SPD Agony!

Artemisia said:

(Alan Braggins) said:

Most SPD shoes have two pairs of holes in a plate which can be moved
forward and back at least a little bit.

I went back to the hotel room to check. After prying away all the
caked mud with the multi-tool, I did indeed find two sets of holes
underneath. I moved the cleats onto the lower pair. We'll see
tomorrow, short ride, if that makes any difference.

As well as the additional holes, you should find that when you loosen
the bolts the whole cleat+plate assembly should be able to move around
(up to a point), though you might have to force it a bit just to free
it up. This gives you finer adjustment back-to-front as well as
allowing you to slightly rotate the cleats and move them side-to-side
a little. It can take quite a while to get them just right so that
they feel natural.

As others have said, though, try loosening the laces a little. The
shoes should be relatively tight, but not uncomfortably so.

Again, as others have said, it could be the shoes are just too small.
If your toes can touch the end of the shoe then it's not a good sign.

Colin

PoB wrote:
:: "dkahn400" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
:: news:[email hidden]...
::: On May 7, 6:32 am, "wafflycat" <w*a*ff£y£cat*@£btco*nn£ect.com>
::: wrote: The long term solution which I'm surprised no-one has
::: mentioned yet may be SPD sandals. Many long distance riders swear
::: by them.
::
:: I'd second this. On long rides my sandals are infinitely better
:: than my shoes (and being British, when it's chilly, I can wear socks
:: 🙂.
::

Well, I'm a diabetic and suffer from hot foot, but don't have any issues
other than on long rides in the heat. I can do centuriers in the
fall/spring and do not suffer hot foot. When the temps go up I do. I have
a pair of well-fitting SPD sandals (Lakes). They don't help.

I think the best approach is to get well-fitting shoes with very stiff
soles. They feet must be kept cool and there should be no long-duration
pressure points.

On, and the notion of fully unloading the sole intermittently while
pedaling, while it sounds good, is not something I have been able to achieve
on long rides.

Artemisia said:

(Alan Braggins) said:

Most SPD shoes have two pairs of holes in a plate which can be moved
forward and back at least a little bit.

I went back to the hotel room to check. After prying away all the
caked mud with the multi-tool, I did indeed find two sets of holes
underneath. I moved the cleats onto the lower pair. We'll see
tomorrow, short ride, if that makes any difference.

EFR
After a wonderful dinner on Isle sur Sorgue

Seen on a recumbent trike mailing list, these
(http://www.tri-zone.com/Details.html?cat=69&item=PYPLT) might be a
useful alternative. Essentially a stiff platform that you bolt your
cleats to and clip to your pedals, and then you can wear any shoe that
is comfortable and fix it in with the straps. The heel cup would appear
to make them suitable for recumbent use.

--
Colin

PoB said:

Quoted message said:

The long term solution which I'm surprised no-one has mentioned yet
may be SPD sandals. Many long distance riders swear by them.

I'd second this. On long rides my sandals are infinitely better than my
shoes

Yes, but which ones? Since Shimano stopped making the old two-strap
SD-60s, I haven't been able to find a comfortable replacement.

Roger Zoul said:

Well, I'm a diabetic and suffer from hot foot, but don't have any issues
other than on long rides in the heat. I can do centuriers in the
fall/spring and do not suffer hot foot. When the temps go up I do. I have
a pair of well-fitting SPD sandals (Lakes). They don't help.

Artemisia is complaining of numb toes as well as hot foot so I would
worry about circulation in her case. You are obviously aware how
important this can be. I don't often get hot foot. When it has hit me
it has been on long rides in very hot weather. I can confirm that it
is excruciating but loosening the straps of my shoes does help. People
in sandals then laugh at me so I'm a little surprised you found they
don't help. Possibly not the magic bullet I had thought them to be
though.

--
Dave...

David Damerell said:

Quoting Artemisia <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Two days into my trail and I discover the limit is coming from an
unexpected place - unbelievably painful feet.

IIRC you're on a recumbent trike? Suggest abandoning the clips and tying
your feet to the pedals to avoid leg suck - obviously if you're just
strapping them down, you can strap them down in a different position.

Aye. What we did after The Lad fell off the front of the Pino (semi
recumbent tandem) and borked his collar bone was to use short toe
clips and heel loops made from lengths of shock cord.

'course, these days he fits my shoes and is going to have a go with
SPDs soon.

--

Tim

I understand very little of what's being discussed
but for some reason it's fascinating.

(Jon Thompson, urs)

"dkahn400" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Roger Zoul said:

Well, I'm a diabetic and suffer from hot foot, but don't have any issues
other than on long rides in the heat. I can do centuriers in the
fall/spring and do not suffer hot foot. When the temps go up I do. I
have
a pair of well-fitting SPD sandals (Lakes). They don't help.

Artemisia is complaining of numb toes as well as hot foot so I would
worry about circulation in her case. You are obviously aware how
important this can be. I don't often get hot foot. When it has hit me
it has been on long rides in very hot weather. I can confirm that it
is excruciating but loosening the straps of my shoes does help. People
in sandals then laugh at me so I'm a little surprised you found they
don't help. Possibly not the magic bullet I had thought them to be
though.

I had a bit of numb toes when I started triking, but that hasn't been
problem for a while now. I too was suprised that the sandals didn't work as
hoped...I was obviouly looking for whatever solution I could find. Now I'm
at the point of considering different pedals. Something that spreads the
load, so to speak. Stiff sole shoes and bigger contact point should help
some.

