HOT foot

In article <[email hidden]>,

Morg said:

Has anyone heard of this?
I ride a rode bike with mountain bike clip on shoes. I do not ride on dirt
trails, or off road.
I get mostly on my left toes sever pain on my small and next 2 or 3 toes.
I have to stop riding, get my shoes off for awhile.

Try moving your cleats back a little so the ball of your foot is over
the center to front of the pedal. This should cause your shoes to flex
less and prevent toe pinch.

: Has anyone heard of this?
: I ride a rode bike with mountain bike clip on shoes. I do not ride on dirt
: trails, or off road.
: I get mostly on my left toes sever pain on my small and next 2 or 3 toes.
: I have to stop riding, get my shoes off for awhile.
: I have been told this is a common problem, caused by not wearing road
shoes.
: This is caused by the m.t.b. shoe not beening firm enough.
: I need help.
: I will buy new shoes, but am afraid that this may not be the problem, then
I
: will be stuck with a pair of shoes.
: Thank You

Yes, people have heard of this. Everyone has their own opinion as to how to
"fix" it. I get it with Shimano SPD cleats on my Mtn. Bike shoes but not
with Look cleats or Speedplay cleats on my road bike shoes. It is true that
the road bike shoes have stiffer soles. Some people think the pain (which
evidently is caused by hurting the nerves) is caused by the toe box of the
shoe being too wide--which describes mountain bike shoes. Others say that
the bigger cleats like the Look style spread the pressure over a larger
area; that the problem is the SPD cleats are too small. I have put some
orthotics in my mountain bike shoes and they help to make the soles stiffer
so there is not as much flex in the cleat area. That seems to help me. Also,
wiggling the toes from time to time will help. An orthotist once told me to
put an oval pad at the base of the toes to help spread apart the bones there
and give the nerves extra room. That helps, too.

But, first, move your cleats away from your toes a bit and see if that
helps. Always do the cheapest thing first.

Pat in TX
:
:

Morg said:

Has anyone heard of this?
I ride a rode bike with mountain bike clip on shoes. I do not ride on dirt
trails, or off road.
I get mostly on my left toes sever pain on my small and next 2 or 3 toes.
I have to stop riding, get my shoes off for awhile.
I have been told this is a common problem, caused by not wearing road shoes.
This is caused by the m.t.b. shoe not beening firm enough.
I need help.
I will buy new shoes, but am afraid that this may not be the problem, then I
will be stuck with a pair of shoes.
Thank You

I have experienced something similar to this when using mountain shoes
on road rides. One thing that really helped me was to periodically
consciously pull up on the pedals for several strokes. Doing this
every 15-20 minutes or so relieves some of the pressure on the bottom
of the foot, helping to prevent the pain and numbness.

The Physics behind HOT foot is simply applied force in a concentrated
area. The foot response is perception of "heat" that progresses to
"numbness".

The solution is to begin with First Principles: Support. Shoes with
plastic, molded or EVA foams are poor choices in high load
concentration areas. Shoes with kevlar, carbon, composite soles
(preferably detachable) better spread forces applied in concentration.
Your foot sees the same loads but spread over more area in a rigid
composite sole riding shoe. Attack the shoe problem, first.

The Second Principle: Comfort. Socks are important contributors to
perceived comfort. I'm a fan of the "double" sock system that provides
two layers of material (inside/outside) in a single sock (!oxymoron).
Dual layers enable the foot to breathe and conduct moisture away. Dual
layers prevent blister and hot spots due to frictional forces. Mine
are made by Wright Sock - they just work.

In the event all else fails... HOT foot side-effects are courtesy of
modern pedal systems that strive to solve bio-mechanical problems. IF
you don't have problems with your knees, hips or ankles - feel free to
mount up any number of the "toe-clip" style pedals which cleat-in at
the front of the shoe.

Pat said:

Yes, people have heard of this. Everyone has their own opinion as to how to
"fix" it. I get it with Shimano SPD cleats on my Mtn. Bike shoes but not
with Look cleats or Speedplay cleats on my road bike shoes. It is true that
the road bike shoes have stiffer soles. Some people think the pain (which
evidently is caused by hurting the nerves) is caused by the toe box of the
shoe being too wide--which describes mountain bike shoes. Others say that
the bigger cleats like the Look style spread the pressure over a larger
area; that the problem is the SPD cleats are too small. I have put some
orthotics in my mountain bike shoes and they help to make the soles stiffer
so there is not as much flex in the cleat area. That seems to help me. Also,
wiggling the toes from time to time will help. An orthotist once told me to
put an oval pad at the base of the toes to help spread apart the bones there
and give the nerves extra room. That helps, too.

"Pat in TX" gives good advice, as you might expect from his first name,
but misses one possibility. Sometimes hot foot comes from compressing
the front of the foot. I've also suffered it once because the two-piece
tongue of my shoe got wrinkled, putting a fold at the top of my foot.

Quoted message said:

But, first, move your cleats away from your toes a bit and see if that
helps. Always do the cheapest thing first.

Make that the second thing. Try loosening the laces at the front of the
shoe first -- you can do that without even breaking out the Allen wrench!

Quoted message said:

Pat in TX

Pat (in AL)

: "Pat in TX" gives good advice, as you might expect from his first name,
: but misses one possibility. Sometimes hot foot comes from compressing
: the front of the foot. I've also suffered it once because the two-piece
: tongue of my shoe got wrinkled, putting a fold at the top of my foot.

Never heard of that one before. Also, if the OP has a tight toe box, that
would hurt!

:
: > But, first, move your cleats away from your toes a bit and see if that
: > helps. Always do the cheapest thing first.
:
: Make that the second thing. Try loosening the laces at the front of the
: shoe first -- you can do that without even breaking out the Allen wrench!
:
: Pat (in AL)

I didn't think of that because my shoes don't have laces. 🙂

Pat in TX

toes are movable.
roll a small wad of paper towel to fit between toes and place in the
narrows near the foot proper.
start on the outside of the offending area like big toe(that's the toe
on the inside-medial)
and second toe(that's the next toe over topward the outside-lateral)
this moves the big toe over from the second toe.
stick it in for an hour or two while sitting.
then wear in walking a bit...
werks gud!
try wiggling toes before getting up in the morn. improves circulation.
strecth foot and ankle. and backs calves.