Cycling foot pain : Solving it with Bike Fit 101
Cycling foot pain, numb toes, and hot spots are common among cyclists and there are a number of simple causes that we can track down very quickly.Bike Fit 101: The entire series of Bike Fit 101 is just meant to be a quick guide resource for cyclists, triathletes and bike fitters for the most common causes of the most typical cycling related issues. They are in no way a comprehensive list of all causes. The infinite number of differences in individual riders and the complex nature of the "push/pull" of forces on the bike make this impossible, but many cyclists will find relief from these simple fixes.Without further ado, let's look at these starting with the most common cause:
Cleats are too far forward
Cycling cleat position can be a bit confusing and even many bike fitters shy away from addressing it with any sort of depth.The available motion of cleats is small, but often critically important. They can be moved forward and back (aft), side to side (medial and lateral) and they can be rotated.You'll often hear that the correct position for the fore/aft position of the cleat is having the pedal spindle fall directly over the ball of the foot. I believe this "rule" was crafted in the same way most early bike fitting rules became known -- because there's a little truth to it and someone just decided to say it was so.The fact is there's little penalty to having the cleat err on the side of being farther back over being too far forward.When the cleats are too far forward a number of things happen, and all of them tend to put more stress on the toes and forefoot. First, the mechanical advantage of the calf muscles is reduced and with a longer lever to try to stabilize (the foot, because the distance from the ankle joint to the where the foot contacts the cleat is longer), the intrisnic foot muscles (the muscles that control the foot's movement that actually reside in the foot -- many foot control muscles exist in the calf and around the ankle) work more. Activation and tightening of these muscles creates more pressure within the foot and can put pressure on the nerves that supply sensation to the forefoot and toes. Some of my clients even relate the sensation of feeling like their toes are trying to grip the bottom of the shoe. Make these muscles work more and you end up with numb toes and hot spots.
The fore.aft cleat position can be particularly important for triathletes who have to run off the bike. Removing some of the worload from the calf muscles during the bike by having the cleats a little further back plays well into leaving T2 with fresher running legs. Calf muscles don't have to do much on the bike, but their use on the run is critical to a dynamic stride.Special consideration for Speedplay: Speedplay pedals are used by many cyclists, and for most there won't be a major issue. But Speedplays tend to place the pedal more forward than most other pedal systems. A number of years ago there were a many cyclingshoes that Speedplay pedals just didn't play well with. I certainly don't have a comprehensive list, but I know many Adidas, Gaerne, Northwave and other shoes -- mostly European designed -- were nearly impossible to get the cleats far back enough to even get the ball of the foot over the pedal spindle. Speedplay developed an adapter plate that could be purchased (part #13333) to move the cleats 15 mm further back to correct this problem, and in fact today I use this plate often on Speedplay owners.
Shoes are too tight
The next most common cause of cycling foot pain, numb toes and hot spots is shoes that are too tight. Cycling shoes are pretty low volume to begin with, and they're made with relatively inflexible materials. Getting the wrong size is common with so many shoes purchased online these days (bike shops are less likely to stock many sizes of shoes because the return on large shoe orders is often pretty low), but many cyclists also make the mistake of putting a large volume or walking footbed.orthotic into their cycling shoes. These walking footbeds take up a lot of space and add pressure to the foot. Footbeds or orthotics in cycling shoes ought to be at least low volume inserts or, even better, cycling-specific.There's a persistent myth that cycling shoes should be tight in order to get full power transfer, which leads to even some bike shops recommending that client's "size down". This is a mistake of the highest order.Make sure you have room to wiggle your toes in a new pair of shoes. Also make sure that you don't fasten the straps too tight over the forefoot and toes -- I've had a lot of clients solve their foot numbness just by loosening a velcro strap a millimeter or two.
There are, of course, many more reasons you might have numb toes or hot spots, but these are the two biggest culprits. Soon I will have a complete module on this topic that explains even some of the more obscure causes of foot pain, numb toes, and hot spots. But in the mean time if you'd like to ask a question, please don't hesitate to comment below or email me about this.