Author Topic: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride  (Read 15340 times)

Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #50 on: 29 November, 2018, 12:32:03 pm »
Sorry to be disagreeable.  I actually agree with your main thrust - there isn't a large benefit to be had from pulling up on the pedals and over the course of a long ride it's not really going to add much.

But pulling-up on the pedals aside, there do seem to be other tangible benefits (apart from not slipping off the pedals etc.) to being clipped in When clipped in, I definitely seem to be able to accelerate a lot more quickly and sustain a faster pace without additional effort, so there is something going on there, whether it be more efficient power transfer through the stiff sole->cleat>pedal interface and/or lighter pedals/shoes (though in the latter's case, I imagine the impact to be very small).
Old enough to know better, but young enough to do it anyway

Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #51 on: 29 November, 2018, 12:39:38 pm »
I don't disagree.  Like I said, I've switched in the short term right now for a foot issue probably related to running.  Not a long term decision.

Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #52 on: 29 November, 2018, 01:28:02 pm »

But pulling-up on the pedals aside, there do seem to be other tangible benefits (apart from not slipping off the pedals etc.) to being clipped in When clipped in, I definitely seem to be able to accelerate a lot more quickly and sustain a faster pace without additional effort, so there is something going on there, whether it be more efficient power transfer through the stiff sole->cleat>pedal interface and/or lighter pedals/shoes (though in the latter's case, I imagine the impact to be very small).

There's benefit in whatever works best for you: not slipping off, and not backing off slightly for fear off slipping off, sounds plausible.  Coggan, however, couldn't find any difference in power transfer / pedalling efficiency.  I agree weight is not likely to be a factor.  Aerodynamics could go either way - lower stack height on flat pedals vs smaller pedals and smoother shoes - but really only an issue in fine-tuning a TT setup.
I'd expect that feeling confident that you won't slip off is likely to be most significant for most people. 

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #53 on: 29 November, 2018, 04:57:57 pm »
I find being able to pedal with one foot is a tangible benefit, when things get a bit iffy and I need to keep the landing gear down.  That's mostly a recumbent thing (because it takes longer to get your foot up and pedalling), but has occasionally come in handy off-road.

Confidence that I can spin at high cadence without bashing myself in the shin is certainly significant.

Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #54 on: 29 November, 2018, 08:11:36 pm »
I've bought some rollers and don't yet dare use them clipped-in. I was surprised how easy it was to ride in trainers until the soles got wet. But the thing I don't understand - I do a bit of Audaxing - is why almost everyone I see uses MTB shoes with SPDs.

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #55 on: 29 November, 2018, 08:18:20 pm »
But the thing I don't understand - I do a bit of Audaxing - is why almost everyone I see uses MTB shoes with SPDs.

2-bolt cleats gives you more choice of practical shoes.  Both in terms of options for dealing with extremes of weather (eg. sandals, winter boots) and shoes that you can walk in easily without damaging floors (which means you don't have to take them off and risk getting your socks dirty at controls).

SPDs are cheap.

Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #56 on: 29 November, 2018, 09:29:13 pm »
I've bought some rollers and don't yet dare use them clipped-in.

What are "rollers"?
Old enough to know better, but young enough to do it anyway

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #57 on: 29 November, 2018, 09:46:16 pm »
I've bought some rollers and don't yet dare use them clipped-in.

What are "rollers"?

A way of falling off your bike indoors where nobody will see it.

Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #58 on: 29 November, 2018, 10:11:05 pm »
I've bought some rollers and don't yet dare use them clipped-in.

What are "rollers"?

A way of falling off your bike indoors where nobody will see it.

Oh, of course, I was thinking he was talking about some sort of strange pedal cleat system, LOL!

Rollers have been round for a while, haven't they...



Old enough to know better, but young enough to do it anyway

Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #59 on: 29 November, 2018, 10:16:06 pm »
I've bought some rollers and don't yet dare use them clipped-in.

What are "rollers"?

A way of falling off your bike indoors where nobody will see it.

Oh, of course, I was thinking he was talking about some sort of strange pedal cleat system, LOL!

