SWorks Road Shoe - Ankle Pain

theotherjake

I just purchased a new pair of SWorks Road shoes and I am seriously disappointed. Where the shoe wraps around the inside of my ankles its cutting in and causing serious pain, is this normal for a new Sworks shoe? anybody else experienced pain with these new shoes?

Grill

It's silly to blame the shoe because the morphology of your feet does not complement their fit. If it's cutting the inside of your ankles as you say then the issue is to do with pronation and could be easily sorted with the correct footbeds (lack of support under your arch is causing collapse).

theotherjake

Forgot to say I am using the Spesh Blue footbeds. They work fine in my pair of Comps.

Grill

Blues don't offer much support. Even the greens could do with a bit more (and it's the most defined support they do). Considering that no one at Specialized has ever taken the Windlass Effect into account when fitting footbeds I'm not surprised they don't always get it right.

sungod

is it that they just do not fit, or as above that your foot is moving around?

i use both current and previous models of s-works shoes, for me they're the most comfy road shoes i've tried, but fit is everything, if the shape simply isn't right for you then look for other shoes - most stuff i'll buy online, but shoes i buy in a shop so i can try several models/sizes to be sure

the bg footbeds are ok if you need only a bit of support, but for anything more i'm not so sure, personally i find the arch support doesn't extend far enough back, if you do need extra support, try e-fit footbeds, i've found them best of all those i've tried

theotherjake

Well I am sized 9 uk and the shoes are a 44. I tried the 45 and they felt too big, but my big toe is really close to the end of the shoe. A bigger size would just increase the problem?

Are they normally super comfy straight out of the box?

Grill

I can't say without actually measuring to point, but they sound too big. I'm a UK 10 and would wear them in a 44.

Bigger shoes will make the problem worse as your foot would slide to the end thus impacting both toes and ankle.

Mccaria

They do half sizes in the Sworks

theotherjake

Not sure its a size issue.

mfin

My S-Works are a half size bigger than my Pros.

The fit isn't quite the same between those, I wouldn't expect it to be exactly the same just because they are made by the same company. My Pros still fitted me better out of the box, but some fine tuning of the insole with some scissors, taking away a couple of edges got my S-works as 'right' as my Pros so I don't mind which I wear at all.

(There's a little less volume in various places in the S-Works shoe to the Pro even when half a size up, I personally found this on the outer edge of the shoe in the middle of the foot length, that's where I removed a bit of the outer lip of the insole.... ankle fit was no problem at all though).

theotherjake

Mine are cutting into my ankle here, and its now red and bruised from this mornings commute.

mfin

Looking at where you are pointing that probably wouldn't be helped by a half size bigger, I reckon they don't suit your feet, simple as. Did you not try them on before buying them? (or at least before you couldn't send them back). If they hurt there after riding you must have felt something wasn't right when you first stood in them.

Sell them on, get something else.

theotherjake

They felt fine in the shop, only after riding for 20mins did they start to hurt. Will do just that I think...

Grill

You can also cut them. Pros do it...

mfin

I think the curve at the point you are complaining about looks like it 'comes across' a bit, it's certainly a completely different shoe upper again since they redesigned it.

I think once you've got a shoe wrong once you'll probably be more sensitive and fussy when trying them on to try to spot potential problems.

theotherjake

I also wonder if I am doing them up too tight. How tight should the boas be?

sungod

the dials should be set so that the shoes are snug, your foot shouldn't move around, from what you describe it doesn't sound like it's the problem

the part of the shoe you're indicating in the pic is the main difference i noticed between the previous and current models, that said i find both very comfy, real road slippers straight out of the box

if they are rubbing, it may simply be they are the wrong shoe for you

if you can return them or sell them at a decent price, do it now

otherwise, you may find that putting a strip of micropore tape on your ankle in the affected area cures the problem, it's not ideal, but if it works, the cost of a reel of tape every few months is way less than new shoes

IrishMac

You're not the only one mate.

Courtesy of Tom Boonen, http://cdn.media.cyclingnews.com/2014/04/19/2/shoes_helmets_15_1600_670.jpg

mfin

IrishMac wrote:

You're not the only one mate.

