Chef23

I just got back from 18 miles on the bike and my toes were numb when I got home. Now it was cool 50* but my hands were warm so I don't think that was it.

I have new shoes that aren't too tight. It used to happen in my old shoes which were much snugger.

Any thoughts or suggestions.

Thanks

ZappCatt

Shoes too tight

zip22

did you read his post?

feltdude

It's probably the cold. Your leg muscles are being very taxing on the blood you're feeding them, compared to your arms. There's a lot more warm blood left at the hands then there is at the feet once you power your thighs and calves. I strongly recommend booties.

ZappCatt

I read his post that he feels that his shoes are not to tight..Most posts here people think their bikes fit, their shoes fit, etc and are asking why something happens..

Your shoes are to tight!!!

badsac

Your seats at the wrong angle or is the wrong shape and is cutting off blood flow to a degree.

shadowmark

Its definitely the cold. Cycling shoes are made to be well ventilated so your feet don't get too hot. But in the winter its a very common problem. You need to get some neoprene booties or toe covers.

Chef23

The shoes aren't too small. Maybe I strapped them up too tight at the begining of the ride because they are bigger than my old shoes. If it ever gets warm here again I will try it with them looser.

I am also going to get booties for my next cool ride and see if that makes a difference.

Portis

I think it has to do with blood flow. It happens to me as well. It usually doesn't happen until after about an hour. It is usually much worse when it is cold out. I usually counter it with taking the numb leg off the pedal and letting it dangle for a few seconds. It usually returns to normal.

If it is just your toes that are going numb, make sure that you have lots of room in your shoe. I wear oversized shoes. It helps for me to kick the back of my heel against my platform pedals. That gets my toes away from the area they have been mashing for the last thousand revolutions. This provides relief. At 50 F it shouldn't really be temp that is the problem although it prob contributes at that temp.

I carry toe warmers in my trunk bag for really cold temps. When a foot or toes go numb, i just peel off that shoe and plop one under my toes. Man does that feel good! It feels like taking a warm shower for the rest of the ride. I only treat my feet when they show symptoms.

ZappCatt

You hit it on the head.. When it gets colder, you cinched up your shoes tighter, thus cutting off some of the blood supply(or compressing the nerves).. Since it is colder, your toes(farthest part from your heart) need the warm blood more then ever.

If you were to wear those exact shoes in the warmer weather, I doubt you would notice any problem..if you loosened them up in the warm, there would be even less chance of issues...

alanbikehouston

Shoes vary in their ability to protect your feet from pedal pressure. My favorite shoes have a very thick, very stiff sole. The pressure from the pedal is transferred to an area much larger than the pedal.

With thinner soles, I can still get good comfort using BMX style pedals. That type of pedal spreads the pressure over a larger area. Some road pedals put all the pressure on a postage stamp size portion of the foot - not a great idea for comfort.

Chef23

I have a pair of Shimano 151 road shoes with carbon soles and Ultegra SL pedals so it shouldn't be hot spots.

jimmydean

It happened to me today too. It was about 60 in NYC. I put in a really slow 40 Miles. Toward the end of the ride both of my feet went numb. I think it might have had something to do with cotton socks. My feet were sweating and after 3+ hours on the bike the wind and cooler temps might have caused the problem. I am going to wear my defeet socks and booties when necessary.

JBar

The best advice I've heard for feet going to sleep: "Wear louder shoes."
My apologies to whomever I stole that from. JB

Pfoot

I don't think it is the cold.

This happens to me as well. After an hour of riding, both of my feet get numb, and not just the toes. This happened to me on hot days as well as cool.

A LBS told me he thought it was something about the bike fit. Since then I've dumped that bike (which was borrowed for my first season) and on my new bike (which I think fits great), with same shoes, the problem is less severe but still exists.

