venturi95

Machka 

My podiatrist just put temporary trial orthotics into several of my shoes, including my cycling shoes.

We're trying them out for the next few weeks to see if they help.

If so, then I'll go to real orthotics.

One of the pairs we're trying is my cycling shoes, and so far, after one ride, it seemed to be all right ...

Tourist in MSN

Most of the cycling shoes that I have bought have a good foot bed under the insole under the ball of my foot. But one pair I bought several years ago, they put some soft foam on top of the SPD cleat hardware in the sole, that soft foam was to fill a rectangular shaped hole. After about 15 miles my feet hurt really bad. Once I figured out that I was trying to shove my foot into a small rectangular hole (under the insole that hid the problem), I cut a piece of thin sheet metal to put over that hole like a bridge. Solved the problem. For brevity, I am not describing my other attempts to fix it that failed, it took a while to find the solution that I found.

I used the lid of a large coffee can for the sheet metal, tin snips to cut it (probably only 1 out of 10 households have a tin snips), I put electrical tape over the cut ends so that the sharp metal would not abrade anything. And I taped it in place with more electrical tape. The coffee can lid was light weight, thin, stiff enough steel and had an anti-rust coating on it, so it was perfect.

Pull the insole out of your cycling shoes and see if there is a firm support for your foot or if it has some weird way to cover up the cleat connection hardware.

After I fixed that pair of shoes to be usable, I bought a pair of Keen cycling sandals, ccommuter 4 model. They also lacked a smooth foot bed so I cut some sheet metal to bridge over it in those before I ever tried them on the bike. Occasionally the sheet metal shifts out of place and I have to re-tape it into the correct space.

unterhausen

what kind of pain? I always had foot pain until I got orthotics from an orthopod. The main problem I had was Morton's neuroma, which is treated with a metatarsal pad. I think other pain stemmed from that, and shoes that were too small once my feet swelled, which happens for me at about 95 miles.

Morton's often shows up in older people, so if you are over 50, it's not unlikely that you have it to some degree.

Not sure I want to know how much my orthotics cost my insurance company

venturi95

rhm

One of the guys on last week's LOL ride has had a recurring problem with "hotfoot," which he solved by moving his cleat farther back on the shoe. He actually has an aluminum plate on the bottom of his shoes, bolted to the Look-style cleat mount, and drilled to accept the cleat farther back. Redistributing his weight farther back on his foot helped a lot.

Tourist in MSN

I also have my cleats farther back than typical. On my folding bike that uses toe clips, I put some longer toe clips on that bike to allow my foot to sit further forward too.

I think I moved them about 3/8 to 1/2 inch from where I initially had them. My cleats are within the range that the shoes allow, I made no external modifications to my shoes.

It felt a bit odd at first to have the pedal further back, but now feels quite normal. It did increase my toe overlap with the front fender a bit, but I just accept that as a necessary annoyance.

unterhausen

I think the relationship between hot foot and sole stiffness is overblown. My guess is that more shoe volume will solve most of the problem. If you look at where the nerves enter your foot, they can be pinched below the ankle by the cuff of the shoe. Also, any tightness through the middle can cause hotfoot.

I like cleats as far back as I can get them. Not sure that helped my hotfoot though. Seems to have a lot of small benefits.

I would try to find an insole with a metatarsal pad. Of course, this may use up some of the shoe volume, so shoes might have to change too.

Back in my racing days, I would get shoes that were fairly tight. For long distance, this is a bad idea. I am pretty sure that most people's feet swell at least a little on a 100+ mile ride. Now I get a shoe that is one size too large. I use the Giro HV shoes, they really aren't high volume, but they aren't as low volume as their regular shoes.

Carbonfiberboy 

You really need a cycling-specific insole, meaning custom should be from a maker experienced with cycling-specific orthotics. Many people have had good results from Specialized insoles. Here's a review of various cycling insoles: THE BEST CYCLING SPECIFIC INSOLE? PART II - Bike Test Reviews

Specialized insoles are on ebay for $20. Insoles of course work in any shoe.

Brian25

I broke both of my heels about 12 years ago, the result was that I lost a significant amount of dorsal-flexion. When I get off the saddle It drives a lot more force into the pedals. I absolutely have to use arch supports to spread that load over a bigger area. If I do not use arch supports, the force overloads the metatarsals on my feet, essentially smashing the nerves in one single ride. My arch support formula for me has been to cut down rubber flip-flops from a 99c store into a "d" shape about 2x 3.5" and then I grind them with a angle on them. They have been really terrific for me.

boozergut

I went through a long stretch of bad foot pain. I had the molded custom orthodics made. Then wore a boot for 6 weeks. Then on to acupuncture. Nothing worked. I finally went in to one of those Good Feet stores out of sheer desperation. At first their shoe inserts felt a bit like walking on ladder rungs all day but it wasnt long before my foot pain was gone. I think it also helps to buy new shoes well before you think their worn out.

unterhausen

did a doctor make those for you? I am used to it now, but the first couple of orthotics I had made by medical pros really made a difference while walking. The first didn't have met pads, but the second with met pads really helped a lot, that was the first I had ridden without any foot pain on long rides.

I was surprised by the chart linked to above by how many of the orthotics had met pads. I have never seen a commercial orthotic with them, so that's good news.

boozergut

Yes, they make a mold of my feet at the orthopedists, expensive and they provided no benefit.............