5 Tips for Choosing & Setting Up Your Cycling Shoes

what's this it's like on  that that scene in star wars   you know remember a new hope when it's like we  have to get the pipe and hold it so yeah yeah yeah   quick help me the walls are close again  in today's episode of bike fit tuesdays   five tips for choosing and setting  up your cycling shoes we're back   tip number one choose a shoe that fits your  foot well it's kind of obvious but it's crazy   the amount of people that get it wrong i think the  first thing the most important thing is that we've   got to buy a shoe that fits now it does sound  glaringly obvious if you've got a wide foot   you need to buy a wide fitting shoe if you've  got a narrow foot you buy a narrow fitting shoe   i think it's important to understand that not all  shoes fit the same not even within the same brand   so lake for example one of the more entry-level  shoes of cx238 is a very very wide fitting shoe   next model up cx332 is a much narrower fitting  shoe there are then wide fitting versions of each   so it can be a bit of a a minefield in that  respect one of the best ways of determining   whether you've got narrow wide feet is  going into a shop that measures your feet   uh using a branic device the age old means of  measuring feet in both length arch length and   width if you don't have access to one of these  uh one good way of doing it might be to just uh   look at your feet if you've got wide duck feet  then you need a wide fitting shoe if you don't   have white duck feet you've got skinny feet he's  a narrow fitting shoe so if someone doesn't have   access to a local bike shop that does really good  shoe fitting what can they do themselves not to uh   shout out one brand but lake does actually have  a really great system on their website for for   outlining measuring your feet so you basically  draw around your foot you measure the longest   point the widest point and lake has a i think  they've got a table or something on their website   that helps you diagnose which size might be best  for you and also i think which last might be   best for you that might be a really good starting  point for a lot of people i think trial and error   can be a good way but usually with trial and error  it's carried out in an uninformed fashion people   just go and buy you know six different shoes  from six different brands all in a size 45 and   actually different site different brands  come up differently in terms of sizing so   a lake for example comes out relatively  small or we might even argue true to size   certainly some of the physique models come  up saving seemingly quite a lot bigger   so it's worth noting that you know not all not  all shoe sizing is exactly the same there are also   a number of businesses online uh that will  offer remote help so for example we offer you   offer a remote shoe fitting service whereby you  measure your feet you you draw around your feet   you measure the the narrowest and wider sorry  the longest and widest point take photographs   and send them in and we'll try and help you  with a pair of shoes that might fit as best as arch support i've said it before i'm going to  say it again in the ski industry this is more a   testament to the professionalism or lack thereof  of the bicycle industry but in skiing you are   considered a [ __ ] if you ski with any level of  regularity and you don't have arch support in your   ski boots yet we have legions of cyclists riding  around with something like this inside their shoes   everybody needs our support in the cycling shoes  there are lots of different uh offerings out there   we know which one i prefer we'll come on to that  later uh i think we'll sort of group them into   little into different categories there's first up  there's a there's a full custom system the most   popular being made by sea das the benefit of this  system is it's completely customized to your foot   the problem with it is that it's only as good as  the person that makes it so someone who's been on   a three-day course has no experience and just has  the tooling isn't going to make you a very good   pair of footbeds compared to someone who has  been doing it for decades secondly there are   a whole plethora of off the shelf options uh the  most popular that you'll see in shops will be the   specialized bg super feet uh bondraker does one  ergon does one basically these are all we don't   have an example of them here but they're they're  all a sort of off-the-shelf footbed they usually   come in three or four different heights of arch  support uh and they can be they can be quite   effective provided that the arch supports  in the right place now this is the problem   is that the arch support isn't movable so mike's  in my experience generally speaking i've found the   in particular with the specialized ones because  they're the most commonly used most people end   up riding the blue level which is the middle one  because the green although although the green is   usually the the right height it actually ends up  in the wrong place the arch support actually ends   up in the wrong place which is what brings us on  to our third system which is the g8 it's a modular   arch support comes with five different arch pieces  or different arch heights it can be moved uh   forwards backwards and immediately and  laterally so this is kind of midway between   a fully custom footbed and off-the-shelf one  because yes in a bike fitting environment we   vastly prefer this because it allows us to uh get  feedback from the rider on where we need to apply   different levels of support and where so for  example and we're getting a slightly digressing   here now but in with wedging and bite fitting it  can be applied inside the shoe outside the shoe   in the heel or the forefoot uh using this system  because it's consistent and most people's feet   are different uh it allows us to get some feedback  from where we need to apply more support generally   speaking everyone needs all support in their  shoes uh there are there are a couple of different   reasons why there is a biomechanical element to  it prevents it can prevent arch collapse pronation   and thus improve general stability through  the foot the knee