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Shoe fitting advice....

11 posts & 9 voices | Started 2 years ago by gravitysucks | Latest reply from Duc

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gravitysucks - Member

Ok getting to the end of my tether now.
I've never had a problem with cycling shoe's in the past but after buying my first set of road shoes a few months back i'm ready for throwing them in the nearest river.

The shoes I have are Sidi Ergo 2 carbons sole jobbies. I've had a pair of Sidi Dragon MTB shoes and fit me llike a glove. But with these i'm getting pain in my left foot (on the boney bit about an inch back from the ball on the outside of my foot... technical eh!!)

At first I had pain in the same spot on both my feet but cut some slithers of credit cards and put one in between the cleat and shoe on the inside to change the angle slightly thinking that the pain I had was likely because os the orientaion of my foot. This kinda worked and sorted the problem in my right foot. I've since bought some proper cleat wedges for the job and my right shoe feels just right now, but My left is still giving me pain. I've tried extra wedges to increase the angle in the left but this just gives me knee pain and doesn't feel right at all.

My left arch doesn't feel as supported as my right so I've tried three different foot beds now and all have too much depth and take up too much bulk in the shoe. The nearest I've got is the specialized foot bed (blue medium one) but the arch is way to high for me and just brings more pain.

So any suggestions please? I've tried various differing cleat poistions and am confident I have them placed correctly.

As far as I can see my only remaining options are...

- Try more foot beds but this works out £15 - £25 a pop which I have to cut down to get in my shoe to find they're to bulky.

- Get some custom ones made. Where from and potentially similar problam as above but more likely 3 x the cost.

- cut my loses and just buy some different shoes. Which I could spend a load of money and end up with similar problems.

Anyways the shoes cost me £230. I've spent £25 on wedges and probably thrown away £50 on footbeds...
So where do you draw the line? The only place i've heard of that offers professional fitting is cyclefit based in london but thats a fair trek from Manchester.

Advice greatly received. I've got the 100k of the Cheshire Cat looming in less than 4 weeks and and this pain kicks in within minutes

Posted 2 years ago #
djglover - Member

Undo Caliper Buckle and high security velcro, place shoe over foot, secure Caliper Buckle and high security velcro. If foot feels comfortable then there is a high probability that the shoe fits.

Posted 2 years ago #
gravitysucks - Member

As much as I feel sarcasm could solve this problem, unfortunately the sidi's don't have laces. Thanks for your constructive input all the same

Posted 2 years ago #
Vortexracing - Member

Righto, similar problem here.

Went to Wheelbase who do bike fitting and asked them about a similar problem.

They gave me this guys details

Nick Dinsdale, he is in Clithroe and his website is

http://www.njdsportsinjuries.co.uk/

I have not been yet, I will go to wheelbase first for the bike fitting and then if my problem persists i'll try this guy.

If you use him let me know how you get on

Posted 2 years ago #
Onzadog - Member

I've recently been looking for a similar service. I was in London a while back and popped in to have a chat with the people at that bike fit place. I didn't have anything done by them so I can't comment on that. All I can say is that I was so uninspired by the conversation I had with the woman there that I decided to look elsewhere. I'm now booking in with a chap in Leamington Spa next week who seems to have a much better idea of what he's doing judging by the initial conversation. Now it's possible I'm being unfair to the place in London but you know when you just don't get the right vibe from somewhere and decide not to drop big wedge there? That's what happened. Anyway, I'm sure I'll report back on what this chap was like after I've seen him.

Posted 2 years ago #
solarider - Member

Before you invest in expensive custom shoes, firstly check that you aren't doing them up too tightly. I use the same combination of road and off road shoes, and with so many choices of hi-tech fastenings, there is a temptation to over tighten them. I used to experience exactly the same problem, and got some advice as part of a bike fit. Your feet swell quite a bit when you are riding, and even if your shoes are tightened quite loosely at the start of the ride, they might need slackening off part way through.

I had my shoes adjusted as part of a bike fit, and in addition to the advice above, I bought some Specialized insoles. A fraction of the cost of a fully customized option, but you still need to take some advice as they come in three support options (I went for the red ones) and shims to straighten any slight off-set in your up/down stroke. The combination of loosening the fastenings, fitting the insoles and fitting the wedges have completely solved any problems I was having and at a fraction of the full custom route.

Posted 2 years ago #
fasthaggis - Member

I have just gone through the whole 'what new shoe 'thing.

Are the Dragons bollixed ?
If they still fit you fine, then put some new cleats on and use them for the event.

I have used Sidis before and (although they didn't give me any pain )thought they were a bit on the narrow side(designed for wee skinny Italian feet). Went for Shimano this time round ,just got them today.
I have never had a pair of road specific shoes ,I just use MTB ones for everything.

Sell the Ergos and take the hit.

Posted 2 years ago #
ourmaninthenorth - Member

Are the Dragons bollixed ?
If they still fit you fine, then put some new cleats on and use them for the event.

I'd do this. It's only 60 miles, so it's not like you'll be uncomfortable not using road shoes.

Are the Ergos in the normal "slim" fit, or the Mega "wide" fit? Might be worth trying a pair of the latter (if the shoes are the former) to see if there is any difference.

FWIW I bought a pair of Barker shoes for work before Christmas. Not the most expensive (£145), but after wearing for 2.5 months, they are still rubbing my feet and, frankly, will have to go.

Posted 2 years ago #
bobbyspangles - Member

http://www.bikedynamics.co.uk

go and have a professional look at them

Posted 2 years ago #
gravitysucks - Member

Dragons are fooked!! The last resort will be to use my current mtb shoes but not an ideal long term solution. I have skinny long feet (size 12) so the sidi's are a good fit. I find shimanos a pretty wide fit. Cheers for the links guys I'll start sending some emails out in the morning. It's bloody annoying as the right shoe is well comfy!!

Posted 2 years ago #
Duc - Member

Try and find somewhere that does the Sidas in soles - they are not corrective but moulded to the shape of your foot. Most ski shops will be able to do it (perhaps snow and rock in Manc ?) but they may need to order in the "bike" insoles rather than the super thick ski ones. A much better bet than the specialised ones and somewhere in the middle price wise

Posted 2 years ago #

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