The pain is unbelievable. For me, it would go away almost immediately after
getting the shoe off my foot...then a massage period was necessary before I
could start riding again...without that, the pain would come back
immediately.

It's too bad that Artemisia had to discover this on her 1st trike tour. I
feel badly about that.

Roger Zoul said:

It's too bad that Artemisia had to discover this on her 1st trike tour. I
feel badly about that.

Why? You had nothing to do with it.

On yesterday's short ride, a little over 20km, the cleats in the lower
position behaved much better. I didn't have any pain at all in the
first half, kept the shoes on for about an hour over lunch, and only
started suffering again as I was returning to the hotel. Today, last
day, another longish ride back to Avignon which I will try to shorten
as I can. In addition to cleat pain there have been other technical
issues, as well as scorchingly hot weather, so actually I'll be quite
happy to get back to my little corner in Isle de France.

Thanks everyone for your help. I'll post a full trip and trike review
when I get home.

EFR
Isle sur Sorgue

"Artemisia" <[email hidden]> wrote in

Quoted message said:

Roger Zoul said:

It's too bad that Artemisia had to discover this on her 1st trike tour. I
feel badly about that.

Why? You had nothing to do with it.

Because your 1st trike tour should be great! Mine was. I did one in March
where I did 7 different bikes trails, one each day, over a week. It was
great. However, the temps were higher and later in the day the hot foot
problems showed up. Fortunately, I was able to get out there early to avoid
the heat most of the days.

Quoted message said:

On yesterday's short ride, a little over 20km, the cleats in the lower
position behaved much better. I didn't have any pain at all in the
first half, kept the shoes on for about an hour over lunch, and only
started suffering again as I was returning to the hotel.

Some time with the shoes off during lunch would have been wise...at least
while you were sitting.

Today, last

Quoted message said:

day, another longish ride back to Avignon which I will try to shorten
as I can. In addition to cleat pain there have been other technical
issues, as well as scorchingly hot weather, so actually I'll be quite
happy to get back to my little corner in Isle de France.

Thanks everyone for your help. I'll post a full trip and trike review
when I get home.

EFR
Isle sur Sorgue

Mr Larrington said:

Also, Spesh's so-called "Body Geometry" stuffs are modelled on a body
almost, but not quite, entirely unlike mine. I had a pair of such shoes
once and suffered similar agonies until I bit the bullet, swallowed the
expense and bought a pair of Carnacs.

I too have found Body Geometry to be a wee bit questionable in its perfect
alignment ergonomickery. In my Specialized Comp Roads and Sport MTBs (and
my worn out pair of Comp Roads and worn out Sonomas), I've found it
necessary to throw away every pair of BG insoles and replace them with
ordinary (if moderately thick) Nike running shoe insoles. Before that, I'd
never had so many cases of 'hot foot' - pain all around the outside of my
feet and towards the centres. My Cannondale shoes on the other hand fitted
well without any mucking about at all.

Just to add my bit on cleat positions and lacing...on my recumbents I've
found my feet prefer to have the SPDs slightly further back on the soles
than I might use on the DF. Maybe two or three millimeters further back, it
doesn't sound much but it makes all the difference in ease of spinning and
calf muscle comfort. And for lacing/velcro straps, keeping them a bit loose
seems good for my circulation too.

Becky

Edward Dolan said:

"Tom Sherman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Mark T said:

Artemisia writtificated

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> Is this normal? Is it something "you just get used to"?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Sounds like the shoes are too small. I would divert to the nearest bike
shop that stocks shoes and buy another pair.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Many people have to go a size up to get a shoe that fits, so it is
essential you try them on before buying.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

When wearing the shoes they should not be tight and the toes should not
touch the front of the shoe. I always get shoes where I can wiggle my
toes a little.[...]

Quoted message said:

Too tight shoes are even more of a problem on a recumbent with the bottom
bracket at or above seat level. I have a pair of Shimano ATB shoes which
are a little narrow. These shoes are fine on the ATB and the low bottom
bracket recumbent, but cause pain and a burning feeling when used on a
higher bottom bracket recumbent.

What a laugh the above statement is.

What an outright pillock.

Do you sleep standing up?

Artemisia said:

Jim said:

"Artemisia" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Two days into my trail and I discover the limit is coming from an
unexpected place - unbelievably painful feet. I'm using Specialized BG
Comp mountain biking shoes in the appropriate size.

Quoted message said:

Are you sure you have the cleats in the best position?
I find that I have to shove them pretty far forward otherwise I feel like
they're under my arches.

Quoted message said:

Jim J

They feel too far forward, practically just under my toes. When I
pedal unclipped (much more comfortable but dangerous) I go much
farther back on the foot. But how can I move them? They are screwed in
and the holes are only in one place.

I never had this problem on my upright bikes and unclipped. I think it
has to do with being able to move the foot about and reposition it
when it starts hurting.

Irony is, Specialized BG makes a big thing about how ergonomical and
comfortable they are!

Therefore it has to be the shoes.

I wear wide fitting work shoes and there is only one make I know of.
Imagine the pain I had to go through once they passed laws on health
and safety demanding steel toe-capped boots or shoes.

It took years of expensive trial and error to find them.
They are Tuskers by the way.

I don't know anything about recumbents or cycling shoes.