Othrotics in cycling shoes.

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Calvin27
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Othrotics in cycling shoes.

Postby Calvin27 » Tue Nov 10, 2015 2:39 pm

Hi all,

Just past my birthday and already the old age is setting in. I've been getting niggling gradual development of medial knee pain in the last few months and recently comlpeted a full bike fit as well as pick up that my planatar fasciitis and foot arch had collapsed completely. The good news is I am slowly recovering and doing short rides on the bike but I need a long term solution. So the physio prescribed some othrotics - basically arch supports.

Now my problem is they are thick enough that I can barely fit my foot in there. What's the recommedation to get around this? I could go a size up in shoe but this would make it wider and longer, not ideal.

Do you use orthotics in cycling shoes? How did you get them to fit? I am hoping they just compress enough to be a lot more comfortable once they wear in.
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silentC
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Re: Othrotics in cycling shoes.

Postby silentC » Tue Nov 10, 2015 2:58 pm

I use them. Mine are the ones that they heat up with a heat gun and mould them to your foot. They are a little thicker than the original inner sole but they don't cause me any trouble.

You have taken out the original inner sole, right? ;)
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march83
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Re: Othrotics in cycling shoes.

Postby march83 » Tue Nov 10, 2015 3:03 pm

I use eSoles and a few steve hogg heel wedges. I have weak arches which can cause minor knee and hip problems.

In my road shoes the orthotics aren't a big deal. the sole itself is no bigger than the original sole, there's just a massive arch supporting lump in there. The mtb shoes are a little tighter in that there's a more notable bulge of the top of my foot pressing into the upper of the shoe but i still fit in there.

If your orthotics are preventing the shoe from fitting I'd think maybe you could try one of the modular off the shelf options to get the same/similar shape but with a lower profile?

Calvin27
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Re: Othrotics in cycling shoes.

Postby Calvin27 » Tue Nov 10, 2015 5:01 pm

Yeah I might have to try a few to get ne that suits.

My orthotics are slight heel and feet arch. It's about 10mm thick in the heel and arch part which is a lot. Any brand recommendations? The physio ones are crazy expensive!
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NeillS
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Re: Othrotics in cycling shoes.

Postby NeillS » Tue Nov 10, 2015 9:40 pm

We use and recommend the G8 2620's from G8performance. Adjustable arch support modules which can be shifted fore and aft as needed to fit any foot type. Highly recommended. I give every one of my bike fit clients a pair.

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Re: Othrotics in cycling shoes.

Postby trailgumby » Sat Nov 14, 2015 4:48 pm

I've used orthotics and found them to be useless for cycling. I swear by them for walking and running though.

The reason is I've found the forefoot has more impact on my knee tracking than the heel alignment. Unlike walking and running, there is no heel strike when pedalling. So I've used the Specialised BG footbeds and varus forefoot shims. I remove the existing inner sole and use these as a replacement.

The footbeds don't work so well with all shoes though. They're good with my Bontragers, obviously Specialized shoes, but pretty useless with my Shimano shoes. With those, I use the stock inner soles with a single varus shim, and none with the Specialized shoes as they effectively have one varus shim built in. If you can stump for the heat-molded Shimano shoes, the inner soles are superb and offer a variety of arch support heights. I wish the insoles were available separately so I can put them in my R170 road shoes as well as the XC90s.

If you must use orthotics in your bike shoes, I would recommend buying a new pair of shoes, taking the orthotics with you to try out the fit with them in place before you buy.

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AUbicycles
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Re: Othrotics in cycling shoes.

Postby AUbicycles » Sat Nov 14, 2015 6:15 pm

In getting my shoes properly fitted, I started with the G8's with movable wedges but these simply wouldn't get the right position. So then moved over to the G8 Ignites which are heat mouldable and perfect. In setting them up, while setting the form can be nicely adjusted (e.g. - temporary wedges to help it hold the right form).

Agree with Trailgumby if you need to use your own orthotics. That said, I was recently speaking to a specialist who fits the German national road and tri athletes and he noted the different foot movement which suggest (similar to Traingumby) that the foot in a cycling shoe, pedalling, behaves differently to when you are walking or running. This means the form and requirements are different and regular orthotics for walking may not necessary be ideal to transfer directly across, rather use the knowledge of your podiatrist to fit a heat moulded shoe or heat moulded insert such as the G8.
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Re: Othrotics in cycling shoes.

Postby AUbicycles » Sat Nov 14, 2015 6:15 pm

In getting my shoes properly fitted, I started with the G8's with movable wedges but these simply wouldn't get the right position. So then moved over to the G8 Ignites which are heat mouldable and perfect. In setting them up, while setting the form can be nicely adjusted (e.g. - temporary wedges to help it hold the right form).

