I'll echo the wonders of sticky rigid soled shoes coupled with flat pinned pedals. Until I "discovered" that combo, I couldn't pedal pain-free. I've tried a couple of Five Ten shoes, and lately a pair of Teva and another pair of Vans MTB shoes. What I discovered is that to be comfortable on all those shoes (which unfortunately aren't very wide so I need to go larger in size) is removing their stock inserts and replacing them with green (highest arch) Specialized insoles. Other insoles might also work, but for me, the Specialized insoles are the best.
Without going into more specific preferences, now I can ride for a long time without having my feet hurt like hell, the way they used to. The other tip/trick I learned, was positioning my feet so the arch is almost over the pedal spindle, instead of the traditional recommendation of having the ball of the foot go over the pedal spindle. No SPD shoes allowed me to position the foot this way. René On Tue, May 28, 2013 at 1:34 PM, George Schick <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks for posting this as well as the link to your detailed testing of > the shoes. I've been mulling the idea of 5-10's recently and have > eyeballed the various models on-line. But they seem to be primarily a > West/NW part of the country phenomenon because I don't see them offered > anyplace in the Midwest much. I'm always leery of buying shoes, in > particular, via mail order because sizes and fitting can be a very finicky > thing and I envision a flurry of back-and-forth shipping until everything > is right. So I like your description of how the toe and heel fit vs. your > size. > > Also, there's this: I've been doing serious cycling for about 40 years > now, beginning with the old toe clip & strap w/ cleated shoes, evolving to > Look style clipless in the early 90's, to SPD clipless in the last decade > and finally platform pedals and running shoes in the last 3-4 years. This > is because of three things: 1) gradually increasing discomfort with > retention-based shoes due to their thin, thin inserts (and their inability > to accommodate orthotics, which I wear), 2) the apparent inability of the > cycling industry to recognize that anyone in the world has anything but > narrow feet (my final go-around with Shimano's SPD "mountain" shoes were a > disaster in this regard - I usually wear size 9 or 9 1/2 in "D" width), and > 3) increasing problems with cramping and foot numbness with any type of > "cycling" shoe. > > However, even though the platform pedals took care of most of these > issues, the running shoes do not, necessarily. When I'm standing up on a > hill climb I feel like my foot is being wrapped around the pedal axle. I > need something with a stiffer sole, like the cycling shoes but without > their other drawbacks. So, my question is/was just how stiff some of these > 5-10's are in that regard. The Freerider was one that I was considering > the most. But they have two models; the standard Freerider and that VXi > you bought. The former is about $20 cheaper, but does not have the same > smooth contact area on the sole bottom as does the VXi. Would it still > work as well? Also, how stiff are these in relative terms? Are they > similar to a cycling shoe? I wouldn't want to go through the trouble to > get a pair and wind up back where I am now with the running shoes. > > Finally, where to buy? Since they'd have to mail ordered, Zappo's seems > to have the best selection and return policy of the on-line retailers. > Would you agree? Where did you buy yours? > > Again, thanks for posting and your attention to my questions. > > George > > > > On Tuesday, May 28, 2013 12:29:55 PM UTC-5, bwphoto wrote: >> >> I've been testing 5-10 shoes in the process of making a better connection >> between my feet and the pedals. After testing three I settled on the new >> Freerider VXi, I just posted a review of the shoes I tested and the >> performance of the Stealth soles., Here's the link: >> http://www.ridingsteel.com/**getting-sticky-with-shoes/**2013/05/<http://www.ridingsteel.com/getting-sticky-with-shoes/2013/05/> >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-US. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en-US. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
