I ride Spesh carbon road shoes which I love with Spesh red insoles that came with the shoes. I believe I am pronating a bit because the natural arch of my feet are a bit higher than the contour of the red insoles which are Specialized least amount of arch. They sell the shoes this way because a low arch insole doesn't bug guys with flattish feet. Most shoe makers do the same thing.

Here are Spesh insole options:

• + Red = minimal contours (this is our stock body geometry footbed with longitudinal arch & metatarsal button support. Same footbed in all our performance shoes. Same footbed we have used since 2000) = for people with flat foot

• ++ Blue = moderate (slightly higher longitudinal arch & metatarsal button) = for people with flat to standard arch

• +++ Green = significant support = for people with standard or high arches


So I want to try either the green or blue insoles. Anybody make the switch and glad they did? Where is the best place to order them on line?...or only available thru lbs or maybe thru Specialized direct? My shoe is size is 45...pretty common.

Thanks for any advice.

I need to try some of the other insoles, myself, so I'm no help there. I will point out, however, that Specialized is one of those brands that has a pretty strong lock-down on their distribution, so you're not likely to find any of their products available for less online.

Oh, also - since you seem unsure of which insert will be best for you, and since you're (probably) not going to find a better price than your lbs, you might as well go down to your lSbs and stand on their arch-o-meter to get a better idea of which insert will work best.

Put some handlebar tape strips under the arch and done. Cheaper than buying new insoles.

No offense, but holy facepalm. You are asking people over the internet for advice as to which insole will fit your feet (how would we know?!?), then you will use that as a basis for ordering online, if you can. This is part of the reason that Spesh are so strict on limiting online sales, to try to quash this kind of thing.

I would be more superior, but I went through the same thing last year. I ended up reluctantly going to my local Spesh dealer, and had my feet/ legs assessed. The insoles came with wedges and shims, after a brief fit session he also added a wedge on one side. There was no extra charge, but it was more than just slapping a pair of coloured insoles into my shoe. When one buys Spesh insoles one is paying for fit as much as, if not more than, just the insoles. BTW, I ended up with blue, and I am relatively flat-footed.

I just got new orthotic insoles. I was amazed how much more effective they were than my old ones. This experience makes me doubt that it's possible to successfully buy insoles over the internet

I think you can buy inserts that raise your arches. The reds work for me so I can give any feedback from the other types.
Going custom is the only way to be really comfortable.
Yes they cost an arm, & a legs, but so do most of our bike gear.

Thanks guys...all good advice. Wes, I was looking for general shared experience, not for a fitting on the internet.
FWIW word is, unless you have real high arches, many like the blue insoles and generally only guys with flattish feet like the red insoles that come stock with Spesh shoes. WhyFi...maybe a trip to the local Specialized bike shop is the best advice as you say because not going to find much of better deal.
If anybody knows of an equivalent insole to Specialized Blue that they would recommend and more generically available, please advise. I know there are a number of insole manufacturers out there.
Thanks again.

The newer version of the insoles from Specialized don't use color codes, just +, ++, +++, and cost less ($29, I believe) because they don't include the wedges.

I have higher than normal arch, and supinates (the outside of shoes wears out first), so the ++ works very well for me, but I also need the varus wedges.

They are still colour-coded as well, they just don't use the colour for the whole surface of the insole.

I've recently bought a pair of green (+++) insoles at the nearest Specialized shop. Used their measuring device, got evaluated as medium high, but they didn't have blue ones in stock and the green still felt better than stock insoles. An important point though - I use Bont shoes at the moment, and they have built-in arch support and with them, green may be just a bit too tall for me. At the same time, in my Shimano shoes (which are a lot flatter) the green ones feel perfect. I will probably switch to blue for Bonts, but the jury is still out.

I think it's very important to try out the insoles in your shoes and not just go by the measurement on the thing at the shop. It is also important not to go by how they feel when standing or walking. In my experience, cycling shoes need more aggressive arch support than walking or running shoes and you should definitely feel it when not on the bicycle.

I messed around with several types of aftermarket insoles. Soles, eSoles and others. I never got comfortable until my fitter custom formed some Sidas.

I got insoles during a fit session with a local Specialized dealer: I really just happened to be wearing Specialized shoes. I actually have very flat feet with a tendency to collapse my arches and to correct my very funky pedal stroke I actually got put on the +++ soles with 1.5mm wedges. This is somewhat similar to what the orthotics I used to wear did--rotate my foot outward and raise my arch to make up for my lack of an arch. I've now been using minimalist footwear and I feel like I've gotten stronger and no longer need orthotics for running, hiking, etc, but the bike isn't really a natural use of the foot and I feel like in the context of cycling some foot correction is more in order. FWIW it seems to have helped with my pedal stroke and the weird asymmetrical movement of my knee while riding I used to have. Also my feet don't go numb as easily in cold weather.

