I can seem to get rid of the numbness in my feet and toes. I've seen a few people about it, but I am thinking of going with custom orthotics or insoles. There is a pedorthist in the area I could see for insoles, or a DPT who can do orthotics. I suppose I could also go to a podiatrist, but I don't know of any in my area with experience working with cyclists.

Anyone have numbness issues and what have you done/are you doing to fix it?

I get this early in the season when I haven't been riding as much and am starting to ramp it up. Loosen your shoes a bit....make a conscious effort to wiggle your toes and feet every once and a while. I figured out that when I'm pushing hard I tend to clench my feet like a fist and this will lead to numbness unless I make an effort to wiggle the toes. Try this out before going the way of expensive custom orthotics. Now if you decide a custom orthotic is in the works...look into Custom shoes like the Rocket 7 or the Bont Cycling shoes. Both of these can have a custom footbed and will be similarly priced to custom orthotics.

I've been working on a solution for a while. My right toes go numb, usually during hard efforts in the flats. If I don't unclip for relief, my entire foot will soon be numb.

I started with specialized BG soles (blue) which gave me much better arch support. Then I started playing with the varus rotation wedges provided with the footbeds. My knee tracks better but the numbness did not go away. Yesterday I saw Master BG fitter for a shoe/cleat fitting. He spent much more time with me than I thought he would. He dialed in my knee alignment with my cleats, and suggested that I get the Speedplay fore/aft extender plate - which will allow my cleat to move further behing the ball of my foot. If that doesn't work, he thinks it's time for different pedals (which I have already tried with no success) and/or shoes.

He sounded convinced that my cleat is not far back enough. Right now, my cleats are lined up with the inside ball of my foot, and that is as far back as they go. The Speedplay plate will give me up to 14mm additional aft adjustment, moving the pressure further away from the nerve. I'm really hoping this works.... this is really frustrating. Good luck.

I'm no doctor or expert but I'd say it's a combination of things.

Your shoes are probably too tightly fastened/tied.
You probably don't have the cleats far enough back.
You probably pronate a bit under power.
You probably don't "pull" as part of the pedal stroke.
And, your seat may be too far back.

Feet are designed to swell under weight or pressure so the lowest strap on your shoe shouldn't be tight. A bit loose allows the foot to flatten and move. Tight across the arch is fine, but not down near the toes.

Cleats set too far forward put all the foot pressure on the toes.

You have to "pull" as part of the pedal stroke. When pulling, you can wiggle your toes. Do this like you do when shifting hand position. Once in awhile (10-15 mins), pull and wiggle for a few strokes.

If your seat is too far back, you will have continuous pressure on your feet. Which will put them to sleep eventually.

As far as pronating, you will need to have a fitter look at your pedal stroke biomechanics and see if you need a wedge under the cleat. Q-factor is also something to look at while doing this.

I used to have a feet/toe numbness issue. It was solved pretty easily, just by wearing thinner socks.

I had big problems with hot spots that were solved with custom shoes; including orthotics.

I have recently started to develop this problem. It started after my feet started to flatten out, causing pain until I got a bigger shoe. I haven't fixed it completely yet, but I noticed that for some reason I have started to point my toes down just a little during the down stroke. The problem faded when I took note and concentrated on having a level foot during the down stroke. I also moved my cleats back a tad more, which seems to have helped as well.

I already wiggle from time to time, but if it gets to the point where my toes are numb, it seems to be too late for that to recover completely.

I am experimenting with wedges under my cleats. Seemed to have good success on a 90 minute ride, but need more time to be sure.

How's your fexibility? Mine sucks and I feel that is part of the problem. I was in a kayak last summer for a few hours. The seating position stretched my hamstrings. Feet went numb just like when riding.

I recently went to a podiatrist and had him check my feet just to make sure there was nothing major wrong.. After the checkup he advised shoes with a wider toe box and over the counter orthotics.. I bought Sidi megas and Yoursole orthotics.. He also cut my nails as he said I was getting ingrown toenails.. All this has helped..I have an appointment to see him in 2 weeks and hes going to check my shoes and orthotics and my nails..I waited too long to make this visit and if your feet continue to bother you Id recommend that you do the same sooner rather than later.

Good tips here. I wear Sidi Megas and I am very conscious of how tight they are. I wear very thin socks and have heat molded insoles. I tried a different insole, but that did not fix the issues. I have moved the cleats back just a couple days ago, and I will wait a while to see how this feels. If that does not fix it, then I think I will be calling a podiatrist.

Yea, I get numb big toes. In fact, on my right foot, my big toe had a permanent numb spot on it, right on the outside of the toenail. I pronate, and I have wide feet. I don't do much about it, except I got some SOLE insoles which can be heat moulded, and moving to wider shoes helped some too. Also, if I make a conscious effort to relax my toes, it helps. I think it's a combination of pronation and just instinctual toe gripping when laying the power down.

I've kind of gotten used to it, to tell you the truth. If they start bothering me, I make the effort to relax my toes to get the feeling back in them, and the permanently numb spot is actually gradually getting better, despite continuing to ride and even ramping the miles up.