Pins & Needles - Modern road content - UPDATE 20/03/12

[jango]

interesting......I'm using similar shoes and pedals on my road bike and I too get p&n's sometimes.....always thought it was just that I pedaled more and harder on a road bike!

I used to use mtb shoes and pedals which were nowhere near stiff enough and caused the hotspots mentioned by Reki.

 

[GT-Steve]

Ok, so I've adjusted the angle of the cleats on each shoe, and I've been advised to drop my post 5mm, so I'll see how that goes.

I'm not gonna hobble back on to the bike again today, so I'll report back tomorrow.

On a weird note as well, I've tried not sitting in the saddle and pedalling, but I still get the p+n's this way as well,

 

[dyna-ti]

Find out where the nerves run across the foot[should be a diagram somewhere]see it any of the straps cross those areas. :?

 

[legrandefromage]

I would also have a look at changing the bar/ saddle positioning as it is all interconnected - often suffered from this in the past.

 

[Iwasgoodonce]

Measure from the top of the saddle to the pedal at the bottom of its stroke. If this distance is greater than your inside leg (don't forget that your leg is not supposed to fully straighten) then the saddle is too high and you're having to doo something to compensate such as pointing your toes or roll your hips.

 

[BobCatMax]

what the cheese says..

I find I get pins and needles a little in my feet, and it's on the bikes that I have my saddle the highest

 

[REKIBorter]

Measure from the top of the saddle to the pedal at the bottom of its stroke. If this distance is greater than your inside leg (don't forget that your leg is not supposed to fully straighten) then the saddle is too high and you're having to doo something to compensate such as pointing your toes or roll your hips.

The correct ratio between saddle to pedal distance against inside leg measurement is 0.833. ie. Measure your inside leg, multiply that number by 0.833 which will give you the distance between the top of the saddle and the top of the pedal with the crank lined up with the seat tube.

Obviously not everyones legs are both the same length but it is a good starting point.

 

[john]

Some good advice thus far. This is what I'd look at

*Cleat position. Ensure the cleats are aligned correctly. Loads of advice on the web but a good starter is to sit on a table with your legs dangling and look which way your feet 'point'.
*Ensure you run a cleat with float.
*Saddle height and general position.
*Shoe tightness. You feet will swell as you ride (and warm up) so even if loose when you start they may get tight as you go. Had this issue with running shoes, cycling shoes and snowboard boots.
*You may just not be suited to the BG shoe. They do have quite a pronouced arch support. Again had similar issues with runners (for which I was improperly fitted by a 'specialist' running shop) with a high arch. Had loads of issues with pins and needles and numb feet. As a starter you could pull out the inner sole.

 

[GT-Steve]

Small update....

I changed the angles of the cleats as it would also appear that I spend too much time on the outside of my foot, (be it cycling or walking) which seemed to make quite a difference..... and I moved the saddle down - which made everything a lot worse.

So I've ended up putting the saddle UP, tipping it more forward than it was before, and rising the stem up 10mm.


I now managed over an hour of road cycling before the P+N's returned. In my eyes this is the start of an improvement process so there must be more things to adjust to get a more suitable riding position.

Tomorrow I'm going to try my mtb spd's and shoes and see how long I go for before the P+N's cut in...

 

[stewlewis]

Looking at the pedals it looks as though your on the outside of the foiot too much, can the cleats be adjusted laterally on the shoe? Moving them towards the outside of the shoe may make your foot roll more to the inside, then again moving them to the inside of your foot may put the pressure there rather than the outside.

Or if your bandy legs are sending your feet to cock maybe some BG insoles with outer foot support.