Right, I’m a dyed in the wool flat pedal rider, have been for 20 years. Recently I’ve started riding a road bike to get fit and hence make the most of the little time i get on my MTB, so I’ve bought some SPDs to see how I get on.

I’ve got a pair off m530s and some AM5s, so i can play with them on the MTB if i get on with them.
But I’m really not.

First ride tonight and they are super uncomfortable 🙁
The main discomfort is the outside of my foot by my little toe. It feels like all the pressure is going on that part.

I suspect my feet naturally angle? the outside down, and the SPDs are pulling them flat, so my whole foot is twisting in the shoes. Does that sound feasible?
Any suggestions for remedies? Can you get angled wedges for the cleat or similar?
I’ve got wide feet so have had to get slightly larger than ideal shoes, which means snugging up the top? part of the laces, maybe this isn’t helping so I’m going to try some insoles to bring the foot up a bit to make them sit tighter.

I’ve played with the cleat angle as well and i think the position is relatively ok for my Canard-esque stance.

Hmm, are these what i need?

Your shoes don’t fit.

HTH.

Not really. They fit the best of the 327 differently combinations of manufacturer, model and size i have tried.

327? You’re lying!

🙂

However, if you’ve really tried ’em all, a couple of thoughts….

Loosen the shoes. Some people run their shoes too tight, restricts blood flow and can position the foot wrong.
Shims – they can help, and yes, you can get angled spacers. Delving in to the world of micro differences, and possibly the realms of bike fits.
Footbeds – See above

I’d imagine it’s something to do with cleat position and/or shoe fit/tightness though. Possibly cleat position making the knee out of whack, and therefore shifting with on to the outside of your foot.

IIRC, Sheldon Brown had a good cleat set up guide.

Bonne chance!

My new spd shoes did the same to me for the first couple of rides. Like old slippers now.

As CaptainFlasheart says, check your fit & cleat position.
If you sit on a table with your feet dangling perpendicular to the floor, your feet will hang pretty close to their position on the pedals. i.e., whatever angle your feet are at, the cleats should be pointing directly forward.
It’s not very scientific, but it’ll tell you very quickly if your cleats are way out.

Incidentaly, I’ve just gone back to flats after about 25yrs on spds! 🙂

If you really struggle than I always found time Atac pedals were more forgiving – more float in them.

You can adjust the angle of the cleat, do a bit of googling and experiment with different angles and for/aft positioning.

Think of me when you topple sideways at 0mph whilst tugging your foot upwards in panic

If you really struggle than I always found time Atac pedals were more forgiving – more float in them.

Time are indeed better pedals, but a borked cleat position is a borked cleat position, regardless of the system in use.

Spds also keep your feet in the same position for a longer period of time, much like road bike does when compared to mtb.
Therefore small differences become a relatively bigger problem.
Try adjusting the cleat in the sore foot to bring the heel ‘in’ towards the bike.
Small adjustments can make a big difference.
Have you done the comedy ‘come to a complete stop and fall sideways before realising you need to unclip’ yet?
Most people only do it once or twice (including me btw)

I went on the mtb for first time today after only having used road bike for last 6 months. Every time I went on the roadie my feet hurt.

Today I couldnt clip in at all, finally worked out that the cleats on the roadie are much further forward which is probably why they are so uncomfy.

Move em about a bit and all will be fine.

I had this with my shimano m520’s, xc pedal with no cage. Changed them for the caged version, and the problem vanished.

Same shoes and cleat position, due to a fubar knee, I’m quite anal about that, the slightest bit out, and I know it.

Loosen the spring tension off and clip the shoe from The effected foot in and see if the outer side of the sole makes contact with the cage.

I cant ride a bike without clipless

I get this if my shoes are done up too tight. I feel it on the outside of the foot around where the toe meets the foot, but a bit further back. However it’s the main ratchety closure at the top of the shoe (ie nowhere neat that!) that causes it.

I back these off a bit and I guess the bloodflow improves

They might fit but if they’re too flexible for you then you’ll end up with sore feet after a while no matter what.

What shoes do you have?

move the cleat back a little too ….

Cheers all.
Shoes are Shimano AM5s.

I’ll try running them a fair chunk looser and see if that helps. Cleats are as far back as they’ll go. From a bit of reading I’m wondering if i need to modify the shoes to run then further back. Seems common where people with flippers have had to size up to get shoes to fit.

I know that my feet are substantially ‘toed out’, I cant angle the cleats out any more or my heels with smash the cranks.

Haven’t fallen off clipped in as of yet, but I’m planning on getting on the rollers tonight….

Funnily enough the shoes I commented about up there^^^ were AM5s too. After I’d used them 3 or 4 times they were fine.