On the old bike I did three triathlons this past summer and each time I couldn't feel my feet until well into the run segment of the tri. Odd feeling.

odannyboy

Agreed. It's a blood supply issue, same as when a part of your body (leg or arm, for example) "falls asleep" from pressure on the veins/arteries and lack of movement, now further exacerbated by the cold. I believe your shoes fit, so here's my solution for you: periodically wiggle your toes vigorously inside your shoe. Can be done while clipped in and pedaling. Works for me.

tpsdpm

Hey guys,
I actually feel useful on this board... It sounds as if it may be neurological secondary to either A: a nerve entrapment, at the level of the foot. As we pedal the muscles of the leg and feet call to the brain for more blood. This being the case, the foot, as mentioned by Ranger is furthest away from the heart, has the most difficult time getting blood back "up" (against gravity) to the heart. This causes the foot to swell even slightly in a confined space. When this occurs the swelling "squeezes" the nerves, the majority of which are sensory. Thus no signals sent back to the brain, and they will feel numb.
B: The second possibility is that your seating position may be off causing a "sciatica like" condition. This will also ultimately decrease the ability to send nerve signals back to the brain.

Different systems of the body speak to us in their own ways. If you are having numbness, and think it is vascular, or due to blood flow, then after an hour you would be getting gangrenous, or "those toes would be beginning to turn black!!"
Here is a better example. We have all rested on our elbow too long, and had our arms become numb. Then it gets tinglely, and pins and needles, and eventually it feel okay. This is from compression of a nerve that is found on the elbow, and as the nerve begins to "wake up", it goes through all of the above.

So, bottom line, it's nerve that is giving you the numbness, why it is doing so is what we have to figure out.

BikeyGuy

My feet would go numb after about 30 minutes in the saddle in cold or warm weather.
I would loosen the velcro straps while riding and all would be fine. My buddy told me that your feet "swell" after you've been riding a while, snugging things a tad to tight. Nonetheless, after I loosen them up, they're fine. I try to start my rides with the shoes a bit loose. Sometimes I remember to do that, sometimes not.
Good luck...................safe cycling.

mark48310

i think it's a bike fit / blood flow issue. i have a similar problem, but it's only my right foot and only the area above the pedal. i bought new shoes the other day and had the exact same problem...i think it has something to do with the seat and the positioning of my right leg, but i haven't isolated the problem yet...

or maybe it's just a pedal pressure issue as i tend to favor my right leg and the numbness is confined to just the area above the pedal...hmm, now that i think about it, that makes more sense...

boyze

coupled with the preceding thoughts I'll throw in a couple of thermodynamics effects that will contribute to cold feet:

- there's a heat conduction path from the bottom of the foot through the sole(lexan if using common cycling shoe) into an aluminum pedal and crank arm. Aluminum is a very good heat conductor and becomes a great heat sink. Booties won't help this because of the cutout for the cleats or clips.

- the foot sees a higher velocity relative to the air than any other part of the body because it rotates at whatever cadence you ride at. The convective heat loss increases as the air velocity increases and as the ambient air decreases. Neoprene booties will help this.

- any moisture will also work against warm feet, again because the water is a much better conductor than air. Entrapped air is your friend for keeping warm.

clancy98

i think you are all right. booty is the answer.

feltdude

That's simply not true. A lower level of blood flow, exacerbated by excercise in the cold, will make your feet cold. Your feet being cold will make your feet go numb. FWIW, nicotine will make this problem worse.

feltdude

Anyways, loosen your shoes, make sure your seat is properly positioned, get some booties, don't smoke before your rides if you smoke, and wear a tight cap under your helmet if it's cold out to keep the heat in your body. Hope your toesies feel better.

Chef23

Thanks for the feedback. It is snowing like a banshee right now and I only have my one good bike so it may be a week or so before I get on the bike again.

Fox Farm

A good thread here. Lots of good ideas too. I recently started using some new DMT carbon shoes and find that the ball and toes of my left foot get numb after an hour or more of riding, regardless of ambient temp. The shoes are not at tall too tight and have what feels like the same "stack" height as my old Sidi's. I have not changed the saddle position in years. I am going to try different foot bed inserts to see if that makes a difference. I will also do a close inspection to be sure that the cleat screws are not causing the problem either. As for cold feet, try using those Dr. Shoal (sp?) winter inserts. They are woolen and make a big difference, or have worked for me. TPSDMP, your observations are right on!