SPD advice please
frogmanjim
Posts: 4
Hi All
I have recently purchased a Cannondale synapse and can’t stop smiling every time I ride
My background is mountain biking so I’m a newbie to road.
The bike I bought had a pair of SPD SL pedals so I got myself a pair of specialized shoes on Sunday. Having not done SPD’s before was amazed at the difference in speed! My only issue is that after about 20 mins of riding I get an ache/pain from outer part of my right foot, in line with the ball of my foot. Just feels like there is greater pressure on that part of foot. My left foot is absolutely fine. The shoes feel very comfy when I put them on. I have tried adjusting the cleats so that my right foot faces outwards more, thinking this may relieve pressure on that part of my foot, but it does not seem to have done the trick.
Has anybody else experienced something similar when going to SPD’s?
I suppose when I’m riding flats I may tilt my foot when putting pressure on the right pedal and I’m just not used to there being pressure on there. Hopefully it may go away with time.
Anyway thought I would ask the question to all you experienced riders.
Many thanks in advance
James
I have recently purchased a Cannondale synapse and can’t stop smiling every time I ride
My background is mountain biking so I’m a newbie to road.
The bike I bought had a pair of SPD SL pedals so I got myself a pair of specialized shoes on Sunday. Having not done SPD’s before was amazed at the difference in speed! My only issue is that after about 20 mins of riding I get an ache/pain from outer part of my right foot, in line with the ball of my foot. Just feels like there is greater pressure on that part of foot. My left foot is absolutely fine. The shoes feel very comfy when I put them on. I have tried adjusting the cleats so that my right foot faces outwards more, thinking this may relieve pressure on that part of my foot, but it does not seem to have done the trick.
Has anybody else experienced something similar when going to SPD’s?
I suppose when I’m riding flats I may tilt my foot when putting pressure on the right pedal and I’m just not used to there being pressure on there. Hopefully it may go away with time.
Anyway thought I would ask the question to all you experienced riders.
Many thanks in advance
James
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Comments
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Hi, are you using SPD SLs or SPDs? I'm not sure from your post which type.
SPD SL are Shimano's three hole road pedals (in the same vein as Look Keo and Time Expresso)
SPD are Shimano's two hold MTB/touring predals (like Time Atac and eggbeaters)
Anyway it sounds like they aren't set up correctly. A fit may help or it might just be the shoes are too tight?0 -
I do wish Shimano had called them something entirely different. I'm forever writing "SPD (not SPD-SL)"0
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g00se wrote:Hi, are you using SPD SLs or SPDs? I'm not sure from your post which type.
SPD SL are Shimano's three hole road pedals (in the same vein as Look Keo and Time Expresso)
SPD are Shimano's two hold MTB/touring predals (like Time Atac and eggbeaters)
Anyway it sounds like they aren't set up correctly. A fit may help or it might just be the shoes are too tight?
Hi g00se. They are SPD SL. I think a fit may be a good idea. I rode the bike to work today and i tried to take note of my pedalling. It seems I put more weight through the outer part of my right foot, my left seems pretty neutral. If I consciously rolled my right ankle inwards slightly it felt the same as my left foot.
I think I may have just picked up a bad habit of rolling over on my right foot which flats didn't expose due to my foot not being fixed. My right knee certainly isn't further outboard than my left which I suppose could cause it. I can't see any adjustment that would help me with that. I can't really put washers under the cleat to adjust the tilt can I?0 -
You can get inserts for the shoes for that kind of thing. Luckily, Specialized are top on this - footbeds & shims - and they're the shoes you have. However, it would be best for a specialist to fit the inserts as part of a fit.0
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g00se wrote:You can get inserts for the shoes for that kind of thing. Luckily, Specialized are top on this - footbeds & shims - and they're the shoes you have. However, it would be best for a specialist to fit the inserts as part of a fit.
Ah ha! That's perfect, thanks. I have a good local bike shop who do specialised body geometry fits so I think that's the way to go. Didn't consider a shoe insert, makes sense.
Thanks for the advice!0
