shoes and numbness

Often the cause of numb feet is that your shoe is too narrow and pinched the
nerves.
\

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

Quoted message said:

so carbon fibre shoes help distribute the pedal pressure evenly on the
feet and eliminate numbness. i ride on road with shimano mountain
biking shoes with SPD cleats. i dont quite know if its the mildly cold
weather, if its the shoes or if its the shimano m-520 pedals, but i get
numb feet often while road riding and believe me, it takes a whole lot
of pleasure away from enjoying a good ride.

can u or can u not ride long distances with mountain biking shoes?
whats an easy solution to getting rid of this problem? am i to walk my
bike occasionally on long rides?

im really perky about spending a whole lot of money on those fancy
carbon shoes as of now. geez, but i hate numb feet. hellp! -ron

i'll try loosening the laces a bit next time. lets see if that works or
atleast prolongs the time for my feet to get numb. so often the soles
of these shimano's look so flat just like grandma's slippers. i heard
about custom made insoles to help in aborption of shock better and some
cyclists use them too.

bicycle_disciple said:

i'll try loosening the laces a bit next time.

Yup, you'd be surprised at how much your feet swell.

I always press down with my toes before securing my laces or straps.
When I release the fit is rather loose, but firms up as my feet expand
during the ride.

In article <[email hidden]>,

bicycle_disciple said:

can u or can u not ride long distances with mountain biking shoes?

Please learn to use the shift key and spell words out rather than using
the cute instant messaging lingo. it may b hard 4 u 2 do @ 1st. It was
cute when Prince did it on album covers in the 90s. It's boring now.

The answer is "yes." I ride in Lake MX-101 MTB shoes with Speedplay
Frog pedals, and do rides up to 200-400 km (125-250 miles) in a day. I
have had no numbness or hot spots or other foot discomfort with this
combination. I've used these for hundreds of long road rides, including
the Alps, and have had excellent results.

I think that there are a few things to consider regarding shoes. First,
the shoe has to fit properly. Different manufacturers use slightly
different shaped lasts, so the shoes fit slightly differently. Find the
maker whose lasts match your foot. In my case, the Lakes consistently
fit really well. Lots of people find Sidi shoes to fit well, and my
wife prefers Shimano's shoes. Second, the shoe should not be laced too
tight. Third, the sole should be adequately stiff so that you don't
feel the cleat like standing on a walnut when you pedal. Many people
experience some foot swelling when riding, and this makes the shoes
become tighter and tighter, which can result in numbness.

Try Smartwool wool cycling socks. I find that wool socks make an
amazing difference in how comfortable my feet are.

Hope this helps!

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

Quoted message said:

so carbon fibre shoes help distribute the pedal pressure evenly on the
feet and eliminate numbness. i ride on road with shimano mountain
biking shoes with SPD cleats. i dont quite know if its the mildly cold
weather, if its the shoes or if its the shimano m-520 pedals, but i get
numb feet often while road riding and believe me, it takes a whole lot
of pleasure away from enjoying a good ride.

can u or can u not ride long distances with mountain biking shoes?
whats an easy solution to getting rid of this problem? am i to walk my
bike occasionally on long rides?

im really perky about spending a whole lot of money on those fancy
carbon shoes as of now. geez, but i hate numb feet. hellp! -ron

Shimano have rather flat beds which don't supply much support. Superfeet,
Specialized BG footbeds or similar may help your feet on longer rides since
supported feet should have better circulation. As others have suggested,
loosening your shoes may help. If you use thicker socks in cold weather,
that may be constricting your feet, which won't help either.

I've just done an 80 mile road ride on mountain bike shoes and apart from
tired legs I'm fine, so it can be done.

Skippy
E&OE

Tim McNamara said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

bicycle_disciple said:

can u or can u not ride long distances with mountain biking shoes?

Please learn to use the shift key and spell words out rather than using
the cute instant messaging lingo. it may b hard 4 u 2 do @ 1st. It was
cute when Prince did it on album covers in the 90s. It's boring now.

