Morning All,

Now before everyone jumps in it isn't cold related! 😆

In 2007 I swapped all of my bikes over to running SPD's – A late adopter I know (have been riding over 15 years)

Since then I have had periods when riding of numb feet. From just behind the toes to the tips of my toes. This numbness can last quite a while once off of the bike.

I ride with the same pair of Shimano SPD shoes and three different SPD pedals – Two conventional and one platform – All Shimano.

The numbness seems to happen least whilst riding the platform pedals.

All of my bikes are set up "as they should be" with correct saddle heights and reach (for me anyway 😆 ).

Before I go playing with infinite adjustments of the cleats and floats has anyone else experienced such "numbness"?

A suggestion I had had was to change my Shoes. I have quite wide feet and wear the same size riding shoe as I would trainers.

I want to keep the SPD arrangement as prefer the clipped in feeling so no suggestions of reverting to flatties 😆

All help/advice/guidance most appreciated.

Many thanks,

Mark

I get this sometimes, usually when wearing sealskins/thick socks. I've found that loosening the laces off as much as I can helps a bit – not so loose that I can't pull up, but not tight.

Also try a different make of shoes – I found Shimano shoes were particularly bad for me; I get far fewer problems since I stopped using them. Other people will say the only time they don't get this is when they wear Shimano shoes, but it's worth a try.

I used to get this all the time when I had toestraps on, it went away when loosening the straps. I also get it with tight laces, so I'd say it's the an effect of the upper of the shoes.

Cheers for the comments.

The shoes I wear are these:

I run them completely loose with just a thin sock and usually only the top strap done up.

Perhaps new shoes are needed…….

Any suggestions for wide fitting SPD compatible shoes?

Like you I use the pair of same shoes (Diadora) for both my road bike (M520) and my MTB (M424) and have had the occasional bit of numbness, it’s more noticeable with the cageless M520s, part of it seems to be down to positioning of the cleat/pedal under the shoe, especially with more flexible soles (mine aren’t totally rigid) I think you get a bit of a focused pressure point if you set the cleat too far in or outboard for me the cleat was a touch too far inboard an I noticed the numbness start from the outside in…

The effect was less noticeable with the caged M424s as I get a bit of support from the cage, but it was still present..

Moving the cleat outboard a bit did help me but I still get the numbness on the outstep now and then, it’s worth looking at how you place your weight on your feet and how the shoes sit on the pedals…

Too thick a pair of socks can also contribute, again placing extra pressure on certain areas of the foot and restricting blood flow…

A stiffer soled shoe could also help reduce some of the pressure spots as well as improving pedalling efficiency, but it may also reduce “trail feel” a bit too…

Cheers Cookeaa.

Your description sounds exactly what I am experiencing.

Which direction do you mean when you say outboard? DO you mean bringing your feet in closer to the cranks and subsequently the cleat closer to your little toes 😕

Cant believe I have written little toes in an open forum 😳 seems wrond diddly wrong 😆

Yep that's what I did, like I said still not a total cure and you also have to consider how this will affect your clip-in/out manoeuvres and most importantly your knees…

Lace tightness is worth looking at obviously too tight and you’ll create constriction, too loose and your foot is under-supported and may roll in the shoe again creating unwanted pressure points, also worth considering how your socks affect things, even thin socks may not be ideal, many have prominent seams, again potential pressure points creators…

It may all seem a bit insignificant but considering the loads and how strangely delicate human hooves are and the kind of loads going through your feet/pedals as you ride, the most minor things can cause all sorts of issues…

Another thought is that more rigid soles may help – essentially, it sounds like the pedal is pushing into the foot at a nerve/ vein point; thicker socks may help alleviate it (if you loosen the laces appropriately), and shoes with stiffer soles would also take more of the effort away from your feet.

It could be due to varus tilt. It seems to be the cause of my issues. You could try some "in the shoe" wedges or some BFS wedges between the cleat and sole.

Try moving your cleats back a little bit, ideal start point is 5-7mm behind the ball of your foot, but you can try upto 15mm and see how that goes, certainly worked for me