SPD Hotspots

[PlymSlimCyclist]

Hi folks,

I've just finished my first sportive, and loved every minute of it.
However, it flagged up a major problem, and not sure how to solve/ease it.

I suffer with arthritis in both feet, and use SPD's.
The shoes themselves fit without issue, but the outside of my feet were burning after 45 miles.

At my second feed station I massaged my feet as the pain started, but I continued to suffer as I continued cycling.

To alleviate the pain I tried to unclip on the flats and pedal with the cleat infront of the pedal, but I had to completely stop riding and walk.

Has anyone else had this with SPD shoes? Even just a hotspot, and if so, what did you do?

I've another event at the end of the month, and I'm now considering taking the afternoon off between now and then and getting a bike fit done, as I hope this would help out some of the issues I've made note of.

 

[Simmer]

Do you allow room for your foot to swell on long rides ? I read on here somewhere about flexing your foot when doing the straps up so they feel a little loose when starting off. It made a big difference to me.

 

[PlymSlimCyclist]

I did flex my foot inside as the pain begun, I curled my toes up to make room in the shoe (I'm guessing thats what you mean?).

It didn't help at all, so waited till the next stop and massaged my feet to help and continued on. With only 23 miles remaining, I was too stubborn to give up, but need to sort something for the next sportive, even with it being 4 miles shorter.

 

[vickster]

I should think the cleats are positioned wrongly. I have had my cleats adjusted as part of a fit, now have pain and numb toes, however, the fitter is adamant that they are in the best position and I just need to get used to my feet being in the best position for efficient cycling

I found adding specialized footbeds helped in the past (I need orthotics too in shoes)

 

[PlymSlimCyclist]

Ahhh, so you share my pain @vickster !

I have orthotics, however mine don't fit the SPD shoes (do yours?), which is a shame.

My cleats are just setup straight against the sole, that's how my LBS set them up, which is fine for my commute, but seemingly for longer distances it's not great

 

[vickster]

I've not tried orthotics in my cycling shoes, I use the specialized footbeds.

Look online as to where the cleat s should be, against the knobbly bit below big toe and pointing in the same way as your feet hang naturally

At the moment, my feet start to gripe after 10 miles, but frankly the least of my ails right now

Can you get a shoe fitting if not a whole bike fit. I wonder if swelling feet might be your issue especially now the weather is warmer, if you are ok with short runs

 

[PlymSlimCyclist]

I'll have a look at the footbeds, I'm willing to give anything a try.

I'm wide footed, so my orthotics can't fit inside my shoes.

When I got to the first station, I was absolutely fine, was happy with the time, and was enjoying myself too, just a shame about afterwards.
I'm going to ring the shop which does the bike fit, and will ask if they can look at the shoes, see if they can help on that side of things. Hopefully the rest of it, will help.

 

[cyberknight]

I used to get hot spots till i moved my cleats back a bit , you could also look at a pedal with a bigger foot plate if your using something like m520s to spread the pressure a bit , i like single sided A530`s /A600`s or double sided m530`s .

 

[PlymSlimCyclist]

I'm not sure what pedals I currently have, but I can find out easily enough.

Thank you though @cyberknight , will see if the shop doing the bike fit can look at the cleats and things, as don't want knee issues or more continued pain in my feet for long events, as was hoping to do audaxing and more long distance events.

 

[srw]

Are your soles stiff enough? One of my pairs of shoes has very rigid soles and I can go all day without hotspots. The other pair is slightly flexible and gives rise to hot feet after about 50 miles.

 

[PlymSlimCyclist]

They're Shimano shoes, not sure of the model at the minute, as in work, but will get back to you with them tonight.
I'd assume they'd be rigid enough, being Shimano though.

I've not felt any flexibility within the shoe when walking or riding though, not that I tend to try and flex them though.

 

[ianrauk]

Are your soles stiff enough? One of my pairs of shoes has very rigid soles and I can go all day without hotspots. The other pair is slightly flexible and gives rise to hot feet after about 50 miles.

Yup, get this with different shoes too. Both Specialized. The more stiffer BG Sports are fine over long distances and harder riding, the Spesh Touring not so.

 

[martint235]

I got really, really bad hotspots on LEL last year. Kind folk on here were suggesting solutions which I was trying out at each control.

Some things:

• If your shoes have multiple fastenings (most do) loosen the front ones. You only really need the one closest to your ankle to be tight
• Once you've got hot foot, it's incredibly difficult to get rid of during that ride. I found that covering the soles of my feet in Savlon provided 10 - 20 miles of limited relief. It's not great, doesn't kill the pain completely but will get you home.
• Move your cleats. They are probably in the optimum place for your cycling style so this is a limited solution but it will get you home. I found that moving them as far back as I could helped a little.

 

[PlymSlimCyclist]

Thank you Martin. Will definitely give the savlon option a try, not a bad thing to carry in my saddle bag, and won't be too much of a hassle to undo my shoes, shove some on my foot and give it a try

I'm going to give Vickster's insoles a try, found a few online, but it's making sure they suit my need. Plus, have spoken to the bike shop which'll do my bike fit, and he's said he'll happily look at the feet aspect for me.

 

[fossyant]

Double check that the ball of your foot is directly over the axel of the pedal. Happened to me, thought it was set up, checked and triple checked, but should have checked again. Feet slightly too far forward (mm) so moved the cleats back slightly. It won't affect the knees. You also need to make sure the angle of the cleat falls into your natural foot position - thats where knee trouble can start.