Toes and Pedal Clips.
 

Currently on my bike I have pedal clips. I'm planning on getting a set of clipless the next time I have the cash to spend on them. When I ride if I keep my feet in the cages for a while my toes start to go numb. I'm pretty sure it is the cage because when I'm riding on the street, where I have to stop frequently, my left foot doesn't go numb (it is the one I remove to come to a complete stop) but my right will. Yesterday I rode for an hour without ever really needing to remove either and both went numb. So, will clipless help, or do clipless have similar problems? Thanks.

I'm taking a guess here but if you're getting numb feet you may want to check your position on the saddle. The saddle may be cutting off some blood flow in your legs.

I had similar problems with toe clips, and the problems went away when I switched to clipless.

But... I still ride a bike with toe clips and no longer get numb toes when I ride with the same clipless shoes. My guess is proper bike shoes tend to have stiffer soles. Riding in normal athletic shoes puts pressure on a small area of my foot, whereas bike shoes distribute the pressure across your entire foot.

I would agree that it's the shoes that are probably at fault rather than the cages. In addition to the above mentioned pressure distribution I've heard that the minute flexing of the foot around the pedal platform contributes to numbness, and obviously a stiffer sole will reduce that phenomenon.

Maybe the shoes, I don't know. Now, I tried two different sets of toe clips, and ended up with chaffing around the toenails, and one big blood blister on the left, bit toe that didn't go away for two weeks after I switched to Power Grips. Anyway, that was my biggest improvement to the bike, and not because they're pretty. They aren't.

Everyone tells me clipless is better, but it's usually important for me to ride in office shoes. Changing back and forth just wouldn't work for me.

If you do go clipless, don't get super low-end shoes. You want a =stiff= sole, otherwise you will either continue to get numb or suffer with "hot spots".

Clipless may solve the problem, but until you get the $$$, try loosening the strap a little.

Its easy to overtighten toe straps actualy. In the days when we raced with toeclips and straps we also had cleats which prevented foot movement. Without cleats straps alone aren't that solid and it sounds like you have tightened the straps right up to compensate. Loosen them off a little. The quality of the shoe that your wearing (or non cycling specific nature) won't help either. Back in the old days cyclists would tighten the straps for specific efforts and then loosen them off a little when the going was easier.

Regards, Anthony