe box than the 45.5 SIDI (since you compare it to Bont and Specialized, which are both a little roomier than SIDI), but my 45.5's are a little tight side to side for me anyway (length is fine), so hopefully the 45.5 LG will work. We'll see!

BTW, how do you like them? Construction/comfort/stiffness, etc

dees ones'............ :D

[jghall]

I have the Course LS. Very nice shoe.

Wear a 46 in S-Works. Needed to go up to 48. Could have probably squeezed into a 47, but it felt a little tight. As mentioned, good toe box room.

I'm a big fan of C/C. Especially with their return policy. But for what it's worth, you can find those shoes on ebay for quite a bit less; +/- $110.

[r_mutt]

Here's a review of the next model up:

http://teamhealthwarrior.com/2015/07/lg-course-air-lite/


I have the Corse Air light and having owned the top tier Sidi, Mavic, Giro, and Specialized, I'd say that the toe box is much roomier than all of those- both in width and volume. The mid-section can be a little cramped- of course, this depends on your foot. I wear a 43.5 in Sidi, a 42.5 in Specialized, a 43.5 in Mavic and Giro and a 43 in LG. I'd say the Mavic, 2009 S-Works and LG fit me the best.

[MattTuck]

So now they're fat shaming feet, also? ;)

Can't wait until my wide, high instep feet require a 'club fit' shoe. :no:

[Wayne77]

Posting an update for reference purposes:

I spoke with a LG rep. There are two LG fits: Racer fit and Std fit. The higher end shoes have the "racer" fit, the mid-low end have the std fit. The racer fit is more snug, toe box slightly smaller, heel retention slightly tighter. Interpret that however you want.

I ordered and received the Carbon LS-100 as linked earlier in this thread. I wear a size 45.5 SIDI. I ordered a size 46 in this LG model. I'd say the fit is very nearly identical to the 45.5 SIDI. Maybe just a hair wider in the forefoot, but it's still very close in overall fit to the SIDI 45.5. My guess then is the reports of having to significantly downsize when moving from SIDI (or other similar fit) to LG, is that is based on experiences with the regular LG shoe fit.

Anyway, I will say that so far I really love the overall fit and feel of these shoes. I got the hi-viz yellow and really dig the look. Much stiffer than my old SIDI Genius 5's. Quality is excellent. I'm not sure I'll get the 7 years of life I got from the bullet proof SIDIs, but they seem to be pretty well built. They are extremely LIGHT and I like the low stack height (4.3 mm vs 7.5 mm with the SIDIs). I lowered my saddle 3mm.