Hi Patrick, Sorry to hear you're struggling with foot pain. Generally, these issues can be resolved through equipment changes and set-up in addition to off-the-bike foot exercises / treatment. I split my time between working as a functional movement coach and a bike fitter, your situation is common. Foot discomfort is typically the result of the following issues either singularly or collectively:
- Shoe fit (narrow toe box) - Cleat position - Foot anatomy - Insole support - Pedal interface - Saddle height Foot numbness or pain is the result of nerve compression. Some where in the chain of shoe, insole, cleat position, bike setup, and pedal interface significant pressure / load is concentrating pressure on the nerves running through the forefoot. The first steps involve shoes and insoles. For shoes, Lake and Bont offer options with wide toe boxes. A recent addition is Strong Feet Athletics (toe box looks like Birkenstocks) and if you have particularity troublesome feet Lore Three offer 3-D printed lasts to precisely match your foot. I own a couple of pairs of Lake CX242/road and MX242/MTN or gravel, very unique design that I find extremely comfortable. I've also tried the Strong Feet Athletics, which have an enormous toe box -- a decent shoe for the money and SPD compatible. As a general rule, European shoes have narrow toe boxes / last and should be avoided. Regarding insoles, the G8 insoles are highly customizable and the best I've found; off the shelf insoles are only useful if you arch structure and placement falls within normative ranges. Without diving to deep, your foot position is critical. As a general rule, the pedal spindle should be located between the 1st MTP and the 5th MTP favoring the 5th. This will help unload the forefoot and the Achilles tendon. If you move your cleats to the rear / foot forward remember to adjust seat height down a few millimeters. If these measures don't solve the problem find a reputable bike fitter that really understands foot biomechanics. I hope this helps. Best, Dave On Thursday, June 4, 2026 at 11:31:52 AM UTC-4 [email protected] wrote: > I’m trying to self- diagnose a sharp pain in the ball of my left foot that > has occurred occasionally in the past, noticed most while standing or > walking in thin slippers on a tile floor, but recently — this started back > in late April, I think, after I’d ridden ~100 miles in clips and straps. It > was undoubtedly exacerbated by early May’s 54 mile ride with a great deal > of climbing, and in Shimano SPD shoes with narrow toe box that I now > realize might have added to the problem. > > On a 20-mile sandy ditchbank ride 10 days ago, wearing the narrow > Shimanos, where I torqued hard in deepish sand for longish periods, by the > end of the ride the pain almost stopped me from pedaling. So I ditched > those formerly comfortable favorite shoes and have been riding since in > shoes with a much wider toe box. I also moved my cleats rearward by about 1 > cm. Both of these help. On yesterday’s 20 mile ride (72” fixed, about 1 > mile total of steepish climbing, much slow-cadence torquing against > sou’easterly at gusts to 17+) the pain never rose to the sharp ache + > burning in the ball of the foot, radiating thence to the tip of the second > toe — this last had me thinking for a minute it might be gout -- but the > ball of the foot started becoming numb and aching slightly after the first > couple of miles, after which it came and went. > > Someone somewhere sometime said that he’d solved a similar problem by > buying top-of-the-line cycling shoes with sufficiently wide toe box and, he > emphasized this, a very stiff sole. I forget if he mentioned Sidis; > Dominators? I’d like to consider this remedy. My question therefore is: > what SPD-compatible cycling shoes do you find to be the most comfortable > long-term, and why do you think they are comfortable? > > Sorry, ain’t gonna use flat pedals. Tried that and disliked it. > > Thanks. > > > -- > > Patrick Moore > Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other writing > services > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > *When thou didst not, savage, k**now thine own meaning,* > > *But wouldst gabble like a** thing most brutish,* > > *I endowed thy purposes w**ith words that made them known.* > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/b464e1e8-a98d-4a63-afdf-928af772816bn%40googlegroups.com.