Courtesy of Tom Boonen, http://cdn.media.cyclingnews.com/2014/04/19/2/shoes_helmets_15_1600_670.jpg

Good spot, there's something about that new design that looks like this would be a problem. To me it looks like a redesign for redesign's sake, it was fundamentally a really good shoe before.

bernithebiker

Tried top end Bont and Lake, but went with Sworks (new model) as was the most comfortable, and straight out of the box, no heat moulding.

davehaddox

Hey man, you have the correct size shoes. I love this guy, Grill, saying it is the wrong insole or what have you. Com'on. People have different feet, and a lot of times shoes will not work for a persons foot. That said, I think specialized messed up with the redesign of their s-works shoes. I experience the EXACT same problem you have with your s-works with my 2014 s-works mountain shoe (dont use the road version, use a Mavic). It presents as pain on the inner forward tendon of both feet after riding. This tendon/ankle 'part' rubs against the portion of the shoe you pointed out. Try riding two days back to back and then tell me about how bad the pain gets...Shit!

While this doesn't cause a problem for everyone, it has caused a problem for a majority of the people I talk to who are using the 2014 sworks shoes. The answer (from everyone)...sadly... after spending $400USD to get the shoes, is to hack into them like Boonen's mechanics or whoever did that work. Yea, I know, sucks! Thanks Specialized... Atleast my shop offered to hack them up for me...LOLs.

Grill

davehaddox wrote:

Hey man, you have the correct size shoes. I love this guy, Grill, saying it is the wrong insole or what have you. Com'on. People have different feet, and a lot of times shoes will not work for a persons foot. That said, I think specialized messed up with the redesign of their s-works shoes. I experience the EXACT same problem you have with your s-works with my 2014 s-works mountain shoe (dont use the road version, use a Mavic). It presents as pain on the inner forward tendon of both feet after riding. This tendon/ankle 'part' rubs against the portion of the shoe you pointed out. Try riding two days back to back and then tell me about how bad the pain gets...shoot!

While this doesn't cause a problem for everyone, it has caused a problem for a majority of the people I talk to who are using the 2014 sworks shoes. The answer (from everyone)...sadly... after spending $400USD to get the shoes, is to hack into them like Boonen's mechanics or whoever did that work. Yea, I know, sucks! Thanks Specialized... Atleast my shop offered to hack them up for me...LOLs.

Of course not all shoes work with all feet, I said that.

Grill wrote:

It's silly to blame the shoe because the morphology of your feet does not complement their fit

You can't possibly know if the OP has the correct size shoes without measuring. I already qualified that point when I said this:

Grill wrote:

I can't say without actually measuring to point, but they sound too big.

I have fitted hundreds of people and seen thousands of feet in my time as a professional boot fitter. The fact is that 99% of people benefit from footbeds and those that have bought them of their own accord (or from some shop monkey) generally have the wrong ones. Correct fitting is becoming a bit of a lost art as even most podiatrists have no idea what their doing when it comes to disciplines that aren't reliant on a typical gait (one of the reasons the BSBA was formed).

Also, saying that these shoes are causing problems for most is a misleading and unqualified statement. Two of my best friends work at two completely different Spec Concept Stores and the redesigned S-Works have been a huge success. The sales on them have been massive and within my own club there are at least a dozen riders using them with no issue.

davehaddox

Defensive much? All I said (I can quote too) was, "it has caused a problem for a majority of the people I talk to". Is this the majority of people? NO. Its the people I've ran into and discussed the issue with. I think it is especially important to note that my shop, a specialized "concept store" (read: big as sh*t with fully trained BG fitters [the works] and tons of customers) acknowledged the problem and was willing to cut into the shoe to fix the problem because that was the only fix they knew about... Hmmm.

I think the shoe works for some and DOES NOT for others. I also think this is an issue that will be extremely difficult to spot on a fitting, even if it included a full mock up of the shoe on a client's foot on a trainer. This is because the tendon irritation doesn't occur until after some extended (+/-15min maybe).

Grill

Not defensive, I simply have an eye for detail and am not a fan of my advice being misrepresented, especially when the rebuke is based upon conjecture rather than experience.

As I previously mentioned, Spec fitters have no idea of the proper principle of fitting their footbeds. Lack of support takes everything from the ankle, knee, hip and back off axis and considering that they only use their own products (let's face it, Spec are a cult) of course they won't be able to sort more complex fit issues.

