Speedplay foot numbness

Hey
The speedplay cleat needs a straight sole, the old Look cleats were curved
so the soles.
I think that the new cleats bends his shoes a little bit straight, so they
don't support his toes and backfoot as they did before.
The cancerman

My guess is he needs to lower his seat. The speedplay cleat-pedal
stack probably lowers his foot relative to the Look.

Dan

Larry Coon said:

A friend of mine just switched from old Look pedals/cleats
to Speedplay X-2's. He's using the same shoes as before,
which he says fit great, and he never had a problem with
foot numbness on the Looks.

With the Speedplays, starting about 10 miles into a ride,
he gets numbness in his left foot only, starting on the
outside ball of his foot, and soon spreading into his two
or three small toes. He said loosening his shoes doesn't
help.

I told him it's probably the cleat positioning, although
he said as far as he could tell, his feet are in the same
position as with the Looks.

Rather than adjusting his cleats in a random direction,
having him ride 10 miles & see if it's any better, then
adjusting in a different direction and repeating the
process, I thought I'd check here to see if anybody has
a more specific recommendation based on his symptoms.

Thanks for any info.

Quoted message said:

A friend of mine just switched from old Look pedals/cleats
to Speedplay X-2's. He's using the same shoes as before,
which he says fit great, and he never had a problem with
foot numbness on the Looks.

It's amazing how many people think the size or shape of the cleat is going
to have much to do with foot discomfort. Modern, high-quality shoes have
soles stiff enough that the size of the cleat should be pretty much
irrelevant, aside from issues where a smaller cleat might give a somewhat
"sloppier" feel.

I think Dan might have the answer, where he brings up the likelihood that
the speedplay has essentially increased his seat height (by lowering the
foot a bit).

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA

"Larry Coon" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

A friend of mine just switched from old Look pedals/cleats
to Speedplay X-2's. He's using the same shoes as before,
which he says fit great, and he never had a problem with
foot numbness on the Looks.

With the Speedplays, starting about 10 miles into a ride,
he gets numbness in his left foot only, starting on the
outside ball of his foot, and soon spreading into his two
or three small toes. He said loosening his shoes doesn't
help.

I told him it's probably the cleat positioning, although
he said as far as he could tell, his feet are in the same
position as with the Looks.

Rather than adjusting his cleats in a random direction,
having him ride 10 miles & see if it's any better, then
adjusting in a different direction and repeating the
process, I thought I'd check here to see if anybody has
a more specific recommendation based on his symptoms.

Thanks for any info.

Larry Coon
University of California

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

I think Dan might have the answer,

Whew! Now I feel a bit better after the Urban Bike thing.... 🙂

Dan

Dan Connelly said:

My guess is he needs to lower his seat. The speedplay cleat-pedal
stack probably lowers his foot relative to the Look.

Dan

I agree and maybe a wedge that leans/ rotates his foot inward 1 degree,
may take the pressure off the outside of the foot.

Quoted message said:

Larry Coon said:

A friend of mine just switched from old Look pedals/cleats
to Speedplay X-2's. He's using the same shoes as before,
which he says fit great, and he never had a problem with
foot numbness on the Looks.

With the Speedplays, starting about 10 miles into a ride,
he gets numbness in his left foot only, starting on the
outside ball of his foot, and soon spreading into his two
or three small toes. He said loosening his shoes doesn't
help.

I told him it's probably the cleat positioning, although
he said as far as he could tell, his feet are in the same
position as with the Looks.

Rather than adjusting his cleats in a random direction,
having him ride 10 miles & see if it's any better, then
adjusting in a different direction and repeating the
process, I thought I'd check here to see if anybody has
a more specific recommendation based on his symptoms.

Thanks for any info.

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

It's amazing how many people think the size or shape of the cleat is going
to have much to do with foot discomfort. Modern, high-quality shoes have
soles stiff enough that the size of the cleat should be pretty much
irrelevant, aside from issues where a smaller cleat might give a somewhat
"sloppier" feel.

I think Dan might have the answer, where he brings up the likelihood that
the speedplay has essentially increased his seat height (by lowering the
foot a bit).

Thanks Mike (and to the others who responded). We didn't
think it was an issue of the cleat changing the shape of
the sole at all, since my friend says he installed shims.

The lower stack height sounds reasonable in that it's
something that's different, but doesn't sound like it's
something that would lead to numbness on the bottom of
his foot. Still, it seems like the most reasonable thing
to try changing. It's been raining here so he's been off
the bike for a few days, but we're riding at noon today.
I'll have him lower it and see what happens.

Larry Coon
University of California

Larry Coon said:

Thanks Mike (and to the others who responded). We didn't
think it was an issue of the cleat changing the shape of
the sole at all, since my friend says he installed shims.

Follow-up: He never got the Speedplays right, so he
switched to Look Keos andnow he's in total bliss.

Larry Coon
University of California

The NBA Salary Cap FAQ:
http://members.cox.net/lmcoon/salarycap.htm

Quoted message said:

Follow-up: He never got the Speedplays right, so he
switched to Look Keos andnow he's in total bliss.

Larry Coon

I never did get them right, either. I gave up and switched to SPD's.

Pat in TX

In article <[email hidden]>,

Larry Coon said:

Larry Coon said:

Thanks Mike (and to the others who responded). We didn't
think it was an issue of the cleat changing the shape of
the sole at all, since my friend says he installed shims.

Follow-up: He never got the Speedplays right, so he
switched to Look Keos andnow he's in total bliss.

Larry Coon
University of California

The NBA Salary Cap FAQ:

105 items about the NBA celery cup. Do some people have
time on their hands? I would read it if I were getting $2
million as a general manager in a basketball league.

How about an executive summary.

--
Michael Press