Loooong day (for me) today over various Perthshire road passes. Was on the gravel bike with Look SPDs and my Trek Foray shoes which are nice and wide but feel very 'flat' inside.
Anyway it was my feet that let me down first, getting progressively more painful along the outside. 'Clenching' them helped and actually made my pedal stroke feel stronger (i.e. seemed to engage more muscles or something) which was a happy bonus.
So I'm wondering if a mouldable insole might achieve similar, more support and comfort and possibly even help my pedalling. There's one review online which sings the praises of the Sidas mouldable system but it's something like £200 for a set including moulding 😭
Can anyone recommend anything a bit more affordable? Google results all look a hit cheap and generic...
I have a couple of pairs of Sidas insoles from a bike fit a few years ago. Worth every penny. (Although he was a friend so did me a decent cost!)
Makes you realise how crap normal insoles are!
Not mouldable, but I hear lots of good things about the G8 adjustable insoles.
Outside edge of the foot could be stance width if it's both, or an asymmetrical engagement with the saddle if it's one side.
I have a couple of pairs of Sidas insoles from a bike fit a few years ago. Worth every penny. (Although he was a friend so did me a decent cost!)
Makes you realise how crap normal insoles are!
Yeah my local shop does them and I'm sure they'd help out a wee bit on cost... How easily can you transfer them between shoes, presumably they just slot in and out like normal insoles? I would want to be able to swap between my road and MTB shoes...
Not mouldable, but I hear lots of good things about the G8 adjustable insoles.
Outside edge of the foot could be stance width if it's both, or an asymmetrical engagement with the saddle if it's one side.
Yeah I use G8s as I have high arches. In truth I do think it's the new shoes to some extent, and I'm also quite suspicious of the spacious toe box sort of allowing my foot to spread out and flatten, might actually try the old shoes again and see if they feel any better.
It's both feet but mostly right foot and unsurprisingly all my asymmetric issues are right-foot related somehow! I was actually hoping that maybe more supportive insoles might assist that...
I’ve always looked at the number of pairs of cycling shoes I have (mtn, winter, commuting, road, indoor ) and disregarded full custom.
have used Specialized body geometry insoles for years now. Initially used the green (highest instep) before setting on the blue. Doesn’t solve all hot spot issues but then I get those with full custom insoles in my custom ski boots (well, melt adjusted ft) but much better for my knees and soles. For £30 I’d try those first.
Having had a lifetime of aching feet and legs after walks and stuff I went to a podiatrist last week. Brilliant, it took about 90 minutes (which surprised me , having only quickly skimmed her chiropodist/podiatrist website - bear this in mind for later) but without much prompting she identified all the things I'm concerned about.
The cost of the session (lots of hi-tech (no not the cheap trainers) scans and probes) wasn't the £45 I expected was but £180. However I was happy to pay it as at my advance age proper posture and gait are essential for wellbeing.
I'm confidently expecting the recommendation for orthotics to cost more than an XTR group set but if they work, my life will be enhanced more than (say) getting an Avinox.
I did the podiatrist thing 20 years ago when i had knee issues from football. A physio recommended it and it transformed my knees and feet. I'd disregarded achilles pain because i'd had it since childhood, I only realised it was there because it suddenly wasn't! I've had custom orthotics ever since. But after I started mtb my podiatrist commented that my core had strengthened and improved my gait!
Anyway, the only thing i don't wear orthotics for is riding a bike. But I can't get on with any inflexible soles so no disco slippersm for me. Five-ten kestrel is the most XC I go and although I wear through the big toe of the insoles of all riding shoes (but not normal shoes?) I don't find them painful.
Orthotics set me back about the equivalent of 500 quid (once all the assessment and fitting is included).
I tried Lake's heat mouldable carbon insoles but wasn't impressed, the sides create a pressure point (when following their instructions anyway, I might experiment using a heat gun on them at some point).
I have G8's, they're OK but are mostly about arch support, they do take up more volume in the shoe than most stock insoles would though so can create general fit issues. You can buy a metatarsal button and heel wedges for them but at that point you're probably better off seeing someone that knows what they're talking about. There are cheap knock-off G8's available on AliExpress to, I have a couple of these and generally they're fine. Due to the increased volume issue I've resorted, in most shoes, to just using the plastic arch support underneath stock insoles.
Specialized BG insoles can work and have a metatarsal button built in but I think are also slightly tilted to address pronation but if you don't need that correction they can cause knee pain issues.
My physio recommended Vasyli insoles for really bad foot pain, sore arches, numb toes and thus regularly waking during the night with foot pain and long walking be pretty much a no-go. They are heat moulddable but I have them in as is.
I'd tried various insoles off the Internet and she said they were pretty much just crap, too soft and not suitable but the Vasyli were only about fifty quid so not expensive. They've been really good and, with an exercise schedule, a lot of my previous pain has gone.
I'd tried the podiatrist route and that helped a little but she was of the option that my problem was internal foot mechanics so nothing she could deal with and to see a physio.
I would suggest that before buying insoles you get someone who is not selling insoles to diagnose the problem.