Can it be spotted beforehand? Yes, if you know what to look for. It's also worth noting that a shoe that's to big can cause this exact issue. The reason is that the deeper into the power phase, the more your foot will slide forward into a larger casing. This is typically compensated for by over-tightening the ankle strap which aggravates the issue further.

theotherjake

davehaddox wrote:

Hey man, you have the correct size shoes. I love this guy, Grill, saying it is the wrong insole or what have you. Com'on. People have different feet, and a lot of times shoes will not work for a persons foot. That said, I think specialized messed up with the redesign of their s-works shoes. I experience the EXACT same problem you have with your s-works with my 2014 s-works mountain shoe (dont use the road version, use a Mavic). It presents as pain on the inner forward tendon of both feet after riding. This tendon/ankle 'part' rubs against the portion of the shoe you pointed out. Try riding two days back to back and then tell me about how bad the pain gets...shoot!

While this doesn't cause a problem for everyone, it has caused a problem for a majority of the people I talk to who are using the 2014 sworks shoes. The answer (from everyone)...sadly... after spending $400USD to get the shoes, is to hack into them like Boonen's mechanics or whoever did that work. Yea, I know, sucks! Thanks Specialized... Atleast my shop offered to hack them up for me...LOLs.

Good to hear I am not the only one!

To bring this back on track I have tried half sizes bigger and smaller the 44.5 fits me best. Also I have tried all 3 spesh footbeds and a set of esoles (with red arch) and the they make zero difference.

I have a choice of either cutting them or sell up, but I absolutely love how the shoe looks and cannot find anything I like as much. Mine are matt black and the inside is bound to be white so will stick out after cutting...

Grill

To this day I have no idea why people feel the need to compromise fit, comfort and precision for the sake of style. Without seeing firsthand I can't say for certain whether the shoe can be properly adapted to your morphology, but the fact that the insoles have made no difference does suggest that they're a lost cause. Buy something else.

How much time do you spend looking at your feet whilst on the bike? I would wear tissue boxes if they got the job done.

goonz

I tried on the sworks in evans and stood in them and sat with them on for a good 15 mins and I found at the top on the outsde of the foot just under the ankle bone I felt really bad paid even when loosening the shoe. I think it just depends onthe shape of the foot too.

kellyllek

Found this post as I just had the exact experience. My team is sponsored by Specialized and I got a new pair of S-Works MTB race last week. The first thing I noticed was they were biting in at the ankle. It reminds me of a wire-bead non-folding tire compared to a folding kevlar bead. I even loosened it up all the way and they are still biting.

I've love the S-Works shoes and still love these new ones. I do a lot of miles and mash big time, and even broke a sole in half a couple years back that Specialized replaced. Even though last year's were carbon soled after a few thousand miles the whole shoe begins to break down (I've never had any shoe that doesn't. Note: if you suddenly develop knee pain that you've never had, often it's your shoes just sort of collapsing, even when they may look fine).

Over this last winter I started having more and more hot foot problems and other issues which I think are related to an ongoing Raynaud's condition. So no matter what I tried this winter I was having foot issues in every shoe. I'm also on my feet all day for work now and I noticed at the end of a shift my feet have swollen and though I've been wearing 44 for years, I decided to go with 45s this year. I think my feet may have grown!

So I had a 100mile MTB race last weekend and wore the 2014 shoes for the first time. I know this was a mistake but I also determined that a new pair could not be worse than the throbbing toes and hot foot I was getting from the old pair. I'm happy to report that my feet were much more comfortable in the larger and more structurally sound shoe, and I no hotfoot symptoms. However the ankle cutting pain was there from the start. It sucked, but compared to what I was experiencing with the old set it was nothing; I just suffered it. I'm sort of hoping I'll get used to it, but I'm not sure of that! 2014 is definitely different cut or design or structure than their previous years .

One thing though is that in their past S-Works models if you ever had to hike your heel would often be slipping out. Perhaps this new design addresses that? however, there were 3 hike-a-bike hills this last weekend, and because I had the top boa completely loose my heel was still slipping out!

I do love the Boas, you can just reach down and fine tune them on the fly. Meanwhile, I hope to find a solution or get used to the cutting ankle pain.

Iamnot Wiggins

OP, if you're considering getting rid of the shoes then let me know and I will consider buying them off you.

theotherjake

I am, they are size 44.5 in Black used twice. They have a couple of marks on the sole but basically as new.

biggayal

I had the same with the 2013 versions, I perservered and the shoe softened and now all is good