sunburst

OK, I've got a new bike (Giant) and I know it takes some time to get everything dialed in (e.g. stem length, saddle, pedals, etc), and I've been fairly patient, but jeeeezus, my new pedals and/or shoes are killing my right foot. The other day I was in the shower and noticed my foot has this ugly bruise on the bottom - and that's not even where it hurts the most. The bruise is at the forward part of my arch, under the big toe, close to the left side of my right foot. And the pain is even worse about an inch over, just under my little toe.

I'm running with Ultegra pedals and Sidi Genius 5 shoes. Never tried either of these before. I even put a 3/4 length pad, with slight heel and arch support, in the shoes to see if that helped. Not sure if it did but it felt OK, maybe marginally improved. My Northwave shoes and Look PP357 pedals felt great the moment I tried them. They're on my old Trek, but I tried them on the Giant, where they felt just as good. I switched to Ultegra for the Giant because the Look's were discontinued, and due to the Ultegra's good reputation. I wanted the improved float too.

More info: the cleat postion on the Northwave and Sidi shoes looks about the same, with the cleat being about as far back (toward the center of the shoe) as possible, putting my foot forward over the pedal. This seems to put the ball of my foot right on top of the spindle (where it's supposed to be - right?). One more thing, the left foot is fine with the Ultegra/Sidi combination. I do not detect any problem/pain or sensation at all.

So, whaddaya think? Shoes? Cleat adjustment? Pedals? Buyer's remorse (kidding!).

recursive

That's out there man. You might need a doctor more than you need bike advice.

AEO

are the shoes the correct size for you? might be a slight different between left and right foot so it might fit the left foot but not the right. Are you using the correct bolts for the cleat/shoe?
now are you sure you didn't step, drop or kick something by accident?

ted ward

Go to a podiatrist if the problem keeps up.

Hendley

Foot doctor, or vascular specialist.

sunburst

Fit is such a strange thing. I just bought much better (denser) full length pads and installed them. The right foot definitely felt better, the left still fine. Near the end of my ride I decided to move the saddle about 1/8th" forward. Got on the bike and my feet felt much difference on the pedals - the right foot felt much better, but within a minute the left started hurting. Damn.

Now to answer AEO's questions: the new Sidi shoes may be a tad big, but the new liners take up a lot of room, and besides, I've got them cinched down snugly. Yes, I'm using the right bolt holes. I don't see how I could screw that up - the cleats looks properly aligned, very close to my Look setup. This definitely happened on the bike, because I could feel the problem immediately on my maiden voyage with this setup.

One thing's for sure, this problem helps me concentrate on spinning, rather than mashing the pedals. Also, I know I'll have to let my foot recover to really see if I've made the proper adjustments, but that's hard to do now that it's Spring.

cycle17

Sounds like a shoe issue, but it could be any number of things.

jaxgtr

OK, I had this same issue with the new Ultegra pedals. I went through multiple pairs of shoes and inserts and nothing helped. I tried moving my cleats, putting new inserts in, anything I could and nothing helped. Just on a shot, I put my old Looks A3.1 back on and rode all the shoes and I had no pain. After a little examination, I discovered that the Look pedals had a slight higher back end that gave my foot a slightly different angle and gave it better support. I bought a new pair of the Keo Classics and have not had any issues.

sunburst

Thx jaxgtr, maybe I'm not losing my mind after all.

There is a simple test that I've been too lazy to do. Swap the cleats between the Sidi and Northwave and see if it's the shoes or the pedals. But I don't like messing with the Ultegra cleats. The bolts they provide are just a little short for Sidi shoes (had the same problem installing my son's - he's got the same setup). But like I said, this is the logical next step.

Funny thing is - I like the feel of the Look pedals better anyway, because the float is more or less stationary. You can move your foot in a range of positions and it stays there. The Ultegras are supposedly better in that the float actually floats as you rotate your cranks. The Perf. salesguy even told me the same thing when I purchased them. Another shop said they were the best design on the market. And one thing I really appreciate about the Ultegras is that you can walk on those cleats - huge improvement over the Look delta cleat. How are the Keo's in that area?

Hendley

(Just an aside)
You know that you're supposed to use longer (10mm) screws with Sidi shoes + Shimano cleats, rather than 8 mm screws provided with the cleats? (See Sidi shoe manual). There's barely any thread holding in the 8mm screws, so they can strip very easily. Shimano makes the longer screws. You can order via your LBS.

jaxgtr

I too like the fact that I did not need covers with the Shimano cleats, but for $7.00, I bought some cleat covers and went back to the Look Pedals. I also use the non-float cleats as they seem to work better for me.

https://cgi.ebay.com/Look-Keo-Cleat-C...QQcmdZViewItem

sunburst

Thx for that info. I'll get some. Jeez, I'll have to buy 12 for the two pairs of Sidi's. Hope they don't **** me for them.

sunburst

OK, I gave my feet one week off (still with lingering pain) swapped the cleats between the Sidi and Northwave, moved the cleats to a midpoint and started off. My right foot still felt funny so I moved the cleats almost to the max forward position. Then I went off for the longest climb I've done this season, and I'm happy to say - no foot problem!

So, it looks like cleat position, but I plan on swapping cleats back (when I get the longer bolts -- thx for the tip Hendley!), to determine if the Sidi's are going to work.

It seems odd to me that with the same Northwave shoes, the Look cleats can be all the way back (toward the middle of the shoe), but with Ultegra cleats need to be all the way forward (towards toes). I'll get out my ruler sometime and see if this makes sense mechanically.

Oh yeah, and I've found I had to move my saddle forward a couple of times after moving the cleats, but that makes sense (at least in my head).

oilman_15106

OP - glad your issues are getting better. Here is a tip for future use. When changing shoes, pedals, stem, seatpost or just about anything that might impact riding position, stick your bike on an indoor trainer and take it for a spin. Lot simpler to make the proper adjustments than in the middle of a killer climb. Some will argue that this will not reveal the issues you have from real riding but it has worked for me and saved alot of greif on the road.