The answer is "yes." I ride in Lake MX-101 MTB shoes with Speedplay
Frog pedals, and do rides up to 200-400 km (125-250 miles) in a day. I
have had no numbness or hot spots or other foot discomfort with this
combination. I've used these for hundreds of long road rides, including
the Alps, and have had excellent results.

I think that there are a few things to consider regarding shoes. First,
the shoe has to fit properly. Different manufacturers use slightly
different shaped lasts, so the shoes fit slightly differently. Find the
maker whose lasts match your foot. In my case, the Lakes consistently
fit really well. Lots of people find Sidi shoes to fit well, and my
wife prefers Shimano's shoes. Second, the shoe should not be laced too
tight. Third, the sole should be adequately stiff so that you don't
feel the cleat like standing on a walnut when you pedal. Many people
experience some foot swelling when riding, and this makes the shoes
become tighter and tighter, which can result in numbness.

Try Smartwool wool cycling socks. I find that wool socks make an
amazing difference in how comfortable my feet are.

Hope this helps!

I think Tim makes good sense, particularly with the comment about socks.
I find that I get numbness in my middle front part of my right foot with
thick socks. Wearing thinner socks made the problem go away.

Also ISTM that cotton socks absorb water and do not breathe well.

HTH,
EJ in NJ

bicycle_disciple said:

so carbon fibre shoes help distribute the pedal pressure evenly on the
feet and eliminate numbness. i ride on road with shimano mountain
biking shoes with SPD cleats. i dont quite know if its the mildly cold
weather, if its the shoes or if its the shimano m-520 pedals, but i get
numb feet often while road riding and believe me, it takes a whole lot
of pleasure away from enjoying a good ride.

can u or can u not ride long distances with mountain biking shoes?
whats an easy solution to getting rid of this problem? am i to walk my
bike occasionally on long rides?

My Sidi MTB shoes are worth every penny I paid for them on rides over
25 miles. That said, there are few things to check for. First, are
they too tight across the ball of your foot? Second, switch socks.
Perhaps surprisingly, thin socks work better for me than fat, cushy
socks. Third, make sure everything's smooth. I ended up with severe
foot cramps on one ride because the tongue was folded over on one
shoe.

HTH,
Pat

Email address works as is.

bicycle_disciple said:

so carbon fibre shoes help distribute the pedal pressure evenly on the
feet and eliminate numbness. i ride on road with shimano mountain
biking shoes with SPD cleats. i dont quite know if its the mildly cold
weather, if its the shoes or if its the shimano m-520 pedals, but i get
numb feet often while road riding and believe me, it takes a whole lot
of pleasure away from enjoying a good ride.

can u or can u not ride long distances with mountain biking shoes?
whats an easy solution to getting rid of this problem? am i to walk my
bike occasionally on long rides?

im really perky about spending a whole lot of money on those fancy
carbon shoes as of now. geez, but i hate numb feet. hellp! -ron

The first thing about cycling shoes is that they ought to fit
comfortably. You should have room for your toes to wiggle a little. At
the same time, they should be tight around the ankle so your feet don't
dance around.

If your shoes fit comfortable, the most common reason for numbness is
usually too much pressure on the ball of your foot. The standard advice
is to put the ball of you foot right on the pedal axle. However, feet
go numb when the ball is right on the axle. simply move your cleats
back a couple of milimiters so that the ball will be in front of the
axle, and, presto, your numbness should be gone. It only takes a tiny
amount of adjustment to solve this problem.Try this before you spend
your tax return on new shoes.

Andres

Skippy said:

Shimano have rather flat beds which don't supply much support. Superfeet,
Specialized BG footbeds or similar may help your feet on longer rides since
supported feet should have better circulation.

No hard and fast rules here. I must have rather flat feet, because I
prefer Shimano and Nike shoes with their flat insoles. I find Sidi,
Carnac and other shoes with a pronounced arch excruciating on even the
shortest rides.

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

Quoted message said:

If your shoes fit comfortable, the most common reason for numbness is
usually too much pressure on the ball of your foot. The standard advice
is to put the ball of you foot right on the pedal axle. However, feet
go numb when the ball is right on the axle. simply move your cleats
back a couple of milimiters so that the ball will be in front of the
axle, and, presto, your numbness should be gone. It only takes a tiny
amount of adjustment to solve this problem.Try this before you spend
your tax return on new shoes.

