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All good advice thanks, will pay attention next ride starting with getting my shoe to the position where the rub is. I’ll also note the crank position when I unclip, I suspect it is at the bottom of the stroke which may put the foot out of the way of the tyre. The descending idea sounds plausible in which case a pedal spacer could help a touch. Would swapping from a yellow to a blue cleat help here too?
i think I’ll put some tape over the wear and keep an eye on it over the course of a ride to help pin it down.
I don't understand the mechanics of it rubbing on the tyre and I don't believe you could do that without realising. You'd have to be freewheeling (i.e. presumably downhill) and you'd notice the buzzing through your foot!
It's also significantly worn - you'd have to spend hours freewheeling with your leg cocked in a weird position to achieve that. Similarly as others have mentioned it can't be due to whatever weird unclipping habits you have, either.
So I still think your foot is rubbing on the chain stay. Maybe the crank end.
Blue cleats may help but addressing your wonky pedalling is probably a better start. Or rotating the yellow cleats slightly to angle your foot slightly (In fact, are the cleats at the correct angle to start with?).
In response to the above, I'm definitely not rubbing the chainstay, it's carbon and the paint is unmarked, no rub whatsoever. I have a touch of rub on my drive side crank and that shoe is fine, no rub on the nds crank but the shoe has significant wear from something causing major friction. The tyre logo is obviously scuffed from rubbing on something as it turns, it is not the inside of the frame as again this is unmarked. I have never felt my shoe catching at all or any vibration. Cleats seem set up fine, I did adjust slightly when I thought it maybe rub on the chainstay. I have two other bikes, no issues with any rub at all on either (spds on gravel bike, flats on mtb), my feet are only size 8. I'll only find out the issue once I am back on the bike.
Other theories mentioned earlier are not the problem (shoes stored in drawer under bed and we don't have mice, I use these shoes riding direct from the front door so nothing to rub on during transport etc).
All this unclipping... Does no-one trackstand any more? 😉
I don’t understand the mechanics of it rubbing on the tyre and I don’t believe you could do that without realising.
Exactly the same here. I'm struggling to understand how you would actually manage to rub a heel against a tyre. Assuming you can, I can't see how you could cause that sort of damage without noticing the noise and feeling the drag.
You haven't had a crash while wearing those shoes and scraped them along the road?
I don’t understand the mechanics of it rubbing on the tyre and I don’t believe you could do that without realising. You’d have to be freewheeling (i.e. presumably downhill) and you’d notice the buzzing through your foot!
It’s also significantly worn – you’d have to spend hours freewheeling with your leg cocked in a weird position to achieve that. Similarly as others have mentioned it can’t be due to whatever weird unclipping habits you have, either.
You'd get serious shoe-destroying heat very quickly on a tyre spinning fast. I would't fancy holding the back of my hand against a tyre spinning at 40mph, even for a second. And there'd already be loads of buzz in your shoes via the pedals, cranks, frame, tyre, so it's very plausible you wouldn't notice an extra bit. And even more plausible when all the evidence points to it being tyre rub, and him not noticing!
I don’t understand the mechanics of it rubbing on the tyre and I don’t believe you could do that without realising.
Exactly the same here. I’m struggling to understand how you would actually manage to rub a heel against a tyre.
Failure of imagination, then! 🙂
I've just sat on my road bike, right leg straight/locked, so crank's forward of vertical, left foot unweighted, ankle relaxed, crank back from vertical. Left heel quite naturally touches the tyre, I didn't have to force it at all.
Can't say I've ever done it on the road, but everyone's different, and there's probably plenty of people who don't have a bruise on their inside thigh from the saddle from sidehopping...
Does no-one trackstand any more?
Only when the risk is low.
You haven’t had a crash while wearing those shoes and scraped them along the road?
Fortunately not. It is wear which has got progressively worse over 18 months, but accelerated recently as done far more road miles post Covid.
