insole advice?
 

I have about 7,000 miles on my current pair of Shimano road shoes, and figure it is time to replace the stock insoles as they are thin and hard as cardboard now. Just curious what everyone else is using as replacements? Thanks :)

Sidas custom footbeds. seriously. makes my sidis even more slipper like.

Mine are made by Specialized, they're pretty good.

Specialized as well

On the advice of my bike fitter, I tried riding with no insole for a half hour. Since the shoes gave me no trouble on this ride, he suggested Dr. Scholes air insoles. Seriously. $5 at the local pharmacy. In his words, since the shape of the shoe was giving the support I needed, all I was looking for was some cushioning. And for $5, if it doesn't work, no big deal (or stick them in your sneakers).

JB

I had the problem of outer side of my foot going numb. Specialized insoles plus shims solved the problem. I wear Sidi shoes.

esoles, specialized are niicccee and the price is good after all. If you go this route can you "GIFT" me 2 of the shims please? :D

I've had good luck with the Louis Garneau heat-moldable insoles.

I have a pair of this ones moving around, are pretty good :)

+1 (so far)

Specialized. I had the ++ ones with my Specilialized shoes but with my Sidis, there is a bit more of an arch built into the shoe and I had to switch to the flatter ones. I've been looking into custom moulded ones but I'm not doing that until I decide on a shoe brand that is perfect for me.

your thread has reminded me I need to give some real support footbeds a try. Been noticing some obvious pronation now while pedaling. It wasn;t that obvious at the beginning of the 'season'. must be another change related to aging...

I've had great results from using the SuperFeet Red Footbeds in my Ski Boots, so I;m gonna give the Blue ones a try in the cycling shoes to see if they can control the pronation, and if I'd see some power and comfort improvement because of pronation control.

The only thing i miss from the sole ones is the metatarsal button. The support is awesome way better than anything else.

Sadly scott do not sell their insoles, are awesomely good. Metatarsal button and stuff.

My right foot has never been right in any shoe- I finally went to a podiatrist and did my homework to make sure he was also a cyclist-- it's nice when you describe what's going on and bring your shoes and the Dr. understands exactly what you're talking about. Turns out my insurance covers custom orthotics 100% so it should be another week and I'll have them.

I was using the sole heat moldables and I doubt I'll do a thing w/ the left foot because they made everything perfect.

I researched this to death last year. Superfeed (light blue) had a fair amount of positive reviews. I'd say they did the trick for me and were "only" ~$30 at REI.

followup on my earlier post
I got my Superfeet insoles last week. I ordered black instead of Blue - there are a greater variety of them since I last bought Superfeet.
website says black for cycling - OK, give it a try.
I put them in on Thursday and went for a short, easy recovery ride - 22 mi.
Didn;t really experience or notice much of a 'change' - but everything OK.
Friday, a bit longer, but still mostly easy ride of about 32 mi. - nothing different noticed again.
Saturday, I did a high tempo spinning ride, about 35 mi., low-ish gears 70-80 inch range, higher cadence 105 to 115 and try not to drop below 100 at all. By the time I got to 30 miles the legs were gettin a bit tired and at that point I noticed a change.
Usually as I fatigue these days I can feel my ankles start rolling slightly 'inwards' towards the cranks. As the Sat ride came towards the end, I did 'feel' the extra support of the insoles at the inside of the arch and heel, keeping the foot/ankle/lower leg in a more aligned position thru the pedal stroke. Felt really good to have that extra support.
Sunday- not long ride but steady and about 50 mi, 2 hrs 40 min. Again at about 40 mi, I felt the extra support at the inside of the insole.
Monday - easy 20 mi.
Hillclimb tuesday is 28 miles with 6.5 miles of 2500 ft of climbing. Felt the insole support, BIG TIME, as I rode both larger gears (50 inch) as well as smaller gears at higher rpm (38 inch).
If my legs hold up, 2nite is crit practice round here, and I expect if I can hold on, the insoles will definitely help in the 'power' department.
In summary, I'm happy with the improved alignment as I get more fatigue in the lower leg over the ride time. My foot/leg alignment isn;t a dramatic issue; even so, these sure seem to help reduce fatigue over longer/harder rides and keep everything in stronger alignment.
I've ordered another set for my other cycling shoes... got em online for about $32. well worth it to me.
YMMV

Based on this thread I visited my LBS to see about some insoles as I was getting the painful pressure on the ball of my foot/hot foot after about 40 miles.

I have extremely flat arches - I'm talking damn near diamond shaped feet. But I ended up getting the specialized bg blue insoles. I was a bit skeptical, esp at $44 bucks that something replacing the now paper-thin insoles in my Mavic Avenirs would make much of a difference. I used both of the orange corrective varus shims under the insole because my knees rotate inward alot. Then I headed out on my normal tt loop (22mi).

The difference was immediately noticeable.... My foot doesn't move around in the shoe and I could put more power down without too much pressure on my knees and spin more efficently . Hey, these stupid shims work! Awesome! I went a bit (about 1mph) faster and suffered slightly less.

Am I saying an insole change is going to automagically make you faster? No. But if you have serious biomechanical issues in your feet and knees, the insoles may help you recover some of that lost power/efficiency.

Happy for you ninjump, pain in the feet is a PITA.

I tried Superfeet, but the arch support doesn't match the location of my arch, so I could never get comfortable. Now I use Sole footbeds which mold to the shape of your feet. Much better.

Love Superfeet. Get the thinnest ones they make (light blue?)

Bumping and reiterating the +1 I posted earlier. As I was getting ready to ride yesterday, I realized that I had taken the thick Softec Ultra Soles out of my Sidis to use in my work shoes. But, I had recently found some of the thinner Softec Response version, so I trimmed the forefoot (I had thrown away the stock insoles, so they weren't available as a guide; I had to eyeball and test-fit as I trimmed), popped them in the toaster oven, and put them in my shoes. After cinching down the straps as hard as I could to help mush them into shape and standing still for a few minutes, they were ready.

Ka-ching, no foot issues at all. Maybe even a bit better than the pair I had before, too.

+1 Shop Guy said to try Dr. Scholes they work great and breath well 2!