I wear a 10.5 runner shoe but I bought some racing flats that were a 9.5 and they were snug but felt great. How much smaller does everyone wear their shoes? They’re adistar comps. 50% off too…can’t beat that.
I wear 10.5 in almost everything. I do have a couple of pairs of Adidas Adizero flats that are size 10 but no way I would go with 9.5. Too tight, particularly for racing. If you buy in the future, I recommend trying 10.0 – either that or perhaps your normal size is just too large.
I suggest that we should buy a normal or larger size when buying shoes.A smaller ones may squeeze your feet .What’e worse,it is said that wearing smaller shoes may be bad for your eyes.
Racing flats are personal fit. Assuming you have the correct fitting training shoes, going down in size is not abnormal, especially if you don’t wear socks. I wear 10.5 training shoes, but 10 racing flat. I want them to fit snug, but then again, I don’t wear them for anything over 1/2. Do what feels best.
Eric
Racing flats are kind of funny. Remember, a true racing flat has very different construction than a regular running shoe. A lot of racing flats are actually ultra lightweight running shoes. I wore Nike Zoom Streak XC, which, construction wise is more like a distance spike with heavily padded sole. A lot of other guys use a Nike Zoom Marathoner, which is made more like a running shoe. So different construction methods can change the sizing. Obviously different makes tend to size differently also. Finally, socks also are a huge impact. My regular racing flats for road races are 11’s (just like my trainers) because I wear a running sock (Thor-Lo). My Tri racing flats are 10.5’s as I go sockless. However, going too big or too small can have disastrous consequences for your feet. Blisters, shin splints, etc. Make sure not only the uppers fit around your foot correctly, but that the contours of the sole, including it’s shape and flex patterns, mimic your foots own mechanics. True racing flats are designed to provide rudimentary cushioning, protection from the road surface (and resultant traction) and keep the sole attached to your foot. After running on true racing flats through 2 years of tris (mixed in w/ foot races), I can tell you that lightweight runners (7-8 oz.) are a much better idea for tris, especially HIM and IM, as your stride is closer to training than racing. I now own two pairs of flats, a 7.6 oz pair of Adidas ClimaCool Kona’s for tris, and an as yet undecided pair of Adidas or Nike racing flats which will probably be in the 6-7 oz range.
I go a half size down from regular trainers.