I had something like this in mind:

https://www.tririg.com/store.php?c=mercury&page=features

Old enough to know better, but young enough to do it anyway

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #60 on: 29 November, 2018, 10:26:30 pm »
They look a lot like Aerolite pedals, the lightest pedals I ever saw.
https://fairwheelbikes.com/aerolite-titanium-pedals/
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #61 on: 29 November, 2018, 11:36:38 pm »

Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #62 on: 30 November, 2018, 12:03:00 am »
I've bought some rollers and don't yet dare use them clipped-in.

What are "rollers"?

A way of falling off your bike indoors where nobody will see it.

You're not wrong there.

LittleWheelsandBig

  • Whimsy Rider
Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #63 on: 30 November, 2018, 12:14:36 am »
Lots of familiar stuff on that Speedplay page.

My framebuilder (Frezoni) has a set of the Cinelli clipless pedals, one of the later versions from memory.

I raced on an early set of Keywin clipless pedals and was happy to swap to a later version that were easier to clip into.

I think Berto was a big fan of the CycleBinding clipless pedals but I never saw them in the flesh.

Lots of those Look 'racing' black pedals broke, we warranteed quite a few of them.

A mate had a set of the MKS clipless pedals and only retired them when he ran out of cleats.

The Campag SGR pedals were beautiful and about the most adjustable pedal ever but no racer used them. The set we had at the shop ended up on a steel Colnago, of course.

The Adidas clipless pedals were popular with trackies (couldn't pull a foot) but roadies stayed away.

The Foster aluminium Look cleats wore the pedals into dust instead.

The SR pedals worked ok but the cleats were so tall that they were impossible to walk in, even into a cafe.

I remember seeing the Time TBT pedals on the French team bikes at the prologue of the 1987 Tour Feminine and not knowing what they were.

Our shop had a set of Mavic Look pedals for years as the plastic appearance put off the punters.

I think we had a pair of Primax pedals that didn't shift too, despite deep discounting. Replacement cleats for orphans was always a problem.

A friend mourned his Time TWT pedals when there were no more cleats to be found.

The set of Diadora pedals ended up being used by the shop owner as the market were locked onto Look or Time only.

The Performance pedals were made by Wellgo and also sold under their own name. They were remarkably cheap, worked pretty well and were popular enough until the cleat supply dried up and Look pedals dropped in price.

Mag Flux pedals always collected magnetic dirt particles which wore the body and cleat interface away. Who could have guessed that would happen?
Wheel meet again, don't know where, don't know when...

Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #64 on: 30 November, 2018, 09:47:47 am »
it occurs to me that some of these pedals could be brought back into use now, with an 'endless supply' of 3D printed cleats.

cheers

Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #65 on: 30 November, 2018, 10:05:47 am »
it occurs to me that some of these pedals could be brought back into use now, with an 'endless supply' of 3D printed cleats.

Perhaps, but you'd have to ensure the material used for the "printing" was robust enough and not going to crack easily
Old enough to know better, but young enough to do it anyway

Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #66 on: 03 December, 2018, 03:56:21 pm »
I've recently switched pedals from SPD to flats (big mtb-style ones I already had), because I was having some foot trouble from running and the bike seemed to be exacerbating it.  Not a long-term decision. 

...

I'm hoping to fit in a decent length ride this weekend on the flats - curious to see how it goes.

Thought I ought to report back on that.  Pleasant ride on Sunday, SS, but not hilly (1440m / 175km).  No real issue with the flat pedals.  There were a couple of times when the lack of One True Position on the pedals was mildly irritating, as my feet wriggled about trying to decide where to sit.  Only a couple of short steep bits in the whole ride where it'd have been nice to be able to push and pull, but I survived.

Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #67 on: 04 January, 2019, 10:09:45 am »
I've also got this problem - numb feet on a long ride.

I've also had chilblains on and off all year and I've tried five different pairs of shoes with bad to middling success.