Andres

And if your cleats (Speedplay Zeroes, Specialized shoes) are already
adjusted as far back as they will go?

-JF

JF said:

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

Quoted message said:

If your shoes fit comfortable, the most common reason for numbness is
usually too much pressure on the ball of your foot. The standard advice
is to put the ball of you foot right on the pedal axle. However, feet
go numb when the ball is right on the axle. simply move your cleats
back a couple of milimiters so that the ball will be in front of the
axle, and, presto, your numbness should be gone. It only takes a tiny
amount of adjustment to solve this problem.Try this before you spend
your tax return on new shoes.

Andres

And if your cleats (Speedplay Zeroes, Specialized shoes) are already
adjusted as far back as they will go?

-JF

Shoes ought to let you install the cleats so that the ball is slightly
in front of the pedal axle. If your shoe does not allow that, then,
either the shoe is poorly designed, or you have an unusual foot length,
or something else is wrong. In such case, you may have to drill your
shoes. The operation is kind of a pain in the butt. a bike shop can do
it for you.

Andres

Mike Krueger said:

Skippy said:

Shimano have rather flat beds which don't supply much support.
Superfeet, Specialized BG footbeds or similar may help your feet on
longer rides since supported feet should have better circulation.

No hard and fast rules here. I must have rather flat feet, because I
prefer Shimano and Nike shoes with their flat insoles. I find Sidi,
Carnac and other shoes with a pronounced arch excruciating on even the
shortest rides.

Have you tried Lakes? My flat feet love Lakes and hate Specialized. I'll
check out Shimano and Nike...
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

"Mike Krueger" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Skippy said:

Shimano have rather flat beds which don't supply much support.
Superfeet,
Specialized BG footbeds or similar may help your feet on longer rides
since
supported feet should have better circulation.

No hard and fast rules here. I must have rather flat feet, because I
prefer Shimano and Nike shoes with their flat insoles. I find Sidi,
Carnac and other shoes with a pronounced arch excruciating on even the
shortest rides.

I agree there's no hard and fast rules, that's why I said 'may'. Trying
footbeds could be a cheap way to find out.

Flat feet does not necessarily correlate to flat insoles. Mine have been
measured and are really flat. I use BG shoes for the bike, and Superfeet in
my running shoes.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

bicycle_disciple said:

so carbon fibre shoes help distribute the pedal pressure evenly on the
feet and eliminate numbness. i ride on road with shimano mountain
biking shoes with SPD cleats. i dont quite know if its the mildly cold
weather, if its the shoes or if its the shimano m-520 pedals, but i get
numb feet often while road riding and believe me, it takes a whole lot
of pleasure away from enjoying a good ride.

can u or can u not ride long distances with mountain biking shoes?
whats an easy solution to getting rid of this problem? am i to walk my
bike occasionally on long rides?

im really perky about spending a whole lot of money on those fancy
carbon shoes as of now. geez, but i hate numb feet. hellp! -ron

The first thing about cycling shoes is that they ought to fit
comfortably. You should have room for your toes to wiggle a little. At
the same time, they should be tight around the ankle so your feet don't
dance around.

If your shoes fit comfortable, the most common reason for numbness is
usually too much pressure on the ball of your foot. The standard advice
is to put the ball of you foot right on the pedal axle. However, feet
go numb when the ball is right on the axle. simply move your cleats
back a couple of milimiters so that the ball will be in front of the
axle, and, presto, your numbness should be gone. It only takes a tiny
amount of adjustment to solve this problem.Try this before you spend
your tax return on new shoes.

Andres

I agree with Andres. I'll take it a step further too. Make sure that your feet
are snug in your shoes without being constricted. If you notice your toes are
getting jammed (foot pushes forward) while pumping, you will try to adjust your
foot to keep that from happening. This may cause you to misplace your foot in
respect to the pedal axle.
Three velcro straps are better that two.
A better, good fitting shoe is cool.
I can ride road forever in my good pair (not extravagantly priced) Answer MTB
shoes
I have a cheaper pair of Answers that kill me after about 15 miles