Numbness/tingling in feet?
 

I have had my cyclocross bike since the end of May. I have crankbothers eggbeater sl's for pedals, and keen springwater shoes. My rides usually are around 15-20 miles, and almost every time if I stop half way or at the end, my feet have fallen asleep. I have messed around a bit with adjusting saddle height, and I also bought a pair of Hincapie bibs recently. As much as the bibs have helped with comfort (I will never go back to shorts), I still find my feet falling asleep. It's weird because I don't notice too much while I'm riding, it's when I stop. Not sure if it is my fat ass crushing some nerve in my perennial area, or some other factor. Any help/opinions/suggestions would be great! FWIW I'm 6' 305lbs. I also was just looking at some new saddles the other day at Ben's Cycle in Milwaukee (top notch store) and I really like the Brooks Swift saddle I tested. Curious about a San Marco Rolls/Regal though too.

I've had that occur on and off for years. I always feel like some club footed clown as I walk from the bike to the house.

I've been plagued with both arms and legs susceptible to pinched nerves, a results in parts from the heavy manual labor I did as a youth and the popeye like forearms and thighs I developed. When I go through periods of weight gain, it flairs up. The proverbial 10 lbs of crap in a 5 lb sack. For added enjoyment, I also get massive cramps in the muscle group in the back of my thigh.

Adjusting your saddle a bit could help. For me, once I shagged some weight off, the problem diminsihed in frequency.

I assumed that would be the case. I was down to 291 and then gained back 14lbs this summer so far. Crazy right? Riding my bike more, but still eating like a pig and drinking spotted cow on my days off certainly isn't helping.

It happens to me once in a while also.

I used to have that problem and I found that it was due to the way I was lacing my shoes. To remedy the problem I started using an alternate lacing technique which basically involved skipping lacing holes on the shoes so relieve pressure on the top of my feet. This helped a bit, but what solved the issue was not lacing my shoes as tight. I now wear all my shoes laced rather loosely and in the past 5 or so years have never had my feet fall asleep when hiking, biking, or walking.

If you google something like "numb feet shoe lacing" you will find some articles/forums/opinions on this subject, and also some suggestions and diagrams on alternate lacing techniques. Basically, it seems that it is the tight lacing that caused pressure on the top of the foot which causes numbness.

A few links:

http://walking.about.com/cs/shoecare/l/aa120600b.htm

Towards the bottom of: http://www.the-master-runner.com/numbfoot.html

Third video: http://www.runnersworld.com/article/...2334-0,00.html

Good luck!

it happens with runners when shoes are laced too tight in the middle area (think arch but on the top of the foot). so i'd try what they said above with lacing/buckling your shoes a touch lighter.

I get brief periods of numbness and change foot positions or loosen laces/velcro until it goes away. another thread mentioned too soft soles. btw there is an actual website devoted to lacing shoes for a variety of reasons. found it interesting. Ian's Shoe Lacing methods

I had numbness in my feet for a while as well and some other issues, most were resolved with a change of saddle (specialized avatar 155 Gel) and the only issue I still have is occasional hand numbness.

I actually loosened the straps on my shoes quite a bit today and it made a huge difference. Never considered that was the problem as I never had them super tight to begin with. Oh well. My new San Marco Regal saddle should be arriving Wednesday or Thursday.

from: http://sheldonbrown.com/pain.html

Foot discomfort is often the result of inappropriate footwear, specifically shoes with soft soles that concentrate the pedal pressure on isolated parts of the foot. It can also be related to riding in a too-high gear, which results in more pressure of the foot against the pedal.

try gearing down a little.

I will also try that. Pretty sure I don't ride in too high of a gear usually. Although when I ride I pretty much go all out. At this point riding is a workout and not for my recreational leisure...LOL. Thanks for the tip though.

I found that to work well for me as well. I used to have the shoes pretty tight and I had problems. With them slightly looser it was much better. It also helps to actively pull up on the feet if you start to feel a little numbness. I find that it helps get rid of the problem before it gets more severe.

Happy riding,
André