the hips and the pelvis   our opinion is it's actually a more  appropriate sective element there's   a more appropriate acceptive element to it in  the it helps re-establish connection between   the brain and the feet that's lost when  you put your foot into a cycling shoe to   that end we found that we can reduce pressure  going through the saddle by up to 50 just by   putting arch support in your shoes so all  those people out there with saddle issues   finally i think we should point out that most  of the insoles that come with cycling shoes   are a little bit uh unsupportive so some of them  are better than others though i think we should we   should point out that zero i think does a does  a really does a i was about to say really good   it's not really good it's but it's better than  nothing it's a bit more like a volume filler   uh which is also adjustable i think  shimano does it as well don't they   they've got a fairly big idea yeah that that one  that you just had though this is this is probably   something that actually might be worth talking  about a little bit this is a lake carbon fiber   custom moldable jobby uh which is super low volume  and like so you bang it in the oven heat it up   and it holds the inside of your feet i don't  sell that many of these i i prefer the g8 but   on occasions where the g8 doesn't work which is  rare uh this is usually our second second option get a stiff sole why would you want a stiff sole  sagging shoe sole wants to be stiff as possible   they're usually made out of one of two materials  a we prefer carbon fiber which is more on that in   a minute and there is also a plastic sometimes  there's a you get as is the case with this shoe   you get like a carbon reinforced plastic i prefer  carbon fiber because generally speaking the sole   is made to be a lot thinner uh because carbon's a  lot stiffer the problem with the classic sole is   that it has to be comparatively quite a lot deeper  in order to retain the stiffness the problem with   that is that uh it has a similar effect to having  to lengthen the crank arm length so what what it   means is you come through the top of the stroke  it can start to impinge the hips which there's a   biomechanical element to this so uh it generally  ultimately will impact your efficiency but why do   you want a stiff sole in the first place this is  a [ __ ] lever it's comprised of lots of different   bones very dense capillary structure it's very  mobile if you have a soft sole it doesn't offer   it doesn't provide sufficient support to the foot  you end up putting quite a lot of pressure through   the forefoot through the very small bones of  the forefoot and you can end up with numb feet   and what have you but generally instability  that occurs at the foot refers up through   the knees the hips and the pelvis so again and  we've sort of referenced this earlier that uh   you can end up with ramifications and things like  saddle supersoul is also generally much better for   power transfer power delivery uh so less power  will be absorbed in the flex of the shoe so what   sort of price point can people find a shoe that  you would consider stiff enough to use for long   distance riding cycling shoes are generally  quite expensive where can people look cycling   shoes are expensive i think it's important  important to point out that the cycling shoe   a cycling shoe is the most important part of your  equipment it's going to make a bigger difference   to your life than those carbon wheels you're  ironing up or an electronic group set because   like i said it's where all the power goes or  doesn't as the case usually is but to answer your   question i tend to i mean in here we don't stock  anything below 200 pounds on the grounds that's   the and the cheaper shoe we sell is a city genius  10 which is a carbon reinforced plastic sole   i don't know anything cheaper than that because  i to be honest with i don't believe in it uh i   don't believe in the thickness of the soul and  i don't believe in the lack of support provided   uh so to answer your question i i wouldn't try to  look at around 200 pounds for a pair of cycling   shoes that would be a good starting point as far  as entry-level shoes are concerned cities are   pretty good uh because the sole even on the very  even on the lower end models is super stiff super   rigid it's also relatively relatively thin still i  think probably the worst shoe i've encountered and   i had a gentleman come in with a pair recently  is um is a muddy fox shoe which uh the sole is   so soft you can fold it in half literally i mean  you can absolutely do actually these are stiffer   these are actually stiffer was the person  quote look i found a pair of shoes for you so a variety of different closures in cycling  shoes uh there are there's a lace-up closure   which i'm afraid we don't have here but i  think everybody knows what laces are the   benefit of a lace-up system is that it allows you  to micro-adjust uh pressure like an even pressure   over top of the foot obviously the the difficulty  with it is that you can't adjust them on the fly   tying a pair of laces when you're riding a bicycle  and i haven't tried but i imagine it's quite   difficult lauren's gonna do it laurence doesn't  do his shoes out there yeah nicotine laces his   dog lack of opposable thumbs or disposable thumbs  by julius caesar only only project usa viewers   will understand that reference there's then a  velcro closure which belongs very firmly in the   1980s in my opinion but it's basically a velcro  strap like this uh they usually come in two or   three iterations the problem with the i mean so  the benefit of them is that they're easy to get   in and out of uh and they can also be adjusted on  the fly the problem being that it tends to create   pressure points at the points in which the  straps are located more recently last couple   of decades we've started seeing the advent or we  started seeing the introduction of a boa closure   which is a dial there there are several iterations  of these uh and they allow you to micro adjust   pressure over the foot uh and there is  usually they can often be found you can   often find combinations of uh boa and velcro for  anyone out