tmab2003 wrote:
I've got a bizzare problem that hopefully someone can shed some light on.
No matter what shoe I use on the bike, I am finding that my right foot feels less connected than the left. The left feels like I have a full platform from heel to toe that's connected around the whole pedal cycle. The right feels like it's loosing contact with the back of my foot, as if the heel is floating in the shoe.
I have flat wide feet and the Shimano Rc9 shoes are set up with cleats far back, arch support such that they feel perfectly solid when off the bike. The boas are done up tightly enough and yet, as soon as I clip in, the solid feeling disappears. This happens on my other shoes as well.
I have tried more/less arch support, wedging under the heel, but I just can't seem to get it right. I have even got shims under my right foot to perhaps help with forcing the shoe up towards my feet. But this disconnect persists, and I can't think of a reason why.
There are potentially a lot of things to look at, in your case. It would be very difficult to provide a useful answer without seeing you, so please take what I say next as just some things to think about, but I would consider a bike fit or maybe working with someone who knows functional movement.
From what you describe, you have a leg length discrepancy. That doesn't necessarily mean that you have one femur that is longer than the other, but just that your left side acts differently than your right, and your bike fit seems to be more optimal for your left. One thing that we all need to realize is that, as humans, we are asymmetrical by nature: we're right- or left-handed, and we tend to solidify our own asymmetrical throughout life. A baseball pitcher doesn't pitch every other inning with their non-dominant hand, and a soccer player isn't going to take a penalty kick with their non-dominant foot. We favor our strengths. Likewise, any traumas to the body in life - a broken bone, for example, causes us to subconsciously accommodate to avoid pain. Without guidance during the healing process (i.e., the insurance company doesn't cover physical therapy), we tend to change ourselves to be comfortable. A bicycle, because it is symmetrical, brings out the worst of everything.
In your case, on the bike, you are moving outside of your natural range of motion on the right side. You don't feel connected to the pedal because you're not - you're potentially overextending beyond your capabilities. That could be so many things - your feet might be different lengths (or have different volumes), which may mean the right shoe is too big and unable to really conform to the foot and provide a stable home for your foot. That foot's length - thinking of it as a lever - combined with the mobility of that ankle, might not be adequate to reach. It could be further up the chain - hamstrings, psoas, pelvic control, etc. That side just acts differently.
So, there are a couple of things I would think about, maybe on your next ride, and one thing to try:
1. Do you feel more pressure on one side of the saddle or the other? Does your saddle have more wear on one side? Is it level from side-to side?
2. Do you have any low back pain or soreness? Is it more one side or the other?
3. Listen to your calves - do you get tightness/cramping?
4. Try this: lower your saddle 2mm. Does that make you feel more connected on the right side? If so, does it create any pressure in the front of the left knee?
Also, the question I should have asked first: do you have any history of injury to your feet, lower extremities, knees, back, etc.? Anything from broken bones, to surgeries, to seemingly minor things like twisted or rolled ankles?
Let me know what you think!
Travis Rassat
Vector Cycle Works Noblesville, IN
BikeFit Instructor | FMS | F.I.S.T. | IBFI
Toughman Triathlon Series Ambassador