Clipless Pedals - sore foot

[punkypossum]

Well, the clipless thing is generally going well apart from my minor stationary topple. However, on the first 15 miles I got a sore foot, on the second 15 miles I got a sore a knee. I then fiddled about with the cleats and on the next 30 miler I only had a minor twinge above my knee and still some foot pain. After a bit more fiddling, I did 42 miles today, the knee problem (touch wood) appears to have disappeared - although I wasn't pushing very hard, so that probably helped -, but I'm still getting some pain on the outside of my right foot. For some reason, I have not had any problems with the left leg.

The pain is not too bad and not constant, but still rather annoying and I would prefer to get rid of it, especially as I'm off on holiday tomorrow and then planning my first 100 miler the weekend I get back. Does anybody else get this? Don't think there is any adjustment that I haven't tried with the cleats and I don't think it's the shoes, as I had them before I got the spd's. Also, they seem really stiff (at least if the fact they are really hard to walk in is anything to go by...)

Any suggestions???

 

[Smokin Joe]

I never got on with SPDs on a road bike. I found the narrow platform allowed my foot to tilt over the outside edge of the pedal and I started to get knee problems, which went as soon as I swapped beck to road pedals. In the case of a sore foot you may need an even stiffer soled shoe to overcome the small pressure area on an SPD.

 

[punkypossum]

But, but, but...why is my left foot absolutely fine?

 

[jasper]

You need a really stiff sole for the power transfer, but you may be encountering a hot spot due to the SPD. My guess would be that your cleats aren't set up correctly. They should be under the ball of your foot and set so that your feet sit naturally. Sit on a high stool so that you feet can't touch the floor and let your legs dangle naturally. Note the position that your feet are pointing, replicate that position to your bike. If you try to position your feet to turn in straight away then you will get knee problems.

 

[punkypossum]

I've done all that - and it got rid off the knee pain as I can now turn my foot out a bit more, so that's definitely progress. And they appear to be under the ball of my foot... Why is this so un-straightforward? Was so worried about not being able to unclip and killing myself, and that has been the easy part - the adjusting thing is far worse!

 

[jasper]

Did you re-adjust your saddle height & fore/aft position to allow for the new shoe/cleat/pedal combination?

 

[punkypossum]

No, I didn't actually - that might be worth looking at...Just assumed it would be the same, saddle height definitely is still the same....

 

[Gerry Attrick]

I am in possession of a book written by Andrew Pruitt with Fred Matheny, one of whom is the Director of the Boulder Centre for Sports Medicine. In this book he discusses a number of possible remedies for "hot foot" (for 'tis indeed the name for your ailment). The most simple of cures worked wonders for the old Attrick leg ends, and that was to move the cleats further back on the shoes. Although this may deviate slightly from the classic "ball of foot over spindle" advice, it worked for me. Give it a try. One word of warning........check carefully this does not cause too much toe overlap or your problems could multiply rapidly!

 

[Baggy]

It might help if you try putting your saddle up by 5mm to accomodate for the cleat.
Also, can you look at your shoe and work out where the pedal spindle (axle) used to go across your sole? If you can put your cleats so they are centred in the same position that might help.
Heh, all this advice - don't try doing everything at once or you won't know what has worked!

 

[punkypossum]

This might be the thickest question of the century, but is hot foot not named hot foot as your feet (or part of them) get hot? Because mine doesn't, it just gets a bit achey...

Also, my right foot, i.e. the achey one, is slightly larger than the left one, which I suspect means the cleat is already slightly further back than on the other painfree one, so I'm a bit wary about moving it back even further - does that make sense?

 

[Gerry Attrick]

No, hot foot is merely a generic term for cyclists foot ailments, although sometimes the pain can feel like heat.

 

[Smokin Joe]

What you've got is hot foot, nothing to do with temperature but a sore spot caused by the small area of pedal concentrating it's pressure on one spot.

 

[jasper]

No, it means you're getting a pain (hot) spot....(searing) pain located in one spot.

Glad you sorted the knee problems, that was deffo down to bad positioning. SPD's are known for hot spots due to the size (or lack of) of the cleat. Having said that, I use SPD's and don't have a problem with them. A very stiff sole helps in these situations, or as Gerry's post above suggests but then that means adjusting everything else to position the knee over the pedal, etc.

Best to set your bike up on a turbo and play around with it. But only make tiny adjustments and try to mark the last position so that you can easily go back to it.

Edit: Learn to type faster lol

 

[Baggy]

I thought it was a sore, burning sensation caused by the pressure on a small area, which sounds different from your ailment.

It might just be because your foot is at a slightly different angle - similar to Smokin Joe's problem but it may just go away once you get used to it all.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

Just to enlarge on my previous post, I am assuming your feet are larger than size 9. If so, the advice proffered is correct. However, if your feet are smaller than size 9, then you may need to move the cleats forward on your shoes.