Need Advice: Sidi Doms or Genisis 5???

[smittykitty]

Riding STP this July. Its 200 miles over two days. From Seattle to Portland with just 10,000 other riders.

In a nut shell do I need to upgrade to Sidi Genisi 5 and SPD -SL cleats to alleviate numb toes? I would love to keep my Eggbeater Candies and upgrade to the Doms. I love the Candies ease of clipping in/out and the ability to ride on them unclipped.

My toes from the ball of my foot forward get numb/cold after 10-15 miles. Use Superfeet insoles, toe covers, wools socks chemical foot warmers. (Thanks ladies for the recommendations, they all helped a bit)

I've been 3-4 yrs with Egg Beater Candies and entry level Shimano Mtb shoes.
I'm ready to upgrade to Sidis in hopes of alleviating toe pressure discomfort.

I'm a very cautious rider. I unclip both (yes both) feet at the slightest possibility of having to stop.

DH made the upgrade to SPD-sl and Sidi Genesis 5 this past Sept. He previously had the same set-up as me. While he felt there is definitely a much bigger learning curve, he has been very happy with the upgrade and it completely took care of his toe problem. I believe he has plantar fasialitis (sorry about the spelling) or something like that. He thought I should also move to road shoes to help my numb toes.

We rode yesterday in Seattle (we live way out in the country - flat, not much traffic). He went down pulling on to a very steep hill from a stop trying to clip in. I was able to clip in/out then walk up the short hill after checking on him.

He is now a little worried about me moving to road shoes for our upcoming STP ride. He did admit that he was probably feeling a bit gun shy after his fall and not being accustom to all the traffic stops. But I have to agree, there will be plenty of stopping/starting especially the first 20-30 miles, a couple of short but steep hills and thousands of riders to navigate around.

So ladies, I don't know how many of you have experience with Eggbeaters and Sidi Doms but would love to hear from you with regard to numb toes. I think the road set-up would probably fix my toe problem, but would love to stay with my pedals if that would work too! I'm pretty sure the problem is from the pressure of the smaller cleats over a road cleat. The classic complaint! My podiatrist didn't feel I need a special orthotic. Just don't know how much the stiffer sole of the Doms would play into the mix.

I know I need to make the change right away if I'm going to. I could always ride 75 miles a day with numb feet, but prefer not too!

Sorry for the long post.

[Veronica]

I've been riding Sidi Doms and eggbeaters for several years. I obviously like the set up. I never had numb toes, but use to get hot foot on really long rides when I had cheaper shoes.

I did try the Genius when I switched and did not like how slippery they felt when I put my foot down at lights.

Veronica

[zoom-zoom]

Smitty, are you sure your shoes aren't too small/narrow? I had to sell my Doms...I kept getting numb, pinched toes. Eventually I started having nerve damage on my larger/wider right foot (in the form of a deep itching sensation that only went away once I switched to a significantly wider men's LG shoe). If your numb issues are from a shoe that is too narrow, then I would HIGHLY recommend against any Sidi women's shoe. And unless you have a really wide heel I don't imagine that the men's version would work, either. I had issues with heel slip on my Sidis. I have duck feet, though.

[smittykitty]

Thanks for the quick responses ladies. I'm petite and don't have wide feet, size 6 avg. width. My current shoes aren't loose by any means, but don't feel too narrow either. They feel more like there is pressure coming from cleat area.

[pinsonp2]

The Specialized footbeds (http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/...1009&scid=1137) worked for me when the Superfeet did not. You might look into those.

Good Luck,
P2

[Wahine]

If you came to me at my clinic and said the same things you've said here these are the possible causes/hypotheses I would have:

1) You could maybe relieve the pressure by moving your cleat back as far as possible
2) Your calves might be tight, forcing you to flex more through your fore foot instead of your ankle during your pedal stroke
3) Your pedal stroke may be uneven and doing some one legged drills would help to figure that out
4) It may not even be just your feet, or even your feet at all, it could have a lot to do with your lower back and hips

Does any of this strike a cord with you? If you like the Candies, I would explore some of these other options first before switching and I would try the specialized BG inserts as well.

If you are tiny, your cranks will have your feet positioned outward relative to your hips more that the average person and that makes you collapse inward at the foot. The Specialized BG inserts have a forefoot wedge that helps with this. You could also more your cleat as far to the outside of your shoe as possible (moving your feet inward). I'm not that familiar with the cleats so I'm not sure if that is possible. If it isn't, I think there may be a model of the Candy pedal that has a shorter pedal axel, but it's the really expensive racer version.

[Biciclista]

but there is no reason to switch to road shoes. Many of us road bike riders swear by Sidi Dominant MTB shoes! You still have to walk sometimes and that is REALLY important to me.

[Wahine]

I just talked to my BF who is a bike industry sort and he says that there may be a shorter pedal axle that you can get for the eggbeaters and he thinks that they work for the candies as well.

[Veronica]

I wish you lived in the SF Bay Area Wahine.

Veronica

[Becky]

Functionally, my Genius 5s and Dominators feel the same to me. The differences that I do feel are related to my pedal choices, not my shoes.

If you like your Candies, but want to try a more rigid shoes, the Doms might be perfect. I've had pressure similar to that you describe when using less-rigid shoes, but the Doms took care of it.

[Wahine]

Thank you very much ladies. You know, the place where I live is considered a cycling destination for both road and mountain. I'm just sayin'.

[smittykitty]

Wahine: Thanks for your thoughts. I'll check the cleat placement and also my feet alignment with respect to my hips, something I never thought about.

My bike seems to fit well and other than the feet I'm quite comfortable on the bike. I did have the same problem with my Trek FX too.

I'm not very strong and could see where my bike stroke could be a factor. My calf muscles don't seem tight, but who knows. I probably could really use someone legged peddling exercises.

My thoughts at this point: If the Doms are good enough for Veronica and Mimi, than they are surely good enough for me!

I know the boys down at my lbs will say I need the road cleats to spread the pressure out. My concern is that I'm not very strong or coordinated and may have a harder time clipping in/out when tired.

The eggbeaters are simple to clip in/out from any spot in the pedal rotation.

But who knows what I'll decide by tomorrow!!!

[Kiwi Stoker]

I also have issues with numbness and it's not due to cold! I noticed after yesterday's painfull ride that the top middle strap had left an impression and what feels like bruising on the top of my foot. I also noticed I have some large veins going across there also. So could it be the issue of the straps cutting off blood supply to the toes on the top of the foot? Evryone seems so fixed on the bottom of the foot (insoles etc) I wonder if the top of the foot could be involved also?

[Owlie]

I don't want to threadjack, but:
Wahine, thanks. I've been dealing with...not hot spots, exactly, but uncomfortable spots. Part of it is the fact that I do weird things with my feet, but I have to wonder if I'm doing weird things with my feet because of those uncomfortable spots, on one foot more that the other.

List of things to try. DBF got me a set of the BG insoles for Christmas. He's still pushing for me to get "proper" road pedals on my next bike, though.

[Crankin]

I wore Sidi road shoes for years and had horrible hot spots with my Speedplay X-2 pedals/cleats. I recently switched to Shimano shoes, for both road and mountain. What a difference. The biggest factor was the wider toe box. I also moved my cleats back from the neutral position.
I don't find it any harder to unclip from my road pedals (X-2s) than spds or Frogs. If the walking bit is your concern, than keep your mountain shoes/cleats.