New Balance Minimus Road Zeros for Wide Feet

In a follow up to the first look at the New Balance Minimus Road Zeros (the red pair in these photos), I’ve recently had the opportunity to test out a wide version of the Minimus Road Zeros in a lime green/yellow colorway.

It's exciting that the Minimus Zero line will feature wide versions of the shoes as at least a few minimalist- or barefoot-style running enthusiasts have wider than normal feet.  Meanwhile, others might find they'd prefer a wider fit to the shoe, a little more room in the toe box to splay your toes, and a little bit more room throughout the instep.

I really like the Minimus Road Zeros and in the initial review I commented:

Overall, they are quite comfortable and so far my only qualm has been with the narrow width of sole under the arch of my foot. I have rather wide feet and my foot strains the soft uppers and spills over onto the inside of the sole. I haven’t experienced this problem with either the Minimus Trail or the Minimus Trail ZERO (discussed below) so going up a half size here might be one potential solution.

Thankfully, I won't need to go up a half size after all: New Balance is producing the Minimus Road Zeros in a 2E wide version of the shoe! Speaking from just a visual point of view, you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference in the widths, but the minor alterations make a big difference once you have them on your feet. From what I can tell, the soles are exactly the same width, with the difference coming in how roomy the uppers are.

As comfortable as I’ve found the “normal” width Road Zeros to be, the tightness underneath my arches I experienced has been completely resolved and the 2E fits me perfectly. In addition to the arch area, I also have a little more wiggle room across the top of the toebox and by my little toe. The heel and the back half of the shoe appear to remain unchanged.

Photos and more after the jump!

Photos of the Road Zeros in Wide vs. regular Road Zeros

Here's a bunch of photos of the wide Road Zeros (bright, bright yellow) and the regular Road Zeros (bright, bright red):

If you’re interested in the New Balance Minimus Zero lineup and you have wide feet, you’d definitely be doing yourself a favor by checking out the 2E wide version (Note: the Minimus Road Zero will only come in D and 2E).

Availability

Regarding availability, the Minimus Zero Roads were released for sale on March 1, 2012!  You can find them over at ShopNewBalance.com for about $110.  If you pick up a pair and have particularly wide feet, I'm eager to hear what you think about these 2E Zeros!