Heat moldable Insoles for Cycling?

[Owlie]

I've never done heat-mold ones. I used to use the Specialized green insoles, but they didn't work. Then I a) switched shoes (Specialized to Mavic, though I still use the Specs with my CX bike), and b)switched insoles to a set from Pearl Izumi that came with multiple shim things so you can independently "tune" arch support and whatever-it's-called under the toes. It took a little tweaking, and I really should take sandpaper to the left one to bring it down a bit, but it's pretty close.

[OakLeaf]

Well ... my personal experience has brought me some pretty strong opinions, but I don't have any expertise ... all I know is that I've spent the last six or seven years trying to correct foot problems caused by years of wearing orthotics. And (my upper body injury notwithstanding) my feet, legs, hips and back are soooooo much better since I ditched the orthotics, started wearing minimal shoes when I'm not running or cycling, started wearing shoes that fit all the time, and started doing yoga and other foot mobility and strengthening work.

A rigid orthotic is like a brace or a cast. It prevents the joints from moving, and holds the limb in place while muscles go unused. It can be an important part of healing an injury. But if you've ever broken a bone, you know what wearing a cast even for a few weeks does to your muscles and joints. You wouldn't wear a brace or cast long term unless you had some pretty serious orthopedic problems - and in that case, you'd wear a brace prescribed for you by your treating professional and designed to address your particular anatomy. If your issues are caused by your feet and/or hips being weak and/or rigid, then orthotics will only exacerbate that.

JMO, IANAD, etc., etc., etc. ....

[shootingstar]

Each person is different, Oak. I didn't wear orthotics for a few days just a few months ago and my feet were in pain after 15 min. of walking. I was in the process of having new orthotics made. (Mine were over a decade old.) Just to be clear, I have customized insert thin shoe inserts.

I could not go walking around outdoors in barefeet for a long time. I have fallen arches, etc. Once I had to walk to restaurant for 20 min. walk one way in thin beach flip-flops that I normally wear around inside a hotel during bike trip stopovers. My cycling shoes were waterlogged after 4 hrs. of rain (north of Seattle area). Those beach flip flop rubber sandals were killers for my feet during a walk outdoors. No proper support,etc. on my feet. I was in pain after walking back to hotel.

[OakLeaf]

Atrophied muscles don't get strong in an hour or even a few days, and joints that have become rigid with disuse may need manual mobilization besides regular stretching.... like I said, it's been six or seven years, and I'm still working to repair forty years' damage.

[ny biker]

I think we are overlooking two things -- what are the problems that lgibster is trying to solve, and can she try the custom insoles from her street shoes in her cycling shoes to see if that solves them?

[shootingstar]

My custom foot orthotic inserts are for walking street shoes....which for me, work for tie up shoes and for cycling shoes. Not for pumps, etc.
I wear mountain bike shoes when cycling and have for the past 20 years (with orthotics), which tend to be wider than road clipless shoes.

[Skippyak]

It would be good to know what the problem is though. I just wear big shoes as I really like a bit of room. I hate shoes that really fit tight. Officially my road shoes are a mens and a size too big but they are comfy and don't slip and I can move my toes. Obviously I don't have narrow feet. As they are not for walking, as long as they don't slip and the cleat is correctly positioned and your foot/arch feels supported, it is all good. Orthotics are placebo maybe, but bike shoes are not walking shoes so look at the specific issue rather than be so generalized. Bike shoes seem a lot more like stiff ballet shoes than the sort of shoes shooting star has in her pic. They are pretty rigid on their own.