I ended up needing bike shoes (in conjunction with special pedals) because my feet were going numb using my much softer and bouncy sneakers.
I came into the store with a list of shoes that met the performance criteria (listed below) and systematically tried each shoe on the list starting from the lowest cost and eventually working my way up to the MX242. I bought the MX242's because the way the dual BOA was positioned on the shoes provided a great deal of flexibility to adjust the shoes to my specific feet (and the my feet fit within the borders of the sole). My particular challenge with getting shoes to fit is that my feet are wider lower down the foot than "normal" feet. And consequently, I usually have to purchase shoes that are both longer and wider than my foot size shows on the Brannock Device (the metal foot-measuring tool used in shoe stores). I still needed to purchase a bigger and wider sized shoe with the Lake MX242's, but I could use the BOA system to conform the shoe to my foot. And if I wanted to go a step further, I can microwave the shoes to mold the heels to my specific needs.
The shoes performed admirably for my intended purpose. The rigidness of the sole worked exceptionally well with my flat pedals because it was easy to alter where I placed pressure on my feet during the ride. I could also walk around remarkably more comfortably than I had expected.
Needs
*Compatible with my flat foot pedal (I use the TerraTrike Heel Support Pedals)
*Unyielding rigid sole, ideally carbon fiber or high-stiffness composite
*BOA, ideally dual
*Wide sizes
*Compatible with recumbent tadpole trike (I push horizontally, not vertically)
*Ability to walk limited distances
