numb toes...

eli_cheez said:

Hi,

On my road bike I've been wearing a pair of Shimano mountain shoes with SPD mountain cleats. The soles are a little flexible. After maybe 30mi+ I get numbness in my toes. I'm planning on upgrading either shoes or pedals. Should I get stiff road shoes, switch to a bigger platform pedal (LOOK), or both? Any thoughts?

thanks!

Do you think the numbness comes from the flexibility of the shoe? I sometimes get this but always feel its down to temperature. I can ride for miles and miles in the summer in my mountain bike shoes but in the winter I'm numb after a hour or so.

As for advice on the shoes, I would say if you're doing exlusively road riding then you will benefit from the stiff road shoes. If I felt I could justify the cost I certainly would have a set. I'm trying to find a solution that will cover my mountain bike riding and my road riding. As per my other post, I'm thinking about the Shimano RT30 - lighter and stiffer that the mountain bike shoes but still with some form of tread.

David

VeloSpeed said:

Do you think the numbness comes from the flexibility of the shoe? I sometimes get this but always feel its down to temperature. I can ride for miles and miles in the summer in my mountain bike shoes but in the winter I'm numb after a hour or so.

As for advice on the shoes, I would say if you're doing exlusively road riding then you will benefit from the stiff road shoes. If I felt I could justify the cost I certainly would have a set. I'm trying to find a solution that will cover my mountain bike riding and my road riding. As per my other post, I'm thinking about the Shimano RT30 - lighter and stiffer that the mountain bike shoes but still with some form of tread.

David

It's definitely not the temp, this weekend was 70deg and I felt it.

Do you think stiff shoes and SPD is OK? I have a bike for commuting, too, and I'd rather not buy 2 pairs of pedals.

eli_cheez said:

It's definitely not the temp, this weekend was 70deg and I felt it.

Do you think stiff shoes and SPD is OK? I have a bike for commuting, too, and I'd rather not buy 2 pairs of pedals.

From what I've read on these forums there are quite a lot of people who use mountain SPDs on their road bikes to avoid having multiple sets of shoes. I guess the problem is that most (if not all) of the stiffest dedicated road shoes will only work with the road style pedal cleats. If you want to use MTB SPDs you will be limited to the more touring and moutain bike oriented shoes. I imagine shoes built for MTB racing will be pretty stiff however.

David

You may need a wider shoe. Specialized use a sole insert with a dome that is said to spread the metatarsals and reduce nerve pinching, but I doubt that this claim is evidence-based.

Tweak your cleat position fore and aft. Could be that the pedal axle is too far forward and there is excess pressure on the toe region of your foot. Nothing wrong per se with SPDs on a road bike.

artemidorus said:

You may need a wider shoe. Specialized use a sole insert with a dome that is said to spread the metatarsals and reduce nerve pinching, but I doubt that this claim is evidence-based.

Squeezing the metatarsals into a shoe that's too narrow can pinch off the nerves and later lead to inflammation of the nerves. It's called Morton's neuroma, and it causes numbness and pain to the third and fourth toes (if the big one is number one). Metatarsal arches and wearing wider shoes can be effective in spreading out the phalanges and giving relief.

Could it have anything to do with hydration and electrolytes? I know the soles of your feet feel like you're standing on a brillo pad when you're dehydrated; maybe the toes are affected too due to pedaling forces bearing on them.

Personally i think those shimano shoes are [censored], the spd's seem fine though as long as you like alot of movement.

My wife complained for two years until I forced her to go to a shop that had a good variety of shoes.
She found her salvation in a new pair of Sidis. They fit the best of any she had tried and she had used three different shoe previously. She also complains about ,too windy,too hot,too wet,too cold etc,etc but no more about numb feet.
Look to the simple solution and try on some new shoes and when your feet are in good shape and not a distracting anymore you may notice that your saddle hurts a bit, but that is another story and another thread.

1. PROPER FITTING SHOES: Proper width & length fit is far more important that colors or logos. PERIOD.

A. TOO CONFINING: As pertaining to your shoe's length, width, toe box, arch, or heel.This is bad because you have now subjected your foot to being in a vise, while trying to participate a sport that is supposed to deliver enjoyment not pain.

