When climbing for a prolonged period, or on exercise/spinning bikes after a short while my middle toe starts to go numb. If I stop for a minute or so the feeling comes back.
I've tried different shoes and still the same.
Any ideas how to stop it?
Moulded footbeds like those Specialized jobs?
I used to get this quite a bit and it was a combo of shoes too tight and repositioning my feet so I was more on my toes .
I sometimes get this on my hands or feet if I'm doing ling rides 12 hour+.
I always put it down to me spending too long in one position so try to move around on the bike as much as I can, keep mixing up the hand positions etc.
I'd try moving your cleats slightly back or forward dependent on current position. this will change the pressure spot slightly, experiment a little and see what feel right for you.
I've done a few long rides 24 hour+ where a toe or finger has felt numb for a long time. Funnily enough my middle toe on my left foot is still feeling numb 3 weeks after a big ride!
Should probably have said this is on flats.
Will try pushing more toe forward. See if that helps.
Ball of your foot should be roughly over the pedal axle.
I suspect you won't be able to fix it entirely if you ride flats with flexible soled shoes. Decent spd shoes for road and mtb have a stiff sole to spread the load and prevent hot spots. I have the same wearing cheap flexible spd's in a spinning class with lots of climbing. Maybe try shoes with a stiffer sole, although it will make it harder to feel the pedal properly.
I had/have this, albeit with road SPD's. Mine was due to forefoot varus, simplistically the outside of the my foot sits much lower than the inside. Specialized footbeds and some wedges have cured it for me, so that may be worth trying.