Orthotic inserts in road shoes - how important?
Maybe this really belongs in another subforum, but it's not really a "Bike" fit issue, so....
I'm old enough so that I have foot pain that can be pretty debilitating at times, but the main culprit is walking, not riding. I've been wearing orthotic inserts in my street shoes and they help a lot. For riding, the pain is usually not acute and at times it isn't there at all, but I figure I should get it right, so I've been experimenting with insoles in my road shoes. In truth, I've been experimenting on and off for a couple of years, but recent changes in my foot pain (again, chiefly related to walking) are making me think about it again.
This is probably obvious, but just going to the LBS and being "measured" for the right insole doesn't necessarily work because different shoes have different amounts of arch support built in. At an LBS that handles Specialized merchandise, they measured me and decided that I needed the largest amount of arch support (+++ for Body Geometry insoles). In fact, that seems pretty comfortable in my Specialized shoes, but it's far too much of an arch in my Sidis, which seem to have a higher built-in arch.
So, trial and error seems to be the way to go, trying different insoles (both brands and thicknesses) to see which is the most comfortable.
But some questions for the bf hive mind:
1. I wonder if arch support is really that important for road shoes in the first place? The shoes are so stiff that my foot doesn't really flex at all during the pedal stroke. If there's a space between the shoe and my arch, I'm not sure it makes much of a difference. What say you?
2. If I do use inserts, it seems to me that erring on the side of having too much arch support is far worse than having none at all. With too thick an insole, the shoe arch is acting as a fulcrum and my foot being stretched and pushed in ways that are probably more harmful than having no insert at all. So short of finding the insert that miraculously fits just right (maybe it's out there), somewhat too-little support is better than having too much. Yes?