Artemisia wrote:
> Two days into my trail and I discover the limit is coming from an
> unexpected place - unbelievably painful feet. I'm using Specialized BG
> Comp mountain biking shoes in the appropriate size.
But are they an appropriate shape? Different manufacturers use
different lasts and all are slightly different shapes, to account for
the variation of human feet. You need to try as many different shoes as
you can to ensure that you have shoes built on a last that corresponds
to your own feet. Also different sizes mean slightly different things
to different manufacturers, sometimes even to the same manufacturer on
different lines: I take a 10 in leather Teva sandals, a 9 in plastic
Teva sandals. My fell shoes are 2E 8.5 New Balance, same as road shoes
from the same make, but the fell shoes are tighter on me. And so on.
> iWhen I put them on
> in the morning, they are already not comfortable shoes, stiff and
> grating over the toes
What makes you think these are an appropriate size (or shape) if they're
grating your toes before you get on the bike? The stiffness is actually
an aid to pedalling once you're on the bike, but there should be no
grating of your toes.
> , but as the day wears on they turn into Chinese
> torture. This is on a re***bent tadpole trike where the use of SPDs is
> required as a safety measure (to prevent running over one's own leg,
> which I nearly did the other day).
Well... no, not "required". You wouldn't have to go too far to find
someone using one with normal pedals, though personally I would
/recommend/ them.
> I tried putting a wad of kleenex between the lining of the shoe and
> the SPD clip. That improved matters slightly, but I still cannot go
> more than about 10km without the most agonizing pain. And the pain
> lasts for about half an hour even after I have taken the shoes off.
As others have suggested, it sounds like the cleat is in the wrong
place. You should be able to move it by loosening the cleats and
sliding the mounting plate inside the shoe. Take the insole out to do
that more easily.
> Also, clipping and unclipping is a chore. I thought it would get
> easier. But it can take me several minutes to clip and unclipping can
> be even longer. The fact of having to press down into the core of the
> pain to twist the feet off the pedals is part of it.
This reinforces the suspicion that the cleat is in the wrong place. It
should be a second or two at most to get either in or out. Time ATAC
pedals are, IME, slightly easier to get into as you engage along a line
rather than at a point, but there's not that much in it.
> Is this normal? Is it something "you just get used to"?
No. Cycling shoes are not overly comfortable to walk in, but they
should be comfortable to pedal in or to stand in. Yours aren't even
comfortable to stand in, so I suspect you bought the wrong thing for
you. Also, it sounds like the cleat is in the wrong place, and this
needs a bit of fiddling to get right. By "a bit of fiddling" I mean 10
minutes trial and error on and off the bike, ****ging them about until
they feel right. Start with the cleat as far back as it will go and
gradually push them forward, lock them at the right position.
Another piece of advice, do running-in trials of new kit close to home,
by which I mean round your block a few times.
Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net p.j.clinch@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/
|