It only takes a light touch at high speed we're not talking jamming your foot it until it stops. It gets hot and melts tyres are designed to be wear resistant and heat resistant and provide grip.
A grippy thing spinning at high speed with a lump if weight to keep momentumn up just brushing the side of the shoe would be more than up to it. Look what a squint wheel can do to a chainstay over a very shirt time.
It only takes a light touch at high speed we’re not talking jamming your foot it until it stops. It gets hot and melts tyres are designed to be wear resistant and heat resistant and provide grip.
You’d get serious shoe-destroying heat very quickly on a tyre spinning fast. I would’t fancy holding the back of my hand against a tyre spinning at 40mph, even for a second
Easy way to find out- get the bike off the ground and spin the wheel up to speed. Then hold your untouched right shoe to the tyre and see if it causes any damage similar to the left.
Except without barrowing down a hill the shoe will probably just slow the wheel. Same way a wheel stops dead in the stand with light breaking.
To give you an idea of forces involved....
singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/bet-that-brought-a-year-to-the-eye/#post-11020339
Ok, OP can still turn the wheel and lightly contact the tyre with the shoe.
So a bit of a thread resurrection and final outcome. Not been on the road bike for a couple of weeks due to light evenings (mtb time), bad weather (zwift time) and a drivechain replacement.
Managed to get out for an hour today and so stuck some electicians tape over the rub point.
Test #1 - Just freewheeling, there is no way that my heel can contact the wheel/tyre whilst freewheeling without unclipping.
Test #2 - Just unclip, of course it seems I have got myself into the strange habit of unclipping inwards and bingo, shoe contacts tyre in the exact place!
Pretty conclusive then!
Spent the next hour trying to retrain my brain. Fortunately unclipping is usually thought about in advance, so I can stop myself and do it 'correctly'. Only managed to do it inwards once and that was when I had to do it suddenly and old habits kicked in. Tape untouched for the rest of the ride.
I've adjusted my cleats slightly so the heel is more inward now as a start, I think I moved them the other way to move out from the bike when I thought it may be crank rub, this I think had made it a more pronounced outward movement to unclip which has actually led me to unclip inwards more!
Thanks all. Now off to ponder what new road shoe with carbon sole and Boa as near to £100 as possible to replace the damaged ones.
If its just the scuffing i'd keep withem until you actually are surd you have kicked it.
Yeah, I'll be doing that Josh, I'd also rather try on shoes before buying as road shoe fit seems a bit of a dark art, and it's difficult getting into a shop with a good range at the moment anyway. At least I know the issue is 'fixable'.
Good result op. I honestly never knew that anyone unclipped inwards?😳
Well there's at least 2 of us on STW alone, though I hope to leave 'imnotverygood' to his own strange inwards unclipping technique before too long!
If they were my shoes, I'd get some 'Black Witch' - it's like liquid rubber - and patch them. Even if you buy a new pair for days when you can't afford to look scruffy you'll have a spare pair for days when conditions are a bit more dubious.
Well there’s at least 2 of us on STW alone, though I hope to leave ‘imnotverygood’ to his own strange inwards unclipping
It just defies logic- you’re unclipping presumably to put your foot down. Wouldn’t it be natural to move your heel out as that’s the way your foot needs to go?
Been following this mystery and glad that it's been solved.
Posting to add my name to the list of inward unclippers. I've always done it - feels much easier on the knee for me. Never tyre rubbed (to my knowledge) when unclipping.
FB-ATB - voting Trump defies logic, but he’s still president of the USA!
I can’t say why I do it that way, I just do. I’m wondering if it was how I had my cleats set up to avoid crank rub which wasn’t happening putting my feet in a position whereby it was easier to unclog inwards. Hopefully I can train myself out of the habit.
An evil badger?
I’m guessing you also unclip early so you’re still moving at a good pace, having confidence to unclip late, as close to stationary as possible, would also help I’d guess as the wheel won’t be rotating as quickly.
If things do not improve maybe try flats.
Yeah, or tennis or something.