Are different shoes causing knee and foot pain?

[Alfie_Gooner]

Hi,

I have had a pair of carbon soled road shoes with the Triple Shimano cleats (yellow) for a while now and after some initial problems with them i have them sorted in terms of positioning with no pain.

I have also been taking part in spinning classes over the last year and until recently i was just using trainers as the pedals on the spinning bikes use the MTB Cleats. The trainers were causing me some discomfort on the base of my foot right on the joint of my little toe on my right foot, so i thought i would buy a pair of proper shoes with MTB cleats, after much trial and effort i still get the pain in my right foot and now i am having problems with my knees.

I guess it could be that the positioning from one style of cleat to the other could be causing this as well as the fact the pedals are spaced further apart in terms of width on the spinning bike than on my Giant Defy 3?

Short of changing my pedals over on my road bike to MTB Cleat style pedals is there anyone else that has had this issue with changing from one style of shoe to another?

Any help/advice appreciated guys as i'm starting to get frustrated with this pain.

 

[Racing roadkill]

The spinning bike is the issue. The crank mechanism is causing stress to your joints, because of the unnatural way it works ( essentialy an unbraked flywheel, which is being modulated with your legs / joints)

 

[Citius]

The spinning bike is the issue. The crank mechanism is causing stress to your joints, because of the unnatural way it works ( essentialy an unbraked flywheel, which is being modulated with your legs / joints)

If that was even remotely sensible (which it isn't), then everyone who rode a spinning bike would have the same issue.

More likely to be a mismatch between the way your cleats are set up.

 

[Alfie_Gooner]

I might try swapping the pedals over on the Giant to the MTB type pedals and get the shoes set up properly on that first and then try the shoes on the spinning bike again and see if it helps?

 

[Racing roadkill]

I might try swapping the pedals over on the Giant to the MTB type pedals and get the shoes set up properly on that first and then try the shoes on the spinning bike again and see if it helps?

Ignore the comment above from Citius. It's not just wrong, it's also dangerous advice, from a biomechanical point of view. Swapping your pedals won't help. You'd be better advised to wear some supports on your ankles and knees.

 

[fossyant]

Get the tape measure out on both shoes and pedals. You also need to mark where the ball of your foot is on each shoe, in relation to the cleat. It should be broadly dead centre to the cleat/axel. I reccon the MTB cleats are not positioned the same as the road pedals. A bit of time here can save long term pain.

 

[Racing roadkill]

Get the tape measure out on both shoes and pedals. You also need to mark where the ball of your foot is on each shoe, in relation to the cleat. It should be broadly dead centre to the cleat/axel. I reccon the MTB cleats are not positioned the same as the road pedals. A bit of time here can save long term pain.

Something akin to a full bike fit, from cleats to body position, that will probably help quite a lot, but you've still got the issue with a negative input from the bike, via the bound in feet.

 

[Citius]

but you've still got the issue with a negative input from the bike, via the bound in feet.

Explain why track riders (or any other fixed wheel riders) do not suffer from the same phenomenon..??

 

[goo_mason]

Guys - I've edited this thread and some posts to keep it pleasant and on-topic. Please keep the thread on track and stop the personal insults - thanks.

 

[Alfie_Gooner]

Iv'e done all the good stuff with relation to marking the shoes with dots on where the ball of the foot and the joint for the little toe is and put the cleats in the position that bisects the pedal shaft as demonstrated on a you tube video of setting up cleats on shoes. I just think it is the different position from one type of cleat to the other that could be causing the problems, therefore thats why i thought if i only used one sort for both Spinning and normal cycling then this in time could solve the problem as my knee and foot muscles get accustomed to them?

 

[Citius]

There's nothing wrong with using SPD shoes/cleats/pedals for everything if needs be. Although there should be no reason why you could not achieve the same foot position with different pedal types. I routinely switch between Time Atac and Time RXS/Xen on different bikes with no issue whatsoever.

 

[Alfie_Gooner]

well i have just had a spinning session and used my trainers again with no pain in feet or knee's, so it has to be to do with the feet being in the wrong position when "Clipped in" i will have a play with the SPD cleats next time i go over to the gym and try to get the shoe looking in the same position as my feet are when wearing trainers.

Thanks for the advice guys :-)

 

[Sharky]

I bought a pair of dhb shoes and a pair of diadore shoes at about the same time. The dhb shoes gave me pains in the right foot, and strangely, the diadore gave me pains in the left foot. I persevered with the diadore ones and eventually the pain disappeared. At the start of this winter, i went back to the dhb shoes and this time as comfortable as any shoes I've had!

Not much help, for me I guess it was just time and the shoes breaking in that did it in the end.
Hope you find a good fit.

 

[midlife]

well i have just had a spinning session and used my trainers again with no pain in feet or knee's, so it has to be to do with the feet being in the wrong position when "Clipped in" i will have a play with the SPD cleats next time i go over to the gym and try to get the shoe looking in the same position as my feet are when wearing trainers.

Thanks for the advice guys :-)

Why not just keep on with your trainers when spinning?

Shaun

 

[Alfie_Gooner]

Shaun,
The reason I wanted to clip in whilst spinning is so that I can get the most out of the session as I can't use the full pedal stroke when in trainers and toe clips as they keep slackening off under heavy loads.