Do you wear your custom orthodics inside your cycling shoes?

[Ana]

My cycling shoes need some sort of adjustment. I just changed pedal systems (from LOOKs to SPD-SL Ultegra) so now I'm trying to adjust my cleat position again and on my ride Sunday had very painful hot spots.

I have very wide, flat feet (collapsed arch) and wear orthodics almost all of the time. Do you wear orthodics inside your cycling shoes (and do you normally wear orthodics)?

I'm also considering getting some Superfeet if it will help with the hot spots.

Thanks!

[melissam]

I normally wear orthotics to correct for a leg length discrepancy, and I use orthotics in my cycling shoes.

[shootingstar]

I have fallen arches. Have worn customized orthotics inside my cycling shoes and running shoes (I don't jog, but walk lots), for past 15 yrs. I also wear orthotics inside my winter boots including when I go snowshoeing in the mountain areas.

As for other shoes, depends on shoe style. It would be nice that all my shoes fit my customized orthotics but that's not realistic especially for dress shoes.

[Tokie]

I love my custom orthotics! I wear them on every bike ride, and they keep my foot in a much better position. They are the best! My DH uses Superfeet insoles instead of custom orthotics (recommended by the PT who thought he could get away with the superfeet instead of investing in custom orthotics) He has been very pleased. Hot feet or foot hot spots have not been problems for either of us though. Tokie

[Trek420]

Pretty good info here:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=15268

[OakLeaf]

I use the OTC ones that Specialized sells for their shoes.

But my massage therapist recently recommended I use the custom ones. I've got other things going on with my calves stemming from tight hip flexors. But even though I'm not getting foot pain on the bike, apparently I'm still pronating enough to cause calf trouble. I think my custom ones are good, but she said to make sure that a physical therapist makes them.

[Ana]

Yeah, most of the pain I experience is on the outer edge of the ball of my foot. I think I will stop by REI on Friday during their big sale, bring in my cycling shoes and try a couple of Superfeet :)

When you "try" them, do you just walk around in them in your cycling shoes? Usually my foot pain does not begin until about mile 8-10 (plus, I'm on my bike, not walking around in my cycling shoes).

I am grateful for any tips you have about assessing the effectiveness of the Superfeet in the store :D

[celerystalksme]

I do quite a bit of running...and my poor feet were not right. Superfeet and other pre-formed inserts did no good. So I went to a pedorthist in Lake Orion (he's he pedorthotic consult for the Detroit Pistons, Detroit Shock, Michigan State Spartan mens and women basketball teams, and the US olympic ski teams)...and he made me custom orthotics. I actually asked him if I need to use them in my cycling shoes. He said he would recommend that I use them in everything...BUT, it probably wouldn't be as necessary in cycling as there's little to nompact and the forces on my feet are nothing like that of running. Seeing as how another pair of custom orthics from him would have cost me $250+, I decided to try cycling without custom orthotics.

It's been fine! Cycling is definitely not the same as walking and running...I can't run more than a mile without my orthotics...otherwise, my feet hurt so bad I want to cut them off. But I can do centuries no problem in cycling shoes (Shimano SPD-L or Look Keo or Crank Brother Egg Beaters with Sidi shoes).

Have you experienced pain in the feet while cycling?

[shootingstar]

As an addendum to my earlier response, my feet actually feel strange in my cycling shoes without the customized orthotics while I'm on my bike.

I walk around in my cycling shoes and have gone for walks up to 2 hrs. in them, off-bike. So I need my orthotics.
I have toe-clips, live a car-free life and cycling is a major transportation (and fitness) mode for me, so I MUST be able to walk around for long periods of time in my cycling shoes to do stuff in 1 seamless, interconnected way...without carrying another extra pr. of walking shoes.

[GLC1968]

Ditto Celerystalkme.

I have flat feet and also have special custom orthotics designed specifically for high impact athletics (running, step, etc). Even when I use them for these activities, I still have foot trouble. In fact, that's the reason I started cycling - for the low impact cardio.

Anyway, I purposely bought high-end super stiff cycling shoes and I use the Ultegra SPD-SL pedals and have had no problems riding distances without orthotics. I did have trouble with my first pair of shoes and SPD pedals after mile 15 or so. The pain would be so bad by mile 35 that I thought I'd never be able to do centuries. Walking after riding was almost impossible, too! Better shoes and different pedals made all the difference in the world (though I changed them both at the same time, so I don't know which one was more beneficial). Oh, and I use only Specialized shoes because they are desgined for people who pronate, which I do. This was under recommendation from my bike fitter who also happens to be a foot/leg alignment expert/specialist (I forget the proper term!).

[Kiwi Stoker]

Not me but DH has custom ones. He has very flat feet and had pain along the outside edge of his foot when riding. He saw a running/cycling specialist who asked him to bring his bike and shoes and watched him ride and took casts of his feet.

He ended up with a thin neoprene type insole with very hard plastic reinforcement in certain places. He uses them in all his cycling shoes. No more pain.

[Fujichants]

Just make sure when you get them in your shoes, that your shoes still fit. I got those Specialized footbed ones for my shoes, and now I can only wear certain socks, otherwise my feet feel cramped. Now with the hotter weather, my feet swell up and my shoes feel way too tight one hour into a ride. It sucks.

[Zen]

Another ditto for Celerystalksme.
Just yesterday I was just at the foot/ankle specialist who wants me fitted with custom orthotics.

I specifically asked him if I should wear these inside cycling shoes, thinking that not wearing them would undo any benifit from wearing them in regular shoes.

He told me it's not necessary as you aren't weight bearing while cycling. Also said most cycling shoes are too narrow to fit them anyway.

I'm inclined to think hot spots would be more due to cleat placement or platform size.

[tctrek]

+1 - I wear orthodics in my running shoes (although I only walk/jog), but not in my cycling shoes I have no foot pain riding except occasional numbness if I accidentally adjust the cycling shoes too tight or wear thicker socks.

[OakLeaf]

I don't get any foot pain on the bike, which I get a lot if I stand, walk, run or do aerobics without my orthotics, but my massage therapist really thought that not wearing them on the bike was contributing to my calf problems. (Which are mostly due to tight hip flexors. I need my own massage table just to get a surface that's firm and high enough to stretch them! :p)

[Fujichants]

I don't get any foot pain on the bike, which I get a lot if I stand, walk, run or do aerobics without my orthotics, but my massage therapist really thought that not wearing them on the bike was contributing to my calf problems. (Which are mostly due to tight hip flexors. I need my own massage table just to get a surface that's firm and high enough to stretch them! :p)

Oakleaf, I had overly tight hip flexors to the point where running hurt like crazy. My physical therapist taught me the following stretch:

Find a bench/side of bed. Put left foot on it. Turn your right foot so that your toes point in. Stand straight, and slowly push your hips forward. You'll feel the stretch. Hold it for a minute. Repeat on the other side.

The other one is where you're on the floor on your hands and toes, lunge one foot forward between your legs and stretch the other leg. You'll really feel this one.

Both feel great and helped me get the tightness out of them.