Endurance SPD/SL shoes?

Grats on the new bike! Just had a 2010 Defy Advanced 3 as a rental for a week and it was a very nice ride.

As far as the shoes go, are you sure they aren't too small of a size? My LBS had me size my road shoes with ~3/4 - 1" of extra space in the toe and wide enough that you aren't cramped around the ball of the foot.

While different shoes will certainly provide different comfort levels for different peoples feet, it's not at all uncommon to experience hotspotting/cramping/numbness w/ properly fitting shoes after a while pedaling. A lot of the time this is due to the feet swelling up after an hour or two of use. Try loosening your straps/fasteners a bit and see if you have any better luck.

If this doesn't solve your issue there are also a wide variety of pre and custom molded insoles available that may help.

Conventional wisdom would be that you want the lightest, best ventilated, stiffest soled shoe that fits your foot well, but comfort is a very personal thing so if you cant get a road shoe to work for you it may be worth it to check out your luck w/ MTB shoes.

Thanks! 🙂

I don't think it's a fitment issue. It doesn't feel too tight, it's more like the feeling you get after standing on hardwood or concrete floor (in socks) for a few hours. I think it's just a question of padding, but I wonder if there are any SPD/SL shoes with thicker in-soles. Or, are there perhaps aftermarket bike shoe in-soles?

glambx said:

Thanks! 🙂

I don't think it's a fitment issue. It doesn't feel too tight, it's more like the feeling you get after standing on hardwood or concrete floor (in socks) for a few hours. I think it's just a question of padding, but I wonder if there are any SPD/SL shoes with thicker in-soles. Or, are there perhaps aftermarket bike shoe in-soles?

Yup, there certainly are. I hear pretty good things about the Specialized insoles in general and have been impressed w/ the stock ones that came w/ my road and MTB shoes (both Specialized). There's a pretty wide range out there though both pre-molded and that you can custom mold to your individual foot.

Sid Nitzerglobi said:

Yup, there certainly are. I hear pretty good things about the Specialized insoles in general and have been impressed w/ the stock ones that came w/ my road and MTB shoes (both Specialized). There's a pretty wide range out there though both pre-molded and that you can custom mold to your individual foot.

Ah ha! Footbeds, they call them. I'll give them a shot.

Thanks everyone!

glambx said:

Hi everyone!

Apologies in advance if this has been discussed at length, but I didn't find anything in the first 50 search results.

I've been riding my whole life, but only got really serious this year. A few months back I sold my Norco VFR4 hybrid and bought a Giant Defy Advanced 3. No words can describe the difference, and it's everything I thought it would be.

I'm still new to the high-performance world, so here's the question.

I added Ultegra SPD/SL pedals and Shimano SH-R132L shoes (CF soles), and I'm finding that on long rides (3h+) my feet hurt. It's not an alignment issue, it's just that the shoe is so rigid it's like standing on concrete.

Are any of the other SPD/SL shoes out there significantly more comfortable for endurance rides, or should I consider a second set of pedals (ie. SPD) with mountain bike shoes?

Do I just need to suck it up?

I have terrible feet issues; spd sl cleats help a lot but the shoe fit/insole is critical. The bad news is that you don't know if a shoe really fits well until you know it does not fit. My issue has always been that a shoe feels great at first but later it feels like I'm walking/pedaling on concrete; then I search for the correct insole (gel insoles) or Dr Sholls pads/callous protection or whatever works.
I have the worst feet issues: low arch, callouses, nerve issues, hammerhead toes, etc and endurance cycling makes them even worse but the correct insoles and my podriatist are my best friends. For me, large cleat surface helps the most....