Feet sore: old newbie question?

[Garamundege Mugabe]

greetings gentlemen,

I'm nearly 50, been cycling on/off for many years. My feet have always hurt - usually starting around 50 - 60km on any ride. I've got Look road pedals and shoes, with the three contact points - old, but there's nothing wrong with them, they fit well, after so many years they should.. Being of the old school, which believes that you're not doing anything unless it hurts a bit, I've always just accepted it. But I'm getting on in years, and I've been wondering lately, are sore feet part of cycling?  I'd appreciate any thoughts, thanks

 

[lerouc]

I upgraded shoes which fitted me better and also don't fasten your shoes too tight, your feet swell after a couple of minutes/hours.

 

I used to suffer with this to the extent that i could not walk after i cycled longer than 2 hours. Now i do the K2C without issues.

[Veebee]

also had this problem, changed to full carbon shoes and never experienced any pain since July last year.

[Thomo]

This sort of pain should be the exception.

Perhaps your shoes are not fitting as well as you think.

Other factors which could contribute:

- cleat setup

- socks

- type of pedals

- type of shoe sole

- inner soles

[bikebloke]

shoe fit / tightness -  pain on top of foot /sore numb toes etc

cleat position /s - pain on outside or inside edges of foot/feet

inner soles / foot bed - hot spots/pain under foot/feet

 

as mentioned you should not be sore anywhere its not normal - pain isn't part of cycling

 

sometimes sore feet can be sorted out by a good pair of new shoes and/or a good cleat/bike fit

 

sorry im really into ///and /or key today

[Garamundege Mugabe]

thankyou gents, much appreciated..

[SwissVan]

 

greetings gentlemen,

I'm nearly 50, been cycling on/off for many years. My feet have always hurt - usually starting around 50 - 60km on any ride. I've got Look road pedals and shoes, with the three contact points - old, but there's nothing wrong with them, they fit well, after so many years they should.. Being of the old school, which believes that you're not doing anything unless it hurts a bit, I've always just accepted it. But I'm getting on in years, and I've been wondering lately, are sore feet part of cycling?  I'd appreciate any thoughts, thanks

 

 

Where exactly are your feet getting sore and does it only worry you when you cycle or other times as well?

[Garamundege Mugabe]

Where exactly are your feet getting sore and does it only worry you when you cycle or other times as well?

Only when I cycle, Hurts across the ball of the foot, where the pressure is when you stand on the pedals, mostly back of the big toe and smallest toe  - as in the inside edge and outside edge of the foot. I think a wider pair of shoes is on the cards.. 

[Paul Ruinaard]

I found out my issues were caused by Q Factor which is essentially the width they are apart.

 

It can be adjusted a bit on some cleats and can be adjusted with spacers behind the pedals - it means that I press the pedal square on rather than at an angle.

 

I used to get major pain in the outside of my foot behind the contact point.

 

Its all but gone now and its an adjustment I havent head mentioned much but it makes lot of sense now. 

 

Maybe this will help you?

[agilwolf]

I found that moving my cleats back, wearing thinner socks, and loosening the straps of the shoes sorted my burning feet out.

 

I would say for me the bits that made the biggest difference were the thinner socks and loose straps.

 

I'm of the opinion that the older we get the less capable our bodies become at doing certain things; one of them being the ability to get the blood from the extremities back to the heart; i.e. feet and ankles swelling.  Just something to consider...

[SwissVan]

Only when I cycle, Hurts across the ball of the foot, where the pressure is when you stand on the pedals, mostly back of the big toe and smallest toe  - as in the inside edge and outside edge of the foot. I think a wider pair of shoes is on the cards.. 

 

If its on the bottom (sole) it could be that the bones in your foot in these areas you feel the pain are to low or dropping (dropped metatarsals or splayed feet).

 

 

The typical location of pedal cleats tends to focus the pressure on these bones, if you have a dropped metatarsal that is in the pressure area it could lead to pain on the actual joint and even damage the nerves that are in the area leading to more pain (i.e. in your toes).  

 

I have had this situation for pretty much most of my cycling life (+25 yrs).

 

My suggestion would be to:

1. Make sure you shoes fit correctly first, especially that they are wide enough.

2. Check and adjust your cleats so that they are behind the ball of your foot i.e. move the cleats rearwards towards the heel of your shoe (see the Steve Hogg link below for some suggestions on how far the centre of the ball of your foot should be FOREWARD of the pedal axle relevant to your foot size).

3. If the above don't help enough, consider seeing an podiatrist and getting orthotics that will support and lift the areas of your foot that have dropped. 

 

https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bikefit/2011/04/power-to-the-pedal-cleat-position/

 

 

As mentioned above, I've been thru this issue and have replaced shoes, had bike fits, got orthotics...and and.... all of the above helped but the only thing that took the pain away completely was to move my cleats rearwards as far back as they could go and then another +/- 12mm (achieved by elongating the cleat holes in my shoes). Now i can cycle all day without foot pain

 

Good luck

[Garamundege Mugabe]

thanks for all the wise advice - much appreciated guys. Loosening the straps - a lot - has already made a significant improvement. Going to shift the cleats for tonight's ride and see what happens. Thanks again all

[Bernard Horn]

Had the same and the LBS lowered the front of my saddle.Seems to have helped.The thinking is that once your weight is on the saddle ,it will depress the rear of the saddle and this will lead to foot pain.

[EmptyB]

shoe fit / tightness -  pain on top of foot /sore numb toes etc

cleat position /s - pain on outside or inside edges of foot/feet

inner soles / foot bed - hot spots/pain under foot/feet

 

as mentioned you should not be sore anywhere its not normal - pain isn't part of cycling

 

sometimes sore feet can be sorted out by a good pair of new shoes and/or a good cleat/bike fit

 

sorry im really into ///and /or key today

Any idea what causes pins and needles in the feet during rides....sometimes it's quite severe?

[agilwolf]

Nerves pinching somewhere / bloodflow disruption ... Usually saddle adjustment and alignment of the saddle with the top tube.

[SwissVan]

thanks for all the wise advice - much appreciated guys. Loosening the straps - a lot - has already made a significant improvement. Going to shift the cleats for tonight's ride and see what happens. Thanks again all

 

Keep in mind...depending how far you move the cleats back you MIGHT need to lower your saddle slightly