I've used MTB SPDs, speedplay and now road SPDs. I've got some seconds hand winter boots with road pedals which I hoped would solve the problem but no. My feet go numb after an hour. I'm going to try fiddling with the cleat position but I think that the boots are just too narrow even though they are a size up. I'm feeling pretty down about this as I can't afford to keep buying and trying shoes which feel fine when I'm not cycling but then cause my feet to go numb after an hour.

I don't want to go back to flats but this needs sorting out for longer rides as it's too painful to live with.

Any magic bullet suggestions?

Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #68 on: 04 January, 2019, 02:28:30 pm »
SPD sandals?

I'd be inclined to guess that your shoes are too tight.
Sandal straps can generally be set fairly loosely, and there's not the same shoe structure to squeeze the foot into. I find they allow windproof/waterproof socks such as sealskins, or goretex + regular socks, and aren't any colder than normal shoes in winter.

Numb feet even in warmer weather must be either a nerve being squeezed somewhere, or restricted blood supply.
Too tight shoes would affect the blood supply to the whole foot, but I'd expect squeezed nerves to only affect part of the foot (and numbness being preceded by tingling), in the same way as you get either numb/tingling ring/little fingers or middle/index/thumb from handlebar/riding position problems

Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #69 on: 04 January, 2019, 04:52:34 pm »
SPD sandals?

This is actually a good idea. I saw someone on Fenland Friends in sandals and I couldn't believe it. He had bare feet. Must be on here.

Wide fit shoes are my next port of call before the weather gets warmer. I'll be scouring ebay before spending another £££.

Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #70 on: 04 January, 2019, 05:27:24 pm »
I agree with Andrew's comments.

However I would also note that it just might be what some folk call 'a referred pain' i.e. there may be poor circulation or a trapped nerve, but it might be far away from where you feel it. For example there might be a problem in the base of the spine or in the pelvis and your feet might go numb as a result of it.   I find that if I am forced to spend an hour in one position only (i.e. without even raising my bum out of the saddle) I can go numb in all kinds of weird places, even on a saddle that I am normally comfy on.  This has only ever happened to me under weird circumstances though, eg riding a tandem time-trial.

cheers

JonB

  • Granny Ring ... Yes Please!
Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #71 on: 04 January, 2019, 05:37:26 pm »
Wide fit shoes are my next port of call before the weather gets warmer. I'll be scouring ebay before spending another £££.

Just beware that manufacturers definition of wide can vary considerably. Wide fit Lake's have worked for me whereas Sidi's and Shimano's did not. There a few guides around on the net including this, https://road.cc/content/feature/223770-where-can-i-find-wide-cycling-shoes

Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #72 on: 04 January, 2019, 05:41:27 pm »
I saw someone on Fenland Friends in sandals and I couldn't believe it. He had bare feet. Must be on here.
I misjudged things during the cold snap at the end of October, and came out the pub, with 8 miles to do back home, wearing shorts, sandals with no socks, and no gloves, to find that the Garmin was reading -2° when I turned it on (Tempe ANT sensor under saddle).

I can't say it was comfortable on the toes, but the fingers were the main problem.

I have been out voluntarily barefooted when it's been 5°, expected to drop to 3° or so, and once it's above 7° or so, bare toes are no problem.

Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #73 on: 04 January, 2019, 10:23:07 pm »
Unfortunately, I've got Raynaud's disease - poor circulation as well.

"Hot Hands" were a blessing on the Nov RRtY but only for the hands, the feet ones didn't work. I've just got to sort my bloody feet out in the colder months. They don't suffer quite as much in the summer shoes. The combo of cold and poor circulation is not good. It has taken weeks for the feeling to come back into my fingers and toes after some long cold rides and I've had to take medication to widen the little capillaries in my fingers and toes on two occasions.

I'll sort myself out some wider shoes and try again.





Re: Numb feet and discomfort from clipless pedals on long ride
« Reply #74 on: 05 January, 2019, 09:27:32 am »
I've also got Reynauds. Is what you describe anything other than what happens with Reynauds when you get cold? Ie is it connected with the boots at all?  Obviously you need shoes that fit but I would expect to get those symptoms with perfect shoes if I got cold on a ride
Based on what you've written I'd say the most likely magic bullet would be an extra merino base layer.