So I think perhaps just matching the arch of your foot to the footbed's arch is a little oversimplistic. If I were you I'd really like to actually try them out in a shop.

Not sure how available they are, but the latest Shimano custom insole comes with 2 different height arch pads, that slip into the insole.
That way you can set up different arch heights and set up each foot differently if you have to.

https://shimano-lifestylegear.com/gl/...sory/soles.php

I switched from Specialized blue insoles to Pearl Izumi adjustable insoles. Great switch. It turns out that I need high arch support on right foot and not the left. And I needed a wedge on the left but not the right. The pearl izumi insoles are a much better deal and they last a long time. I have over 5000 miles on mine and they still look as good as new.

Get the your sole thin sport ultras and mold them yourself

How many of you who spring for fancy insoles for your cycling shoes do anything similar for your street/dress shoes? With no obvious skeletal handicaps it would never occur to me to buy and use insloes that didn't just come with a shoe. The better formed your arch, the more room you have for a support under it, but the less you need it. That is the beauty of a well formed arch. It is built to provide its own support. And considering how much more stressful walking and standing are than pedaling, I just don't see the point. I know a lot of you guys really believe in this stuff, but it sure seems like a boondoggle to me. Having said all that, if you really need shoe midifications, shouldn't you be seeing a podiatrist for that? Is an hourly worker at the LBS really the one you want to fit your feet with insoles, wedges, etc. ?

1. Pedaling and walking are quite different.
2. Podiatrists are rarely experts on cycling.
3. My fitter isn't an hourly worker at an LBS.

Going from HTFUing through foot pain to riding without it is a pretty big deal. I don't use any special insoles for walking or running, but my feet aren't locked into pedals for hours at a time for those activities.

All true but LBS employees are rarely experts on feet. There are many podiatrists who specialize in sports related foot complaint.

In no way did I mean to suggest that no one (including you) needs devices to enhance cycling shoe fit and support. I was just wondering out loud whether it needs to be a general concern. Conversation topic, that's all.

By the way does it not seem a little strange that folks are concerned with arch support when the foot connects to and presses on the cycling shoe at the ball of the foot, far in front of the arch?

A pro fitter isn't your average bike shop sales monkey.

Cycling? Not many. The stresses of cycling are very different from impact sports.

A general concern? I have no idea how prevalent foot problems are in the cycling community. But it's enough to have spawned a small industry to address them.

That seems odd to me, but I'm not pretending to be an expert either. IME, pain in the arch while cycling has a lot more to do with how the large bone behind the big toe is treated, but that's just me.

Good points.

Just an opinion from a guy who has studied just a tad in the area of biomechanics:

Non impact-related foot pain generally comes from tight/overactive muscles in the lower extremity. Gastrocnemius/Soleus pull on the achilles tendon and hence the calcaneus. This elongates/stretches the intrinsic muscles of the foot and the fascia can become inflamed leading to Plantar Fasciitis/ peroneus longus tendinitis and pain in the bottom of your foot.

Pain in your arch is likely NOT from too little arch support, it's from tight calf muscles. Massage and use a foam roller to help loosen them up, and hopefully your foot pain will go away.

Cyclists should not be predisposed to injuries/conditions due to hyperpronation/hypersupination (flat arch and high arch respectively) because that mechanism exists as a "shock absorber" in walking and running.

When I got fitted, the fitter sold me Superfeet yellow insoles. He noticed severe pronation for me - I can't do a one legged squat without support because of extensive pronation. The Superfeet worked well. Last year I purchased Specialized shoes and the LBS suggested the blue inserts with ++. They feel almost identical to the Superfeet and work the same.

I have a set of specialized carbon pro shoes and started having the same problem you are saying, the problem with the specialized shoe if you really need good support is that after like a year or two the shoe gets lose and then you notice that the arch is not getting the support that it should, you said that you notice some room between the arch and the insole, i bet you notice it while pulling up the stroke, I bet the knees are not stable either while going up in the stroke. You have to account that the insoles lose their "fluffiness" too and they flat more and more, i would go with the high arches one or with Sole insoles.

Or I would move to another shoe like bont, you can't get better support than the one in those shoes, I moved form specialized carbon to bonts and I was swearing for spech shoes support but the bonts are just in their own league. Doubt will go back to another brand, darn ugly shoes tho

Hope this helps.

I swapped insoles from a pair of Nikes, but I've also used some from Red Wings.

I've not yet been able to put Birkenstock insoles in a pair of cycling shoes, but I dream of that level of cork arch support.

See, that's what I was suggesting, just not quite so eloquently.