Bike Shoe Advice, please

[Cassandra_Cain]

Hi Amy and welcome

Sorry to hear about all the problems you are having with those shoes and your feet - yikes!

I would imagine there is a combination out there that can work for you.

My feet differ by a 1/2 size as well - I always fit a shoe according to my bigger foot. So if the smaller foot feels loose I'll wear a thicker sock or maybe 2 socks to compensate. That usually does the trick. Worst case scenario you can always get 2 pairs of shoes, a 1/2 size apart which is usually easy to do with european sizes (ie....40, 41, etc).

The basic premise (one of them anyway) of a road shoe is for it to be stiff. That way you transfer more power from your body to the pedals vs. a softer tennis shoe that flexes.

Part of your pain could be the way you are pedalling, or it could be the shoe itself is not a good fit.

BTW - I also have flat feet and I definitely recommend you wear your orthotics with your biking shoes. Otherwise you'll be overpronating which can create a huge set of problems from your feet on up to your knees and hips.

I would try your existing shoes with the orthotics, I'd also have someone watch your pedalling technique, check your bike fit, and see what happens - if none of that works then you may need different shoes after all.

Good luck!

[ace]

Like you needed to know more about my feet :-)

In reply to why I have the orthotics, it's because I have flat feet and was getting foot pain many years ago, and am kinda knock-kneed (that's pronation, right?). They were prescribed for everyday use, not for running or sports.

[TsPoet]

Ace,
I'm a recumbent rider - I've been amazed ever since getting bent on the different advice given for the different types of bikes. So, take this with that in mind (might not apply). But, if you were to post this on a bent forum you would be told 2 things:
1) move your cleats for or aft - I'm guessing they are toward your toe on your shoe - move them back toward your arch and see if that helps.
2) loosen the laces over the sore part of your foot to give more "breathing room".

Also, I have a friend with plantar fascia (also a bent rider), he can only use pedals with a large platform, can't remember what brand of clipless pedals he uses, but he's tried several and the one that works is the one with the biggest clipping area.

Good luck,

[Cassandra_Cain]

lol - tell us all about your feet!

Let me ask you something. Can you say, put on a pair of running shoes (sans orthotics) and run a 5k w/o pain? More broadly, are you able to exercise w/o pain w/o orthotics?

I have rather flat feet - I leave a nice, full footprint on the beach :P

If I don't wear them, my feet roll excessively inward because of the virtual non-arch, which then throws my entire lower body out of alignment. Hello knee-hip-back pain

[ace]

Yes, I can do pretty much anything without foot pain (besides wear the damn bike shoes) as long as I have my orthotics in. I can't answer the 5k question, though- I don't run at all and haven't for years, I'm quite overweight and have back issues plus no ACL in one knee, so if I ran, that would probably be the end of me. My other challenge with club riding is that I have super strong legs, so I'm usually out in front on flats/slight inclines, but the hills (and I live in the Bay Area) are very challenging for me, because I'm about 60 pound overweight and have a very heavy hybrid (not that I think that makes a bit of difference- my bike is maybe about 5 lbs heavier than everyone else's, but the real issue is the surplus 60 lbs on my body. I'm working on that....

[Cassandra_Cain]

Hmmm, well that's the basic idea behind orthotics - is for you to be able to do things w/o pain. I can go w/o mine say, to sit in the office all day, but anything remotely active or involving lots of walking, and I need my inserts. I don't even really wear heels as it tends to give me knee pain.


So you do good in the flats but not as well in the hills? I'd say you are a budding time trialist

[ace]

Well, I'm not THAT speedy. Being in the front of that pack means smoking a bunch of riders who are going 9 miles an hour. But I'll tell you, I've learned so much about technique by riding with a led club ride (the leader screams at me if I don't shift down before stopping. He's incredibly bossy, but I've learned a ton.).

I'd say I'm more of an endurance rider than anything else at this point :-)

As long as I'm well-hydrated, electrolyted and fed, I feel like I can go forever (I had a couple of rides earlier in the season, those that involved 1500ft or more of climbing, where at about mile 15 I'd start getting a horrible headache which ended up lasting for about 24 hours. I resolved this by buying a 100 oz camelbak, filling it with GU2O, and making sure I drink that plus more). However, me and my granny gear have become well-acquainted on the hills. I'm learning that no amount of technique can overcome those extra pounds riding uphill.

However, given those extra pounds, I am like a bat out of hell on the downhills.

[bikerz]

However, given those extra pounds, I am like a bat out of hell on the downhills.

Me too!

I had some pretty bad hot-foot with my Shiman SPD cleats and a couple of things have helped - one was getting some inserts from REI - that have some that are designed for cycling - I think they are color-coded - maybe the blue ones are for cycling. The other thing was to keep my shoes pretty loose. The spd shoes were like yours - mountain shoses with recessed cleats.

But what really helped was switching to full-on road shoes with Looks, which have a large platform. Good luck!