Quote Originally Posted by OakLeaf View Post
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Hot spots could be a lot of things too, but one easy culprit is just shoes being too tight. Your feet will swell over a long ride - you might just try loosening the straps a bit about halfway through. Still, a lot of people do better with pedals that have a large platform like Look or SPD.
Yes, I meant to mention that. Particularly when it's warm out, I almost always have to loosen my shoes midway through a long ride. I don't think this is typically an issue for me when it's cool, though, and only on longer rides. I don't recommend you loosen them to begin with, because your shoe should fit fairly snug. I had SO many issues with my feet before I finally got a pair of shoes that fit my very narrow foot well. A loose shoe can give you blisters, etc.

I use Speedplay pedals, which allows my heel to move slightly left and right. I don't know that it is "necessary" for me to use them, like my friend who's right heel naturally tends to stick out just a bit when she rides. When she got a bike fit she was told she had the right pedal for the way she rides. A pedal that had no float would give her problems (cause pain somewhere.)