there worried about the durability   of this system uh i personally have never had  a problem with wires braking they do actually   offer a lifetime warranty on them anyway that's a  on the boa branded uh bows if you kind of move up   the range in in within brands you tend to go from  one borrower often accompanied by a velcro strap   to a double bow system which again allows a better  distribution of pressure over top of the foot   just going back to the fit of the shoe this  is what helps the shoe fit well what we want   from the shoe is for it to feel like your  foot's being given a little hug we want   um we want contact of every point of the shoe but  no pressure so the shoe should feel snug not tight so finally cleat location now i think the  first thing to understand and consider is   that clean location is different from shoe  brand to shoe brand there are some brands   that have very strong correlation with pain and  injury that have a very forward cleat location   forward place clear location some more in the  middle some are you know quite a lot further back   uh lake is sort of in the middle uh certainly  brands like bont tend to have a more rearward   cleat location most of the italian brands tend to  be more forward placed the biggest piece of advice   i would give to everyone about fleet location as  a starting point and this is not the be-all and   end-all but you can do no harm by having the cleat  too far back on the shoe uh it's worth noting as a   side note that we have an entire video surrounding  this i think you're gonna put a link on it down   below the starting point in my opinion should be  get the cleat as far back on the shoe as it'll go   on the grounds that you're getting pressure  away from the forefoot now just to dispel one   myth that's been very common in cycling over the  years is uh there's a lot of a lot of content in   various publications and possibly on youtube about  aligning the center of the cleat which is also the   center of the pedal axle with the ball of the  foot if you do that you will get foot pain knee   pain and probably saddle issues too what tends to  happen is well ultimately it puts huge amounts of   pressure through the forefoot it's a method that  is sort of derived from the 1970s when we were   using toe straps and clips and toe clips it has  no real place in in modern cycling in my opinion   so this is why i tend to say i i tend to recommend  people take the pleat as far back on the shoes   they'll go in complete honesty with in most bike  fits i find myself taking the cleat as far back   on the shoe as it'll go which i feel is more of  a testament to shoe design than it is about my   bike fitting methods it's worth noting as a side  note that if you take if your cleat is placed   as far forward on the shoes it'll go and you  then take it as far back on the shoe as it'll go   you'll probably need to reduce your saddle height  by five or ten mil all right because it's going to   increase your leg extension ultimately the other  thing that's worth noting so say first first and   foremost i don't really ever add any rotation  to the clink like this um but you can move them   from left to right now if you are a bigger rider  if you're a rider that possesses a physiological   trait known as tibial varum which is a bowing of  the tibia which is extremely common then you're   probably going to need a wider stance so what  we're thinking about what we've got to think about   here doing here is we're taking that we're moving  the cleat inboard to take the shoe away from the   bike this is and i find myself again doing this  really very very commonly again over the last   few decades bicycles have become increasingly  narrower uh mostly to a people mostly to aid   professional athletes to pedal through corners as  a result i'm finding myself almost always needing   to increase starts and this has ramifications  all the way through the kinetic chain   even as far as increasing sorry reducing pressure  through the hands and the neck and shoulders if   you're a smaller rider very very skinny or a very  small woman for example go the other way get your   feet close together uh again i i don't find myself  doing this very often to be honest with you so   as a starting point for smaller rides i would  actually probably have them set in the middle   but you you could have a go at uh having reducing  your stance if you are a small individual we want to just give you a brief rundown of the  different traits of of different shoe brands so   we start off with shimano which is a i would call  an average fitting shoe works for a sort of c d c   d e width which is what you measure on a product  device they offer a standard and a wide fitting   option in most of their shoes uh shoes to avoid in  their range of the real entry-level ones because   the heel is really flexible but they they offer  a nice neutral uh fit with a good cleat location   again the cleat location is quite adjustable you  can get it really quite far back and they offer   a range of different closure types city uh very  popular italian brand they've been making cycling   shoes and motorcycle boots as well since the dawn  of time they are renowned for probably some of the   best made cycling shoes which is one of the best  things about city but it's also one of the worst   on the grounds that it means that people tend to  end up riding them for a lot longer than they want   to because the shoe tends to kind of just go  saggy and soft and they end up feeling like a   pair of slippers which isn't really what you want  from a cycling shoe they offer again a number of   different closures they're a synthetic upper they  are as i said a minute ago exceptionally well made   fleet locations probably a little bit further  forward than i'd like but beautifully made shoe   and if you've got the right foot for it then  it'll work for you you know absolutely fine   lake is without doubt my favorite shoe brand i've  been working with them quite closely with them   for the last few years they offer without a doubt  the widest range of fits and so they have several   lasts within that loss they have several fits  they offer a standard fit y fit extra wide fit   across uh all of