Numbness in toes

[GumbyGirl]

Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone - what great feedback!

After having a think and reviewing everyone's replies I think it's definitely shoe related. They were okay to begin, but I've had them for 2 years and they've taken some bashings - enduro events and the like. The sole would have definitely softened from their initial levels. I got carbon soled road shoes for my road bike a while back and this solved numbness probs I had with some plastic (yuck) soled road shoes.

I am going to look into some more race/competition based MTB shoes and look to upgrade - I've been trying to avoid this given finance restrictions but it is time

You guys also hit the nail with technique - I tend to do a lot of pushing with very strong quads and not necessary pull up when I should. This would definitely be a factor.

Thankfully hasn't progressed to a Morton's Foot related neuroma or nerve pain as there is no discomfort under the ball of the foot.

One other thing How do I work out correct fit for bike shoes - I'm an ex-runner and have running shoes down to a fine art, but cycling shoes elude me. I have some great LBS's but they also seem to struggle with the details ("do they feel comfortable?" etc).

Thanks again

[Yen]

Oh my gosh!!! I'm having the same problem with the toes on my right foot, and I'm wearing Specialized Taho MTBs. The first pair was a womens' WSD so I returned them for the men's version in a size larger -- same problem. I can't believe this thread describes my problem to a T !!!

For me, the numbness and pain begin around mile 15. It gets worse and worse until my foot feels like I have a tight wire band wound around all the toes on my right foot and getting tighter. We finally stop so I can remove the shoe and massage my toes.

I thought the problem might be that my 2nd toe is longer than the big toe, or maybe I'm curling my toes inside the shoe. I've even considered having surgery on the 2nd toe to shorten it -- how desperate is that!!!!

I'm replacing the Tahos with a pair of Sidi Dominators. Meanwhile, I am wearing my old running shoes which feel as comfortable as slippers on my feet. The Sidis feel the same. Even in the running shoes, I can feel my toes scrunched while I'm pedaling, so I must be doing something I'm unaware of. I need to work on keeping my toes flat and spread out, not scrunching them up inside the shoe. However, I can ride for many miles in the running shoes without the pain I had in the Tahos. Otherwise, I liked those shoes... nice looking and durable.

I also wear orthotics, but the pain is there whether I wear them or not.

[KnottedYet]

Do your orthotics have a metatarsal button?

I loooooove my metatarsal buttons in my bike shoes. Happy feet!

[Illa]

I had the same problem with numbness when I purchased my first pair of cycling shoes. I read somewhere that the cleats might need to be adjusted. I suspected that the cleats might be a bit too close to the toes, so I moved them back by about 2 mm. After that, the numbness went away and didn't return.

[Trek420]

thanks, and with that tip a hearty welcome to TE Surf on over to the Getting to Know You thread when you get a minute.

[BethG]

Dang. I went looking for a bike forum for advice about numbness/pain in my feet. Wearing Tahos. Hmmm.

(Knotted, supposedly the Taho's themselves have "tarsal buttons" - and I'm half wondering if that's part of the problem)

OTOH, I also had foot pain when riding in sneakers. That's why I bought the bike shoes (and clips to go with them) in the first place. I don't think it was as bad, but then I never rode as far.

I did 25 miles/40k yesterday, and started getting mild numbness almost from the start. By the halfway point it was getting uncomfortable, and by the end I felt like I had a horse standing on each foot. I finally pulled my feet out of the clips, and rode with the pedal under my arch, which felt a lot better.

Is it possible I just need the pedals to clip in further back on my foot?

[KnottedYet]

I tossed the sockliners my Tahos came with right from the start. I've got Superfeet in them. After having trouble with hotfoot I got met buttons added to the Superfeet.

Mind you, I've got *men's* Tahos, cuz the women's were way too narrow and set my hotfoot off right there in the store.