road shoe/pedal question

[short cut sally]

I need some advice, suggestions or something!! I finally got my Sidi shoes, and the road shoe pedals. (I previously used mtb. bike shoes and the spd pedals). I changed from spd's to road because I was getting this "hot spot" on my left foot. tried inserts in my shoes which helped initally, then it returned. Was told that the Look pedal reduced the hot spot. So bought the Look sprint pedal and the Sidi shoes. First day out, hot spots now on both feet. Put the inserts from my mtb. bike shoes in my Sidis and still hot spots. Went to a thicker sock, seemed to relieve it some. Slightly noticeable now. Here is my question. The person at the bike shop, literally handed me the shoes after he put the clips on them, and put the pedals on my bike and said "here you go"..I was told originally I was going to get a "quick adjustment fitting" as it was a new system for me by Chris who helped me actually pick out my shoes on the first day there. This 2nd guy was not helpful to me. 2nd guy ( I was so impressed I can't remember his name) said it would cost to get that adjustment (75.00)..uh, no thanks! Chris had said, bring your bike when you get your shoes and we'll get you all set up and make all the adjustments for you. This guy just wouldn't hear of it. (This was just the tip of the iceberg for this person making a sour impression on me..)I am not familiar with this type of system and was wondering if I could maybe move the clips around or back some so they hit a little different. I will probably end up going back to a shop that couldn't get my sidi's and I will gladly pay them to help me out..they've always taken good care of me. So until then, any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks for your time and help in advance. shelly

[equus123]

don't want to overlook the fact that your shoes are new I presume (?) and do take a while to break in. i got tight new shoes and my feet were burning for the first 2-3 months until the leather was stretched. now they fit like a glove and haven't had a problem since.

i say ride the way you are for a few weeks. if the pain/discomfort gets worse then obviously do something about it. but if it either takes longer for the discomfort to set in or the duration reduces then you know it's just the new shoes needing time to break in.

good luck! i certainly understand how annoying your feet burning and going numb feels like but stick through it and give it a try to weed out what the problem is.

[Aggie_Ama]

Call your LBS manager or find out when the other guy is working. I had the same problem with Sidis/Looks and we had to move my cleats outward. I paid for a full fitting but I was having other issues. I would think if you bought the bike, shoes and pedals there they would be more accomodating.

The other thing about Sidis is they are very narrow. I have to make sure mine are not too tight or else I will be miserable. I wear Aline insoles to help align my feet and this makes my Sidis even tighter. Once I got all of this in sync though I love my Sidis and Look Keo Pedals.

[songlady]

I am dying to know what shop this was. PM me???

[Starfish]

Call your LBS manager or find out when the other guy is working.

I absolutely 2nd this opinion.

There used to be a shop I went to with this one guy who just drove me nuts. And, if he was working, he would come over and monopolize my experience and condescend to me.

I simply started calling before I went to see if he was working or not, and went when he wasn't! Worked great!

Edited to note that this was NOT in any of the bike shops in the small community where I live now...this was in a large urban environment I used to live in.

[DarcyInOregon]

shellyj, what you describe is due to a nerve compression problem on the bottom of the feet. It makes the feet turn hot, either just in that one area or the entire foot.

There are a few remedies.

One, move to a cycling sandal. That is what I did and I can get up to 60 miles before the foot starts to heat up, and then adjusting the straps may alleviate the discomfort. It also gives the toes more room and thus removes some of the pressure on the nerve cluster.

Second, you can focus and try to pedal by pushing back on your heel, instead of the ball of your foot. It makes the foot flatter on the pedal stroke and will relieve some of that pressure on the nerve cluster.

Third, you can tinker with where the cleat is on the shoe and try to get it off the area of the nerve cluster. However this technique may mean you lose power in your pedal stroke.

I advise trying the cycling sandals. It was effective for me.

Darcy

[Grog]

I agree that you should go back when the good guy is there.

This being said, I was fitted for cleat placement and here is what my fitter did: she made me remove my socks and my inner soles from the shoes, then moved the cleats (road SPDs) to some neutral position (no idea exactly what). Then she made me pedal on a trainer, progressively moving the position of the cleats until I could feel that I was making contact with the whole width of my foot. I used to pedal just pushing with the area directly aligned with my big toe. I think it made a big difference in efficiency...

[alpinerabbit]

AND this is not supposed to cost any money. not at any of the bike stores I've bought from. He just sold you a set of expensive shoes and pedals. That's the least customer service you can expect.

[short cut sally]

Well I have an update so far. I tried different socks, inserts and still couldn't take the sensation. So I took my bike, shoes to the LBS that could only order the shoes and told them my experience. I let them know that I tried to get the shoes thru them but it was a long hassel, and they agreed and said they remember me calling twice for them to get the shoes. (He said that they are considering options to make it more female and user friendly). I told him my problems and how dissatisfied I was with this other shop, didnt mention names, and he said that didn't sound right, so he had me get my shoes, bike and he did a complete fitting right there. When we were all done, he did ask for the bike shops name and he was surprised, he said, we send everyone there if we can't help them. He did not charge for the setup/fitting. I offered, he said no. And on a sad note, when I went into the shop I asked for the guy that usually takes care of me, Ben, and they looked funny at me. Ben had passed away 1 week after I last saw him in June. He was in a MTB. event, collapsed, and died of cardiac failure, at age 24. I was so shocked. I will post once I am able to ride, it's raining presently to let you know how I made out. I just wish bike shops weren't so far away for me..

[short cut sally]

Forgot to say thanks for your replies ladies. John, moved my clips back on my shoes, said they were too far up and was compressing things. I did find that when I was getting numbness, loosening the shoes (both old and new) made a difference. The LBS for me (where John, my new guy-see previous post) is one hour away, the shop that I bought the shoes from are 2 hours one way away. AND songlady, I just PM'd you, as you are in the bike shop locale. Hopefully I can get out this afternoon.