Wearing Sidis now, but thinking about Lakes...opinions??

[Brandon448]

I currently wear Sidi Dominator 5's and love them but I am looking for a shoe with a wider out sole foot print for hike-a-bike sections and the possibility of doing some bikepacking. I like the width of the Lake out sole but have no experience with how the shoe wears or feels on the foot.

I wear a size 46.5 in Sidi and have a size US12 foot I have both 46.5 wide and 46.5 reg width Sidi shoes and like them both with the wide size feeling more comfortable until they get wet when Sidi's typically stretch.

I am looking at the MX190's but am not sure what size to get... I was thinking about getting size 46.5's in reg width...

Any opinions on the Lakes and how the feel on the foot compared with Sidi's?

[sherpaxc]

HUGE fan of the Lakes.  I prefer the 165 because I'm not a fan of any ratchet system.  They are a bit heavy when compared to XC type shoes but the payoff is great traction when hiking.  As far as I know they are true to size. 

[12wheels]

I wore size 44 Sidi Mega's for years and replaced them with 43.5 Lake mx220 and 190.  Both of the Lakes are wide models, EE, and while a half size smaller than the Sidi's are slightly longer and much wider.   I really like the fit, Sidi Mega's are too narrow for me, and the vibram sole is worth the weight penalty.  Sherpaxc is right, skip the ratchets and go with the 165 over the 190.  Ratchets break and jam at inopportune times.

[DaveC]

I've never owned Sidis.  I had a pair of Specialized BG Carbons that were great, except the carbon sole cracked behind the cleat in a little over a year.  I blame all the hike a biking.  So I got a pair of MX165s this spring.

The tread is really awesome.  Super grippy, great for hiking, though not ideal as it's a stiff cycling shoe.  It is not nearly as stiff as the Specialized.  It's fine for all day rides on the fully, but isn't stiff enough for all day rides/races on a rigid singlespeed. 

The fit is on the narrow side or normal, and very straight.  That is, my forefoot is almost pinched, and I had to add an aftermarket insole to take up more space and keep my heal from sliding around like crazy. 

I do like them, and they're a very good value.

[WillyK]

I've had some Sidi dominators forever,  I think they're D-3's but I'm not sure about the width. My winter shoes are Lake MXZ 300's and I just recently wore out some Lake's with a decent hiking sole....don't remember the model but they had lace's only.  (MX 155 maybe?) The Lakes ran a little wider than Sidi's but true to length. (42's in just about everything)

The Lace up Lakes barely lasted 2 years  and that's with time off in the winter when I use the MXZ's. I shredded through the inside of the heal area, even though they never felt like they were slipping, and the stitching holding the heal cups on the outside is gone, allowing the back of the shoe to lift off of the mid-sole.  Quite a bit of the stitching in other areas was failing too. They also stretched a lot when wet.

I haven't found any shoes with a good hiking sole that come close to the quality of Sidi's, I wish I could, it would be worth the money to not have to mess around getting new ones so soon. And I like buckles, to be able to accurately adjust on the fly is great. That said, Sidi buckles are the only ones that I've seen that let you loosen them one click at a time without pulling on the strap, all the others simply dis-engage the buckle and then you have to pull, so if you are really used to the Sidi loosening system keep that in mind. A little chain lube once in a while keeps them working smoothly.

My next shoes will be either Pearl Izumi  ( possibly fitted with Sidi buckles and ladder straps) or maybe Northwave.  Northwave's run huge, btw.