Cycling shoe shape question...

[oldguy00]

Why are some shoes, like northwave, pretty flat front to back, whereas others have an upward angle of the forefoot?
Not talking about arch height or anything like that, just the upward swoop of the front of the foot on some.

Looking at custom shoes, I see two of the bigger players have different methods of taking a cast impression of the foot.

Simmons has you put your foot flat on a soft towel surface to get a natural cast/shape of the foot.
Rocket7 has you put your foot on a specifically shaped board that places the front of your foot in an upward angle.

Anyone know how these two shapes differ in terms of feel, performance, reasoning, etc?

Thanks!!

[Veloo]

My Carnac Legends had that raised sole in the front.
I guess you could also look at it as a raised back without any heel.
I never noticed any difference in feel or performance.

Been mentioned here a few times, if you are looking for custom, Luck is a more affordable option. They are in Spain. I'm in Toronto if you want to see my Luck MTB shoes.

[oldguy00]

Thanks, I'm likely getting my shoes from Simmons, but was also looking at Rocket7.

[John H.]

Most custom shoes seem to have flatter soles.
This is a good thing.
Orthotics sit better in the shoe and correction of the orthotic seems to work better.

If going custom it is also important to know how rigid/loose your foot is.
I have weird feet- super loose connective tissue. My feet have been described as a bag of bones.
Why is this important? For me, a casting puts me in a shoe that is too short. My foot lengthens with weight on it and changes shape, so a cast puts me in too short of a shoe.

I have had custom shoes, but I found that a properly sized Bont shoe with a good orthotic works better for me.
The stiffness and bathtub shape of the Bont shoe helps to keep my feet under control.

[Peter P.]

I too, much prefer the flat foot shape of my SPD shoes, versus the flexed forefoot of my road shoes.

My next pair WILL be flat, dammit!

[David Tollefson]

Check the Lintamen Minimal (https://lintaman.com/store/shop/minimal-cycling-shoe-version-2-0/) shoe - completely flat.

[buddybikes]

I have a pair of the Lintamen's, haven't mounted anything. They are flat! And light, don't walk on these puppies you won't go far. Seem to be well made. Not sure when I will give them a go, looking for a solution to my neuropathy issues. Just have my feet in my mtn shoes now for more room

[dem]

hm, those Lintamen look interesting. I have an issue where my toes go numb under ANY pressure (finally narrowed down by cutting off the whole front off old shoes) - so curving up is definitely bad news.

I've resisted going custom due to the expense and non-guarantee it would solve the problem.

If anyone tries a Large Lintamen and doesn't work out for ya, lemmie know so I can give it a try. :)

[steveoz]

The Lintaman do look really interesting - wonder how flexy that thin sole is...