Agree with Trailgumby if you need to use your own orthotics. That said, I was recently speaking to a specialist who fits the German national road and tri athletes and he noted the different foot movement which suggest (similar to Traingumby) that the foot in a cycling shoe, pedalling, behaves differently to when you are walking or running. This means the form and requirements are different and regular orthotics for walking may not necessary be ideal to transfer directly across, rather use the knowledge of your podiatrist to fit a heat moulded shoe or heat moulded insert such as the G8 Ingnite.

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trailgumby
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Re: Othrotics in cycling shoes.

Postby trailgumby » Sun Nov 15, 2015 12:06 am

Where do you get the G8 Ignites from, AUbicycles? I have quite a high arch and few insoles suit me.

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ProBikeFit
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Re: Othrotics in cycling shoes.

Postby ProBikeFit » Fri Feb 05, 2016 12:17 pm

The foot pedal interface drives the bicycle, it is not a secret that 100% of Pro Riders use Custom Footbeds, even if your foot is neutral Custom footbeds aid in the transfer of power to the pedal. There are a number of manufacturers that supply footbeds, it is up to you as a consumer to place a value on them (most range from $59.95 Trek and Specialized $149.00 FootBalance, $449 Pure Speed $499 Cobra 9)
For me personally I used Pure Speed (10w (AT) 259W threshold) improvement over standard footbeds. regards Probikefit

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Re: Othrotics in cycling shoes.

Postby tmac100 » Sun Feb 07, 2016 2:53 am

I wear custom insoles in my shoes. Why? Firstly, I am an insulin dependent diabetic since 1964. In that time I have lost some pain receptors in the soles of my feet and am prone to pressure-point ulceration. Hence the insoles. They WORK!

Secondly, I have a right leg brace because of a right ankle fusion due to a rock-climbing accident in Wyoming in 1997. The shoes have been custom fitted in a variety of ways, and for a total rebuild they cost about $1000 - not counting the original price of the New Balance shoes.

They must work because I have bicycled the Savannah Way from Cairns, to Booroloola, and via the Roper River Rd to Mataranka and Darwin (2006). Then I bicycled from Perth to Peterborough (2015) and Adelaide to Peterborough, Broken Hill, Menindee, south to Wentworth and on to Sydney (2011).

The insoles work (as evidence has been presented) and I swear by them. Otherwise, I would not be riding nor walking due to the pressure-point ulcers. Get the best insoles you can and get shoes that allow you to wear them. Make sure they are not tight as that will cause other problems. Good luck with the fitting. With time (age) your feet WILL change.

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Big Pete 1
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Re: Othrotics in cycling shoes.

Postby Big Pete 1 » Sat Mar 05, 2016 1:12 pm

Everybody has one of their legs longer than the other. Most are within the 5mm range, and do not cause to much of a problem.
However, my right upper leg is about 20 mm shorter. It has caused me a lot of trouble on the bike.
My spine curvature has somewhat compensated for that difference. When running, I have a 5mm insert in my shoe. I cut up and use an old wet suit.
But this does not work on a bike, 5mm is not enough, and uncomfortable inside a road cycling shoe.

I've tried different crank lengths as well, which makes it worse.
The only thing that works is to place a 10-12 mm hard flexible plastic/rubber between the cleat and the shoe.
I had to get extra long screws from a machine shop. I also use washers to force my inner sole a little bit downwards to help bring my knee in.
I already have my cleats positioned to have my toes to point in to help my bring my right knee in.

All these changes took about a year. Small changes every few months so as not the cause injury with a sudden change from a natural position.
I now pedal with hardly any inside right leg abrasion, left knee stress, and both knees are close to the top frame of the bike.
My pedaling has now become most efficient.

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Re: Othrotics in cycling shoes.

Postby tmac100 » Wed Mar 09, 2016 9:22 pm

Big Pete 1 wrote:Everybody has one of their legs longer than the other.........
All these changes took about a year. Small changes every few months so as not the cause injury with a sudden change from a natural position.
I now pedal with hardly any inside right leg abrasion, left knee stress, and both knees are close to the top frame of the bike.
My pedaling has now become most efficient.
Yup! our body is not an exact mirror image side-to-side. A friend (here at work in Doha) buys 2 pairs of shoes at the same time one pair is 2 sizes different than the other - simply that is how her feet are. Then she throws the un-useable ones away.

Small changes are the way to go. My Orthopedic surgeons and technicians have helped me tweak my leg brace and inserts that way. Last week end I had a new custom insole built while I was in the UAE and it took several fittings. Now after several days of wearing maybe one more tweak, but man it feels pretty good as compared to before. And just a couple of small adjustments. Almost like tuning a motorcycle with twin carbs :roll:

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