I am feeling a familiar discomfort at the base of my left little toe. I used to get that in the past when using the Look pedals and Sidi shoes. I will have to investigate what is causing the problem because if a 23 mile ride starts the discomfort, long rides are (literally) going to be a pain! I'll try doing the strap across the end of the shoe up less tightly in case the shoe is squeezing the toes.
I suppose it is a bit odd quoting myself over and over, but it makes sense since my posts follow on from each other ...
I loosened the strap today and my toe
did feel more comfortable. I decided to measure the width of my left foot and compare with the right. I was thinking that the left might be slightly bigger, but it turns out that the right is about 8 mm bigger. I can't figure out why that isn't the foot feeling the pressure. Maybe the left shoe is actually slightly tighter than the right ...? Anyway, the looser strap helped on a short ride today. I'll see how I get on tomorrow when I hope to be out for a few hours.
Oh, I just remembered ... I am wearing a compression sock on my left (gammy) leg when off the bike. Maybe that is putting a bit too much pressure on the foot? (If so, tough, because it is helping reduce the swelling in my left calf when standing.)
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This evening's fettling is sponsored by
@Globalti! He generously donated a used pair of Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX tyres (like
these) for me to try out on my Cannondale. I reckon there is probably a few hundred miles of use left in them
I wanted to see if I could tell the difference in ride quality between my usual bargain-basement Michelin Lithion 2s and more expensive tyres. I bought some latex tubes earlier this year after Globalti raved about them, and I agreed with his assessment. These tyres are a taster. Gti says that his latest Veloflex tyres are even better, so if I like the Vittorias, I think it is likely that I would love the Veloflexes.
The tyres have red sidewalls, which just happen to match the Cannondale's paint job!
The bike is smelling nicer now ... I bought some talc to dry-lube the tyre/rim/tube interfaces and did not notice that it is scented. The last lot I had was unscented.
The tyre labels specified pressures of 8-10 bar. I normally run 6-7 bar on the Lithions. I decided to compromise and try the tyres at 7 bar front and 7.5 bar rear. I'll see how they feel. If they are comfortable at those pressures, I will try a bit more. I think 8-10 bar sounds like too much pressure for Yorkshire roads but maybe the higher thread count of these tyres really will make a big difference.
I fitted the Vittorias this evening after dark, and I do not have lights on the bike so I will wait until tomorrow to do the first test ride. I'll let you know what I think of the tyres once I have given them a good thrashing!
