General Cycling Discussion - Numb Feet

After an hour on my bike i find that my feet start to go numb. i've tried loosening the velcro on my shoes, thinking that maybe that was the prob, but didn't seem to make a diff. i have super cheap clipless pedals and my shoes are lower end models... did i just answer my own question? or is there something else going on?

come back,

When do you loosen your straps? Is it in the beginning or after your feet go numb? Typically, your feet will swell as you ride. I put on my shoes kind of loose before I get on my bike, as I ride the swelling fills in to a good spot. I often have this problem with my rugby boots though. I will tie them too tight and my feet will go numb during a game. I will loosen them, but it will take a while before enough blood gets to wherever it gets to make them not numb again.

Try not strapping in so tight at first and see if that helps.

I went to the doctor with similar problem (numb toes after 1 hr), and was advised I was pinching a nerve somewhere in my butt or lower back. I also believe it's partially due to the new Sugoi RS FLEX shorts I recently started wearing. They have some unusually thich padding (1/2"thick) which has likely changed fit of my bike. I'm going to confirm my suspicion tomorrow and wear some older shorts with less padding. I've put 2000k on the new racing bike and only noticed it in the last 500k. I suspect I'll have to get re-fitted or just lower my seat a bit if I plan to wear the Sugoi shorts. I really like them so it's worth the adjustment for me.

Also, originally I tried loosening the velcro strap...but the problem still persisted.

I have the same problem of feet going numb or getting tingly after about an hour in the saddle. I'm thinking I'm somehow occluding circulation to my feet from higher up-- wondering if I should get off my bike more often to prevent this? In the summer I like to ride 2-4 hours and am just getting off the bike about once an hour.

either the shoes are too narrow in the forefoot or you just need some foot support.

I used to have hotspot and numb foot problems until I got some custom footbeds. You don't need to spend a fortune at a podiatrist mine cost GBP60.00 (less than USD100.00 even with the exchange rate).

sidas con'formable are both cheap and fully customisable.

http://www.sidas.com/ (under construction now - they're changing to a flash website :/ )

they do have shops with the fitting equipment in the states - give them a call is all I can suggest.

Your cleats could be positioned wrong on your shoes. Moving them back a little may help. I also find that sometimes I clinch my toes, this causes them to fall asleep. I can relax my feet and wiggle my toes, while riding, and solve the problem.

Arch supports with metatarsal pads really help older feet avoid this. bk

Same thing happens to me sometimes. You may be putting too much pressure on your feet and not enough on the saddle. You want your weight to be distributed about 50/50 between pedals and saddle.