Foot Pain - Any Suggestions

timbradley said:

Hi all.

Have recently started rinding in clipless pedals, and on my last 2 rides have been experiencing some pain on the outside of the arch on my left foot.

Is this just a normal reaction from my feet getting used to the rigid soles of the shoes? or is this something I should be concerned about, and if so, does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can try to remedy it.

Thanks!🙂

When I graduated to clipless petals, I recall having just a little pain as my foot got used to the shoe. Do your shoes fit properly? Also, are you fitted to your bike?

I have the same problem, but only notice it on longer rides. I enquired at my local bike shop (LBS) and was told that this is a common problem with SIDI shoes (and has to do with the narrow width of the soles).

I was told that sometimes your feet get used to it, in other cases, new shoes are the only answer. The guys at my LBS use North Wave shoes and have no problems.

😉 This is a common problem. It sounds like your shoes are too narrow. Is your left foot a little larger that the right? Try testing by taking out the insole and or going without socks to lower the foot volume in the shoe. If it's not a tightness issue than it could be that your cleats are not centered so that the ball of the foot is over the pedal axial and or the toe-in toe-out is off causing pressure on the outside of the foot. If none of this is the problem then get some custom insoles made up like solesystem insoles or off the shelf Peterson power beds sold at www.excelsports.com The pressure points on a bike are always hard to get comfortable. Good Luck

And all the time I thought it was just me. I have exactly the same problem. Two solutions that I have used and kind of had success.

The first is to tighten the left sho as tight as I can. Problem is that my foot does not get sore, but after a few kilometres I can not feel it at all. It kind of gets numb, dur to blood flow restriction. SO I usually go with option two. That is to tighten the first strap reasonably, the second very loose and the third again pretty tight.

If I am on a long ride I also find that just getting off for a minute and standing up will help me go a good distance before the pain even bugs me.

I will try some of the posted solutions and let you know what I find.

Thank for the advice

Thanks High Gear,

because I am naturally toe out (especially my right foot - which is where most of the pain is) I adjusted the cleat to allow for maximum toe "outedness".

This was obviously too much, so I centered my Cleat before my 2-hour ride this morning (relying on the float of my look pedals to compensate for the toe out) and my feet felt much better. Still not 100%, but much better.

Before my next ride, I'll slide them forward or back to ensure the arch of my foot is centered over the axle. This may give even greater comfort.

thanks again,
Keith

timbradley said:

Hi all.

Have recently started rinding in clipless pedals, and on my last 2 rides have been experiencing some pain on the outside of the arch on my left foot.

Is this just a normal reaction from my feet getting used to the rigid soles of the shoes? or is this something I should be concerned about, and if so, does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can try to remedy it.

Thanks!🙂

It is probably the shoe that is causing the pain. I switched to Specialized shoes and found that the Body Geometry stuff really works.

excellent - thanks for all your suggestions. I had actually noticed that the pedal on the left is much "looser" (to clip in/out of) than the right, so first thing I'll try will be just tightening that.

Great info here. I was having the same problem with the left side of my left foot. I was affraid that I was developing some sort of arthritic condition. I kept the Velcro on my left shoe looser for a while until the shoe stretched out a bit. No more pain. I have seen some shoes that have more forgiving mesh tops. I wonder if those types of shoes are better in general?

Suffering from the same symptoms So is the fix to just loosen the shoe??

Zer0hmz said:

Suffering from the same symptoms So is the fix to just loosen the shoe??

My Shoes have 3 straps. I loosened the center strap so the shoe wouldn't be so tight against outside edge of my left foot. The soft part of the shoe has broken in a bit, and now I can tighten the shoe without pain. Maybe that will work for you. Maybe wider shoes are what you need.

If loosening the straps or wearing thinner socks or different insoles doesn't work, I would recommend trying a shim -- you can get a set of "LeWedge" shims for most types of pedal systems and they work very well. They work by getting your feet in proper alignment when pedaling.

As someone already mentioned (and if nothing else seems to works), try some Specialized Body Geometry shoes, they have several features to help alleviate foot problems on the bike. I have a pair of older Sidi's (still use them for shorter rides) and a pair of Specialized and the Specialized are a lot more comfy on longer rides -- no hot spots or other problems I sometimes got with the Sidi's, and they are better for walking in too.

timbradley said:

Hi all.

Have recently started rinding in clipless pedals, and on my last 2 rides have been experiencing some pain on the outside of the arch on my left foot.

Is this just a normal reaction from my feet getting used to the rigid soles of the shoes? or is this something I should be concerned about, and if so, does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can try to remedy it.

Thanks!🙂

Could be the shoe and or the pedal. I was thinking, if your rotation/float is limited, you could be putting stress on your foot by not letting it float to accommadate your normal movement. A minor abnormallity creaps up on you as an acute irratation. This is one reason I use Speedplay pedals, 26% float.