B. TOO LENGTHY: This is bad because you can have fore and aft movement that can cause your foot to act like you are kicking a curb for the duration of your ride - eventually this would become numbing, then sore and may even bruise your toes. ...And... NO... Just cinching the shoe's straps is not the proper solution in this case.

C. TOO VOLUMINOUS: If you scrunch your toes, un-scrunch them. Some riders scrunch up their toes when they ride because the shoe they are wearing is too voluminous - (picture shaking a peanut inside an empty bottle of soda)... Scrunching ultimately this causes a tighter fit in the shoe that can be eliminated by checking your shoe straps/laces from time to time or at worst buying proper fitting shoes (which can be difficult no matter ow long you have been a cyclist with all the crazy sizes and trying to convert them... Trust me no two companies think alike in the size game [if you are a guy and you don't believe me, just ask a woman about her dress shoes]. I find a well established brand, get properly fit, then stick with the same company -I don't care about colors aand logos - Comfort equals enjoyment. BUT this is about scrunching: Verdict here, if you are scrunching your toes... just stop and relax. This is cycling and it is fun for the mind all the way down to your toes - and .. oh yeah... neither is supposed to be numb)

2. TEMPERATURE: Keep 'em warm... keep 'em happy - I know you said this isn't the case, since it was warm where you are.

3. PERSONAL CIRCULATORY ISSUES: I am not a doctor, nor would I give physician's advice, but if my toes went numb I would also try to remember/note if my fingers/finger tips felt numb as well. Sometimes when distracted you may not realize other issues are occurring. THINK - the old joke where the guys says his hand hurts and the 2nd guy says I can hit your foot with a hammer and then you won't feel your hand pain any longer. Silly, I know, but the body works that way at times.

4. FLEX IN YOUR SHOE: If you hammer the down stroke instead of focusing on spinning the 'perfect circle" (or perfect biopace or elliptical thingy) you might get some numbness from that issue. I just thought that if your cleat isn't properly postitioned, could you be doing something that kinda (a far reach here) resembles gripping a mountain bike handlebar. If so then this could be like sleeping with one arm hanging over the bed all night and trying to do pull/chin ups as soon as you wake. It was just a quick final thought, I would like some feedback on this point though.

I had thought to toss something into the arena about crank arm length and trying to reach too far (as can occur when climbing, caving, etc... in regards to one's fingers), but your crotch would probably know more about the error there then your toes ever would.

Thanks for reading my post,
CJ

jhuskey said:

My wife complained for two years until I forced her to go to a shop that had a good variety of shoes.
She found her salvation in a new pair of Sidis. They fit the best of any she had tried and she had used three different shoe previously. She also complains about ,too windy,too hot,too wet,too cold etc,etc but no more about numb feet.
Look to the simple solution and try on some new shoes and when your feet are in good shape and not a distracting anymore you may notice that your saddle hurts a bit, but that is another story and another thread.

I found the wife complaint thing and saddle pain completely hysterical [img]cyclingforums.combiggrin.gifOpen ↗[/img] . Someone in my cycling club stated that there are purple bracelets/wristbands (like, LIVESTRONG style) that are suppposed to be worn by complainers. They are only supposed to wear them if they promise not to complain for 21 days.

You can read about it and watch a video on it here:

msnbc.msn.com17362505Open ↗

jhuskey said:

My wife complained for two years until I forced her to go to a shop that had a good variety of shoes.
She found her salvation in a new pair of Sidis. They fit the best of any she had tried and she had used three different shoe previously. She also complains about ,too windy,too hot,too wet,too cold etc,etc but no more about numb feet.
Look to the simple solution and try on some new shoes and when your feet are in good shape and not a distracting anymore you may notice that your saddle hurts a bit, but that is another story and another thread.

You had to force your missus into a shoe shop?
She's a keeper,mate, a keeper! 🙂

stevebaby said:

You had to force your missus into a shoe shop?
She's a keeper,mate, a keeper! 🙂

They don't seem to come in stylish high heel versions and that seems to be the difference.
She doesn't seem to care how painful her other shoes are as long as they look good.

jhuskey said:

They don't seem to come in stylish high heel versions and that seems to be the difference.
She doesn't seem to care how painful her other shoes are as long as they look good.

LMAO