I’ve been mtbing on and off now for the last 20 years but just recently(last 2 years)the balls of my feet start to ache after about 10 miles of riding.They ache at the point where the cleat is on my shoes.At first i put this down to my shoes(Specialized BG Tahoe)and my pedals Shimano m520 spd’s.I recently changed my shoes to Shimano Am 45 as they are less flexy and my pedals to Shimano M647 SPD as they have an outer cage to spread the weight.
I’m still getting the same problem.I’m resigned to the fact that it’s probably my feet that are the issue 🙁 …As a last resort i was wondering if there are some decent insoles out there that will provide more comfort or if anyone else as had the same issues and what they’ve done about it..Ta 🙂

Maybe try some flat pedals with a big, flat platform and see how you get on – cleats will always tend to ‘focus’ any pressure on the foot.

Superfeet or spesh Body geometry insoles could help.

I had a similar thing and changed shoes, problem solved.

Went from NW to Specialised.

Do the shimano shoes still have the grid pattern underneath the insoles? If they do its best to fill it in with some silicon sealant.

edit: just looking at the pics of those Shimano Am 45 shoes, they look like they would still have quite a flexy sole.

I had this with Tahoe’s except I had “hot-spots” in one foot whilst on the MTB.

On my road bike I have Look Keo’s which have a much larger cleat and platform and I dont have any probs at all.

Switched to flats on the mtb and no probs since.

ahh those balls. In that case I have no advice.

I had this with Tahoe’s except I had “hot-spots” on the MTB.

if you mean a dull burning sensation,then this is what i get,,not painful just very uncomfortable

Yep thats the feeling, apparently known as “hot-spots”…

Could be the shoes as mine aer 7 or 8 years old but I wanted to experiment with flats and decided to stick with them for a bit. No noticable loss in performance so I’ll be sticking with them for a while and remain hot-spot free 😀

shoe laces done too tight?

good thread title btw 😆

I find I can get this if my shoes are done up too tight. I think it might be a circulation or nerve compression issue in my case.