Anyone compared the two of these when trying to address cycling knee discomfort? I have some minor pain in my left knee for the first few hours of riding. (I used to have similar discomfort when running, and a set of custom orthotics seems to have licked that).
Just wondering which of these avenues I should start to pursue.
Can’t you put your custom orthotics into your cycling shoe?
Find a fitter that works with the cleat wedges and knows how to use them or if you know enough about it it can be a DIY project. It’s pretty straight forward. About 80% of the cycling population has some varus to their forefoot that would be benifitted by using medial wedges on the cleats. Problem is few know this or do anything about it and when they do, do something they are told or assume that they need orthotics - which can be very costly. The Lemond LeWedges are $25 and it takes only a few minutes to put them om the shoes/cleats and see if they help. So all being said, I would suggest the wedge option first as it’s not going to cost much, there is a good chance it will be helpful, and it does not take much to do it either on your own or with a fitter who is experienced with this. If the wedges are the soloution you will know almost right away - the pain will be gone and you will feel a much more powerful connection to the pedal and the bike.
I listened to Dr. Andy Pruitt talking about this at our last club meeting.
He says either can work, but prefers the orthotics. The orthotics can be fine-tuned to the foot, whereas the wedges just provide a tilt for the entire foot.
However as Fleck observes, the wedges are cheap enough to just try them. It’s likely you’ll need different orthotics for cycling and running, so if the wedges work it will be a lot cheaper/simpler…
It depends on what your custom orthotics were made for. The running mechanics are quite different from cycling mechanics. It is unlikely that an orthotic that is custom made for running will do any good at all if put in your cycling shoes.
I think it’s much more effective to use the wedges for the bike shoes, done properly by a really experienced bike fit expert.
BrokenSpoke