Foot Pain-Long distance Rides

[John'O]

Hi all

 

I've noticed I'm getting some excruciating pain on long rides. It starts at about 120km and sometimes we ride up to 200km's.

 

The pain develops in my two small toes (right foot only) and progresses under the foot sometimes on the same place. Feels very uncomfortable, have to unclip and massage. I changed socks, loosened the shoe etc. but no help. Oh and I intend changing my shoes as well.

 

I won't ride distances over 100km's any longer until I know what the problem could be.

 

Any thoughts are most welcome

 

Cheers

[SwissVan]

Hi all

 

I've noticed I'm getting some excruciating pain on long rides. It starts at about 120km and sometimes we ride up to 200km's.

 

The pain develops in my two small toes (right foot only) and progresses under the foot sometimes on the same place. Feels very uncomfortable, have to unclip and massage. I changed socks, loosened the shoe etc. but no help. Oh and I intend changing my shoes as well.

 

I won't ride distances over 100km's any longer until I know what the problem could be.

 

Any thoughts are most welcome

 

Cheers

 

 

I know your pain...suffered from similar issues all my cycling life in both feet and usually the 2nd and 3rd toes (big toe being #1) and little toe #5.

There are probably a variety of things which could cause this, the most obvious being shoes / straps that are too tight. The below is what worked for me.

 

I’ve been through the whole process of trying different everything (pedals, cleats, socks, shoes, set up….) and the ONLY thing that worked for me was to adjust my cleat position rearwards so that the contact area was behind the ball of my foot, this made a huge difference in that I can now ride all day without toe pain.

 

My problem is due to the metatarsal bones in my feet (those inline with the ball of my foot right where the cleat would normally be) dropping and as a result there is increased pressure on nerves in the area which results in the nerves becoming inflamed and pain in the toes, it gets worse overtime, i.e. in the beginning of the season its ok but by the end of the season it becomes excruciating painful to ride for more than 2 - 3 hours. Running long distances (10km +) becomes a problem as well.

 

Initially I tried using my running shoe orthotics which had a “metatarsal bar” to lift my metatarsals, this made a difference in that I could cycle longer before the pain started.

I then got specific cycling orthotics made by a podiatrist, which provided similar results as my running shoe orthotics.

A few years ago I decided to move my cleats all the way back in their slots (Time ATAC pedals and cleats) and this worked better than the orthotics, but still the pain returned.

Finally I elongated the cleat slots in the sole of my shoes to allow me to move the cleats a further +/- 12mm rearwards (towards the heel), as a result I could cycle all day without any toe pain.

 

I cannot say that I felt any negative effect due to my cleats being set further back, I did lower my saddle very slightly (a few mm’s) to compensate for this. In fact I get the impression that my calves work slightly less with this setup.

 

The big problem with the above is if you have shoes with a 3 screw type cleat (i.e. Look road pedals / shoe) there tends to not be enough room on the shoe sole to move them very far back and the curvature of the sole also comes into effect. Mountain bike shoes with a simple 2 hole cleat accommodate more rearwards movement which is why I now use mtb pedals on my road bike.

 

Good luck, hope you find an easier solution.

[cadenceblur]

I have a similar isssue, but my pain is in the outside of the foot - almost as if my foot was bruised? could hardly walk after yesterday's ride.

[John'O]

mmmmmmm Thanks so much. I'll have a look at my cleats and shoes. I am considering using a pair of mountain bike shoes which a friend gave me....brand new and fits well.

 

I have running orthotics as well and haven't thought of using those which to my detriment could have saved me a lot of pain...All the same now I know. At least I have a starting point.

 

Thanks again

[SwissVan]

mmmmmmm Thanks so much. I'll have a look at my cleats and shoes. I am considering using a pair of mountain bike shoes which a friend gave me....brand new and fits well.

 

I have running orthotics as well and haven't thought of using those which to my detriment could have saved me a lot of pain...All the same now I know. At least I have a starting point.

 

Thanks again

 

Moving the cleats worked for me, maybe your lucky and its something more simple.

Here's a picture of my mtb shoes where you can see how far back the cleats are if you compare to normal.

 

 

Google mid foot cleat position (which is probably a bit extreme) but it gives you an idea of how it could / can help people with foot pain issues and Steve Hogg's website which has a lot of useful help wrt to feet, toes and cleats setup.

 

http://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/

 

 

[RastaMan]

check your cleat positions

I suffered the same pain.

 

The easiest way to fix it is toe check if your cleats is in maximum power position,

to configure this is to put masking tape on the on your shoe closest to the frame

bring the pedal to 3 o'Clock. make a mark on the masking tape where the center of the pedal axle is, and make sure its aligned to the Metartarso phalangeal joint(the most outer bone just behind your big toe). Once this is aligned it should solve the issue, repeat on the other side