I need some suggestions here. The bottom of my big toes, and also on the ball of my foot behind the big toe is killing me on long rides. Up to 3 hours I have no pain. Over 3 or 4 hours and it hurts to the point that I can barely pedal. So far I've tried moving my cleats around, and adding gel inserts. This seemed to delay the onset of pain about an hour, but once it hits the pain level was the same. I'm riding speedplay Zeros, but had the same pain from my Keo Looks. My cleats are as far towards the midfoot as I can get them. I'm 3-4 weeks away from IMchoo and need this resolved. I had the same problem with my last IM and it really killed training and race day. Let me know if you have any ideas. My next thing will be new shoes.
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Re: Severe toe/ball of foot pain on long rides [31CapeHorn]
[ In reply to ]
What shoes are you wearing?
Is size correct?
Supportive insoles?
Have you seen a fitter to see if you might benefit from wedges?
Is size correct?
Supportive insoles?
Have you seen a fitter to see if you might benefit from wedges?
Re: Severe toe/ball of foot pain on long rides [bootsie_cat]
[ In reply to ]
Specialized expert.
And yes, I've seen a fitter and tried wedges. Forgot to mention that.
And yes, I've seen a fitter and tried wedges. Forgot to mention that.
Re: Severe toe/ball of foot pain on long rides [31CapeHorn]
[ In reply to ]
What does the fitter say about your foot pain and need for wedges?
Is it possible that you need more arch support?
Is it possible that you need more arch support?
Re: Severe toe/ball of foot pain on long rides [bootsie_cat]
[ In reply to ]
Arch support was fine as far as fitter said.
Re: Severe toe/ball of foot pain on long rides [31CapeHorn]
[ In reply to ]
Might be time to see a podiatrist.
Could be many things. Sesamoid, a cyst, etc.
Any of these would be painful.
Could be many things. Sesamoid, a cyst, etc.
Any of these would be painful.
Re: Severe toe/ball of foot pain on long rides [31CapeHorn]
[ In reply to ]
Have you loosened your strap a little once you feel pain coming on? My right foot hurts on long rides. I loosen my shoe and it seems to help.
Re: Severe toe/ball of foot pain on long rides [arby]
[ In reply to ]
It's in both feet equally, and the shoes are a little loose ie I can move my feet forward and backward very slightly. Yesterday I rode the last hour with my feet on top of my shoes they hurt so bad. Not an easy way to put down power
Re: Severe toe/ball of foot pain on long rides [31CapeHorn]
[ In reply to ]
Have you tried different bike shoes?
The specialized body geometry shoes have some forefoot varus correctional canting built in. If you have a neutral, or valgus forefoot, then this could be a poor combination which is putting too much weight on your big toe.
Did the wedges help or make the problem worse? If worse, then I would suspect this is the case.
Specialized is the only shoe company that does this, so you should be fine with any other brand that fits comfortably.
You can also try to get the speedplay extender plate to move the cleat even further back then you already have it.
Scroll down about 1/3 of the way: http://www.speedplay.com/...ion=home.merchandise
Good luck!
Jonathan Blyer,
ACME Bicycle Co., Brooklyn, NY
The specialized body geometry shoes have some forefoot varus correctional canting built in. If you have a neutral, or valgus forefoot, then this could be a poor combination which is putting too much weight on your big toe.
Did the wedges help or make the problem worse? If worse, then I would suspect this is the case.
Specialized is the only shoe company that does this, so you should be fine with any other brand that fits comfortably.
You can also try to get the speedplay extender plate to move the cleat even further back then you already have it.
Scroll down about 1/3 of the way: http://www.speedplay.com/...ion=home.merchandise
Good luck!
Jonathan Blyer,
ACME Bicycle Co., Brooklyn, NY
Re: Severe toe/ball of foot pain on long rides [31CapeHorn]
[ In reply to ]
I used to get the same way every time I got close to the 100 mile mark of a ride. The front half of my foot would be on fire!!! I found that the move climbing I did caused it to set in earlier, how tight I had my shoes was a factor, and riding a road bike also caused more issues than a tri-bike probably due to more out of the saddle pounding on your dogs. I switched to some Pearl Isumi tri shoes and have pretty much eliminated the problem.
I was like you and was trying everything and thought there was no hope. I moved the cleats, loosened the shoes, was pedaling on top of the shoes, etc. Until I switched shoes I couldn't get rid of the issue on long ride. Hopefully that's your issue too!
I was like you and was trying everything and thought there was no hope. I moved the cleats, loosened the shoes, was pedaling on top of the shoes, etc. Until I switched shoes I couldn't get rid of the issue on long ride. Hopefully that's your issue too!
Re: Severe toe/ball of foot pain on long rides [SwiftRunner]
[ In reply to ]
Thanks. Going to try new shoes, and I may get that extension to move the cleats further. Didn't know that existed.
Re: Severe toe/ball of foot pain on long rides [31CapeHorn]
[ In reply to ]
Dont metatarsal pads work? My friend had really bad ball of foot pain and these really helped him...
http://shoewawa.com/...-pads-metatarsalgia/
http://shoewawa.com/...-pads-metatarsalgia/
Last edited by:
mandymandy: Oct 9, 17 3:34
Re: Severe toe/ball of foot pain on long rides [31CapeHorn]
[ In reply to ]
Used to have that kind of pain after 3+ hours of riding but was on outside front sole of foot. This pain was there in Shimano road shoes and tri shoes. Went sock less and the problem receded to the point of not being an issue whereas before, it actually overtook my preoccupation with crotch discomfort :) . Good luck with it.
Re: Severe toe/ball of foot pain on long rides [31CapeHorn]
[ In reply to ]
I’ve gotten same pain in the forefoot. I sized up a half size in my Shimano sphyre shoes and they have cleats tabs to move the cleats way back. Definitely has helped
Re: Severe toe/ball of foot pain on long rides [mandymandy]
[ In reply to ]
Hopefully he has sorted his problem out since he posted in 2014.
Re: Severe toe/ball of foot pain on long rides [31CapeHorn]
[ In reply to ]
I resolved my ball of foot sharp nerve pain with custom Simmons cycling shoes. Zero issues since doing that in 2015. You can search the forum for Simmons.
And I run in cushioned shoes - zoom fly currently
wovebike.com | Wove on instagram
And I run in cushioned shoes - zoom fly currently
wovebike.com | Wove on instagram
are you splaying the toes and/or dorsiflexing your big toe aggressively to pull up through the pedal stroke? This will expose the sesamoid and leave it vulnerable to repeated pressure on the down.