Clipless Pedals - sore foot

[punkypossum]

I'm only a five!!!

No space for further forward movement as far as I can see (might have to post a picture of the bottom of my shoe at this point). It's not burning or searing either...more sort of dull..., plus it is right on the outside down the length of my foot, so not even in the pedal pressure area. Again, it is not constant, so maybe it is just a case of getting used to the pedals... But I will definitely check the rest of my positioning to see if that is still right! Funnily enough it is the same foot I used to get a pain on the inside for a while on flats, that fortunately sorted itself out, so I'm hoping this might too!!! Maybe I just have a dodgy foot

 

[Gerry Attrick]

I'm only a five!!!

Profuse apologies punkypossum. *Attrick in with both feet yet again*

 

[jasper]

Just thought, how much float have you got? Try tensioning the pedals. Granted it will make it harder to unclip. but it may help.

 

[jasper]

Just reading the letters page in this month's (Sept) 220 Mag and there's a letter on similar lines. Blatantly plagiarised:

"Q: After riding my road bike for anything more than 30 mins I get a pain mid-way down the outside edge of my feet. This ache used to go away after I got my cycling shoes off and moved into the run phase of the race - after the usual duck-like waddle as legs get used to running!

The pain is both feet, but is much worse on the right. Most recently, however, the pain has remained, and during the Cleeveland Steelman last year it reduced me to a gibbering, pathetic hobble.

I ride Adidas shoes with Look pedals and red cleats. I have footbeds in the shoes and have tried various ways of doing the shoes up tight or having them loose, but the pain remains. I get no such pain when riding my mountain bike in touring SPD pedals. A change of shoes and/or pedal systems (Time have been suggested) seems to be in order, but your advice would be appreciated before I take myself out gear shopping. Ian Kenvyn.

A: Firstly, it sounds like your pedal and cleat combination is fine: the red cleats offer you nine degrees of float, which would be beneficial in your case. But I do think the problem is related to your footwear: it sounds like the current hoes you have may be too narrow for your foot type, compressing your forefoot.

This compression on the outside of your foot could be causing a few things to occur. Compression on the styloid process of your fifth (little) toe could cause a decrease in nerve action or blood flow, which would cause the pain you are experiencing. I think this is more likely to be the issue since you found some relief when you got out of the shoes onto the run; the fact that it's gradually getting worse may be a cumulative effect.

Another area to consider is an increased tension of the peroneal muscle group, which would aggravate the outside of your foot where the muscle attaches. This tightness is typical in triathletes because of the bike-to-run transition.

Solutions to these would be to consistently stretch or massage the lower, outside part of your leg, and look at shoes that are slightly wider in the forefoot and mid-foot, such as Shimano or Northwaves shoes.

Custom insoles may be another option if the problem persists, where some support for the metatarsals in your forefoot can help ease compression in that area. JM"

Johnny Morrison is a Profeet Technician and a competing triathlete. He holds a BSc in Sports Rehabilitation.

 

[Downward]

1st time using the SPD Pedals I did about 8 miles and really ached - Hopefully it's just a matter of getting used to them.

What does it do when you tighten the SPD's ?
I have them on the loosest setting at the moment,

 

[jasper]

Secures you to pedal better, enabling you to pedal more efficiently. Harder to unclip inadvertantly, especially when you're sprinting/climbing....and also when you're coming to a stop. Only tighten when you're proficient in unclipping otherwise you may have the dreaded sideways fall.

 

[Downward]

Done about 30 miles now with them.
Stopped half way home last night to move the Cleats back in the shoe as I was getting really sore Knee and Feet.
Only problem now is if pedalling slowly around sharp corners clipped in my foot catches the wheel!
Also managed to ground the pedal going too low round a corner !

 

[wafflycat]

When cycling a turn you should always have the foot that is on the inside of the turn *up* that way you won't ground the pedal. As for clipping the front wheel - again that's a matter of where your foot is in the circle formed by the cranks turning. Can't say I've ever had that problem using clipless

 

[grhm]

It's not burning or searing either...more sort of dull..., plus it is right on the outside down the length of my foot, so not even in the pedal pressure area.

Two things spring to mind. I had an ache down the right side of my right foot (but only the the front half) when I first switched to SPD's. I found I was unconciously trying to grip with my toes - no idea why - but once I stopped doing that the pain went away.

Second, what pedals do you have? A number of colleagues have SPD pedals that have only the cleat retention bit (is it called a 'binding'?) - one or two to them have said they notice their foot bending around the small pedal when pushing hard and have had some discomfort at some point.

Whereas I've got pedals that have a cage around the binding - their effectively the same size as my flats were and my shoe does not stick out past the outside edge of the pedal by much at all.

(Hope the above makes sense)

 

[Cookybuoy]

I am really struggling with something similar, I had used trainers up until recently and because I was getting "extremely Dead feet" I thought I would try Cleats. I have bought some and whilst my left foot is fine my right is absolute agony. I have adjusted the saddle and seat post height, which has made me comfier but my right foot is still in agony. Any Idea's? I will shortly be doing a ride from Halifax to Plymouth for charity and plan on doing it in 4 days but at the moment i would be lucky to do it in 2 weeks the amount of breaks i'm having to take.

 

[punkypossum]

Thanks everybody, only just got back from holiday, so have not been able to keep up with this thread. Will try some of the suggestions and see if it helps...planning on going out tomorrow (really missed not being on the bike for 10 days), so will see if it is any different!