hotfoot

:
: The orthotist explained it to me as the pad spreads the bones apart a
bit
: and the extra space relieves pressure on the nerves.
:
: Yes, hence my question: why doesn't the cleat "bulge" do the same thing?

The cleats that gave me the problem were the small Shimano 515s. And, they
were on the outside of the soles (soft as those soles were), not on the
insides next to the bones of the arch. So, possibly the effects (if any) of
a cleat bulge were dissipated by the flatness of the sole in between the
cleat and the foot. In fact, I don't remember feeling a bulge of any sort
from those cleats, just as I don't feel the big triangle of my Look cleats
when I am riding.

Pat in TX
:
:

Peter Cole wrote:
"Pat" wrote in message
...

: I never understood the "cleat is too small" or "sole is to flexy"
: argument, because that would cause a bulge under the ball of your
: foot, which is essentially what they sell you to fix the problem.
:
: A bigger cleat and more rigid sole prevents the pressure from being
focused
: on the ball of your foot. By distributing the presssure, the rigid
sole/big
: cleat mitigates the pressure from the "bulge.'
:
: Alan Acock

Yeah, what Alan said. The small cleat with the sole that sort of wraps
around the cleat makes for a lot of pressure in a small area.

That wasn't my question. I understand the "theory" perfectly. As a previous
poster said though, what you get as a "fix" for things like Morton's
neuroma is a pad that creates a bulge right where your cleat is, just the
thing that is supposedly causing the problem. I think most cases of "hot
foot" are simply shoes that are too tight.

I'd really like to understand what causes this, since it started bothering
me a few years ago, but for me too tight shoes doesn't seem right. My feet
are apparently skinny for their length, so shoes with enough space for the
ends of my toes always fit me loose. I also use hard-soled road shoes with
big SPD-SL cleats. Yet in my closet I have a little-used pair of Sidi shoes
and a similarly clean pair of Shimano shoes, both of which give me a severe
case of "hot foot" after 40 or 50 miles, along with a pair of very-well-used
Nike shoes which I can ride in all day without any trouble at all. If
anything the Nike shoes fit the tightest, they're a bit wide but are at
least snug in the top-to-bottom direction. I have no idea what it is about
the Nike shoes which prevent this, or what it is about the other shoes that
cause it.

I do wish I knew, however, because I'm tired of having to carry extra shoes
on rides where I may need to walk (this happens more and more as my trips
get longer, more ambitious and more interesting) and I'd really like to go
back to using regular SPD cleats with walkable shoes. I just don't want to
have to do a trial-and-error search for shoes which work for me the way I
did with the road shoes.

Dennis Ferguson

:
: I'd really like to understand what causes this, since it started bothering
: me a few years ago, but for me too tight shoes doesn't seem right. My
feet
: are apparently skinny for their length, so shoes with enough space for the
: ends of my toes always fit me loose. I also use hard-soled road shoes
with
: big SPD-SL cleats.

The cleats may be your problem. I got rid of the hot foot problem when I
changed to Look cleats.

Pat in TX

"Dennis Ferguson" wrote in message
om...
Peter Cole wrote:
I think most cases of "hot
foot" are simply shoes that are too tight.

Yet in my closet I have a little-used pair of Sidi shoes
and a similarly clean pair of Shimano shoes, both of which give me a
severe
case of "hot foot" after 40 or 50 miles, along with a pair of
very-well-used
Nike shoes which I can ride in all day without any trouble at all. If
anything the Nike shoes fit the tightest, they're a bit wide but are at
least snug in the top-to-bottom direction. I have no idea what it is
about
the Nike shoes which prevent this, or what it is about the other shoes
that
cause it.

It's been my experience that width in the ball of the foot area is the
important dimension.