So, after extensive riding this weekend I noticed that the balls of my feet go numb. Usually it takes about 30 miles before I lose feeling but now I can't go 5 minutes without pain or numbness. I've adjusted the saddle, seatpost, and toe straps with no relief. I'm riding some no name MTB pedals/cages.

Should I:
a) step up my game and get better clips
b) go clipless
c) orthotic inserts

I'm guessing B

B and C.
Road shoes would be best if you go clipless, rather than MTB too, although they'll suck for street use.

I have nothing that relevant to add, but I don't think you should have to clipless to solve the problem.

Maybe shoes with more stiffer soles would help?

That's my struggle- If I go clipless than i'd definitely want to go the MTB grip route since I'd hate to carry around an extra pair of shoes for the street. Also, I have really flat, wide feet. Someone suggested I go the John Luck road shoe route. Any other suggestions?

I think the MTB shoes would be an improvement, but that road shoes would be the ne plus ultra.

welcome to the exciting world of restless leg syndrom or rls.
apparently over 17 million people have this (myself included)
but are to afraid to go to the dr about it. however if you have
insurance(which i dont have) they have some pills that will
make that numbness a thing of the past.

coincidentally, I was screened for RLS a few months ago and I'm in the clear.

I think I'm going to dig through the used pile at working bikes and give the road shoe another try.

I've had a similar problem with clipless and Shimano mountain shoes...except mostly my toes go numb, and I have not yet figured how to alleviate it.

I had that same problem today on my road bike. I think that my problem came from my seat. Sometimes I get in the habit of sitting forward on the nose. The nerves for the feet pass right through the inside hip area so I think I may have been pinching off a nerve. I did this long enough for my toes and balls of my feet to go numb before I really realized there was a problem.

I have similiar problems, but I've yet to solve the problem. My toes would go numb with my Pearl Izumi shoes and eggbeaters. That was because the shoes were slightly too large.

From what I've seen, it's all a matter of finding the right shoe / pedal combo for you. I think stiffer soles make a lot of difference, but I don't think that switching to clipless is going to solve all your problems.

Hate to say it, but the problem is worse with stiff-soled clipless shoes, not better. And my flat, wide feet fit in pearls pretty well, but that may not be true in your size.

Good luck in the piles, god only knows what's in there. Working bikes volunteer crew represent!

So, your problem may lay with:

1) Your seat
2) Seating position
3) Shoes/Pedals
4) Pinched nerves
5) Restricted blood flow
6) Some or All of the above

Maybe find out about different seats and try that first. That would be cheaper than buying pedals and shoes.

Good luck


EDIT:

You wrote "balls OF my feet go numb". I read "balls AND my feet go numb".

Hahahahaha!

My recommendation has changed. Get clipless pedals and good shoes that fit properly.

that would be a problem larger than bike parts if kisha noticed her balls going numb.

note: we're not all boys in here.

I'd try the orthotic insoles first (after fully messing with saddle height and setback) or experiment with different shoes.

road shoes and breaks after 20+ miles does the trick for me. In regualr shoes I never have this problem. With road shoes, w/ cleats in clips and straps I get numbness after a long time in the saddle. A short break usually does the trick for me.

I was hurting my feet with my cages and went clipless and the pain stopped. The cages were pressing too hard as I was crankin' down the straps to do my thang. I just saw some wicked cool street/skate style shoes that were SPD compatible. Now where was that link?.....................

ive heard that the Specialized Body Geometry Footbed insole works wonders. sort of steep at $45 bucks.

I'm going to try inserts with my street shoes and some road shoes. I really think it's the lack of an arch that's giving me so many problems.

Hahah I thought there would be a few of us WBC kids on here! I've actually had some luck finding hoes in the used bin in my size (39/40) but most of them have laces. I don't do laces on road shoes.

If I ride real thin soled shoes my feet go numb. Thicker tennis shoes are not a problem, but van's and what not are pain.

I run a set of MKS Sylvans... but when I was using Shimano M324's (platform side) it had enough support not to go numb.

I'm thinking that a couple of hose clamps with the barrel side up around the pedal body may help carry the load... but I haven't ugglified them yet.

Wow. I didn't notice that either. I need to take my own advice. Reading Is Fundamental.

I have the same problem, right at 10 miles of constant hard riding I get the numbness on the balls of my feet. The only solution for me right now is just to stop, or slow down and relax my feet for a minute, usually be good for another 10.

Same thing used to happen when I did sprints in football and track (400m and 200m), and workouts during wrestling. Right now its the biggest problem I have, but its not really that bad, and if I'm riding in a congested area I'll probably end up stopping anyways which helps things out. Just sucks sometimes when I'm out in the country and have my momentum built up and don't want to stop but then my feet go numb...