their range and it's worth noting  that not all late shoes fit the same as we as we   alluded to earlier in the video uh they have again  multiple closure systems good stiff carbon soles   right at the top end is the best shoe and on the  market in my opinion which is the cx403 which   is what we both ride which it has which has a  series of options for the upper you can get it in   usually a kangaroo hide which is what i ride but  you also you ride a vegan-friendly pu it's which   is a clarino uh faux leather uh which you know  equally good they're both they're both lightweight   and breathable and it's a full heat moldable  custom shoe also available in custom options   in terms of sizing uh and different widths  per foot so get in touch with me if you want   to have a look at that you can also get different  colors for them as well custom colors which we've   also both got specialized hugely popular brand uh  they have some benefits they have some negatives   the the benefits are exceptionally well made  shoes it's really well put together again it's   kind of sort of almost the same as the city and  that it's so well made that it means that a lot   of people ride them probably longer than they  should do again they've got different options   for closure across the top of the foot uh again  it's worth noting that the fit isn't the same   in in the specialized range so for for a sport  road shoe it's not gonna be the same as like a   top end s works shoe the the the one slight  negative i have with a special issue in this   is something no one tells you and they do tell  you they make it sound like it's a good thing   is that it's the only non-neutral shoe it has a  forefoot virus posting built into the front of   the shoe so essentially the front of the shoe is  canted like this now that works for some people quite often i find myself having to either  neutralize it or replace the shoe altogether   on the ground that it puts quite a lot  of pressure through the ball of the foot   uh i find that forefoot correction doesn't really  work that well in cycling but that's just my   findings on the whole well-made shoe and if it  works for you great jiro probably best known for   their lace-up shoe the empire which i really like  it's the empire it's worth noting is really only   good for very very narrow feet in fact to that  end i would say it's probably the best shoe on   the market for narrow feet uh however the the  rest of the shoes in their range in my opinion   i don't really like because they tend to be  using these these woven or knitted uppers which   are extremely lightweight but when you apply that  to a consumer who's sat at a desk all their life   and their feet have gone to pot they don't offer  any support uh furthermore a lot of arch support   and ortho sees that we fit into cycling shoes  are dependent on the structure of the shoe if   the shoe doesn't have much structure it tends  to destabilize the foot because the art support   doesn't provide enough support so uh i i don't i  don't have a huge love for the top end imperial   even the the new super light um super light empire  but the entry level empire with carbon sole great   shoe also worth noting the cleat locations really  really good on insurance but really quite far back   finally bonds so bonds uh australian brand uh they  made their name historically in in rollerblades   and ice skates i believe but they uh are one  of the best known heat moldable custom shoes if   you've got the right foot for a bomb it it works  really really well but and when and by that i mean   uh i'm going to need a shoe for this a bomb works  particularly well for a pest plane this foot it's   a low arch low end step usually rather harshly  i feel referred to as a flat foot and when i say   flat i mean the fourth the drop from the four foot  the hind foot sorry the drop from the high foot to   the forefoot is is relatively flat all right and  this is something that the bomb when you look at a   bond and compare it to this lake the bond is very  very flat um what that means for individuals with   a high four foot drop is they tend to plant  flex which again can destabilize the foot   um as a means of trying to make up for that that  lack of drop they do come in a standard and a wide   fit and there's a whole range of range of options  at different price points plate location is   also very good it's a heat moldable system which  means that you can bung it in the oven a certain   temperature i can't remember what and then mold it  around your foot that concludes today's episode of   bite fit tuesdays james is available at his bike  shop which is bicycle the shop we're in right now   to do remote shoe fitting and you can book a bike  fit with him in person too how can people find you   follow in the link below but i think before we go  it's worth noting that anyone buying shoes from us   is subjected to a foot assessment uh  we measure your feet uh we analyze your   feet and set your feet and and we recommend the  shoe that's right for you rather than aimlessly   going in and out of the shoe stock room to try  and find something that's right we'll actually   do it in an informed manner uh it's a 50 pound  service but it's refundable against a pair of   shoes we're going to put a link to how you  can book online for that there is also a   remote service that we offer again we alluded  to that we talked about this earlier uh where   you can take up focus on photographs with your  feet and you can take some some measurements at   home send them in to us and then we'll again we'll  it's a 50 pound service which is discountable or   refundable against a pair of shoes via our online  store subscribe to the channel for more episodes   of bike fit tuesdays and if you have any topics  that you would like covered or any questions that   you would like answered put them in the comment  section down below thank you for watching goodbye

Channel: Cade Media

Views: 199,480

Keywords: cycling, bike, cyclist, bicycle, road, francis, cade, bikefit, fitting, bikefitjames, james, fit, shoes, carbon, cleats, saddle, watts, power, tips, hacks

Id: 2BaRUajjMeg

Length: 22min 59sec (1379 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 22 2021