I've been cycling off and on for the past several months, sometimes as long as two hours at a time. I don't know if cycling is the cause of it, but my toes have also hurt off and on for the past several months. Is this common with people who cycle a lot in regular running shoes? Should I get some special shoes for cycling (the kind that don't bend through the forfoot and toes)?
I have special sandals that clip into my toe-clips. The sandals have a little nub on the bottom that goes into the toe clips. Sold through Bike Nashbar catalog. My toes are free in those sandals. I wear socks.
You have to take your pedals off your bike and use the special clips (that do not resemble pedals) to attach your sandals. You will not be able to pedal the bike except with those sandals or shoes made to fit those clips.
get a pair of good shoes and clipless pedals....your running shoes are the worst thing to use while cycling...
mastersfattie wrote:
get a pair of good shoes and clipless pedals....your running shoes are the worst thing to use while cycling...
Why are they the worst? Care to explain?
I also wanted to bump this up for more replies. One day and it's already back to page 4!
Bike shoes are stiff soled and designed to fit somewhat snugger than regular running shoes. Also, the "clip-in" capabilities allow you to use both your quads and hamstrings throughout the pedal stroke. Running shoes only allow you to push down on each forward stroke. The pushing down is probably forcing your toes to mash up against the front of the toe box. As you distribute the load, by pulling up with one leg while pushing down with the other, your less apt to mash your toes.
Running shoes the worst? Nah, but there are better alternative. Even having old-school platform pedals with the "rat trap" cage to cinch your shoes tight to the pedal would also alleviate some of the pain.
Yeah, I was about to ask that as well...
Unless there's something about running shoes in particular that is especially bad for cycling, it's just hyperbole. I ride in my running shoes all the time...mainly because I cycle to work and run from work.
This is hilarious. Letsrun bashes on bikers all the time and this guy asks about riding a bike in running shoes. The bikers in this forums are laughing their asses off. Sorry.
You are very likely pushing forward in your shoe to help your pedal stroke. This isn't a bad thing, but cycling shoes will make a dramatic difference as they are more snug. It is similar to a skier asking if bindings would help him ski better, or if a runner would run faster if they weren't in their work boots. Your running shoes soft and flexible soles are absorbing some of the energy you are putting into the pedals. This is why cycling shoes are stiff. If you are biking as much as you say you will LOVE clipless pedals with the appropriate shoes. You will all of a sudden feel like you are one with the bike and you will be much more efficient. Once you get used to them and if you ever ride without them it will feel very award. Like running on ice.
Good luck with the biking it will help your running no matter what these guys say.
Bump to this thread
I noticed that when I wear my cushioned running shoes while biking on the stationary my quads are extremely sore after, but when I wear my racing flats I feel much more efficient and less beat up overall. Are racing flats a better option than normal trainers for biking assuming I don't want to buy special biking shoes?
Paul wrote:
Good luck with the biking it will help your running no matter what these guys say.
I bet I could beat every rider in the Tour de France in a 5k on the track.
Interesting that this thread would pop up. Yesterday I did a longish session on my NordicTrak XC ski machine for the first time in a while. Normally I do this barefoot or in light slippers, but I had a cut on my foot I wanted to protect and couldn't find the slippers so I grabbed an old pair of trainers. It felt like I was balancing on a sponge and started to bother my knees so I finished without the running shoes. It got me to thinking that the racing flats might have worked better since there's almost no cushioning. Moreover, it occured to me for the first time that my ski boots and cycling shoes have virtually no padding which makes sense since they're intended for non-impact activities and, in the case of ths ski boot, you want to be in intimate contact with the ski for better control.
yeah that's what I figured. To me it doesn't make sense that you would need the cushioning for biking, it just seems to get in the way of the force you apply to the pedal. Biking shoes have pretty much no cushioning from what I have seen
I've looked at those clipless pedals and shoes and honestly the idea of being clipped into the pedals so I couldn't put my feet down quickly scares me. How dangerous is it to have your feet clipped into the pedals? It seems like it would make it a lot easier to get hurt in a fall.
Those of you who are serious cyclists can go ahead and laugh at me because I suppose this is pretty pathetic to a real cyclist, but I'm a runner at least partly because I'm not a great all around athlete and dont have the greatest sense of balance. I just have alot of endurance and am good at pushing myself. Also one of the reasons I bike is get in some extra training time in without injury and it would be stupid to bike and then get injured so it affected my running.
You don't need clips, just stiff soled shoes.
laughingostrich wrote:
Paul wrote:Good luck with the biking it will help your running no matter what these guys say.
I bet I could beat every rider in the Tour de France in a 5k on the track.
And you would only be 5 hours behind them in a 180 mile bike race.
Hobby Cyclist wrote:
I've looked at those clipless pedals and shoes and honestly the idea of being clipped into the pedals so I couldn't put my feet down quickly scares me. How dangerous is it to have your feet clipped into the pedals? It seems like it would make it a lot easier to get hurt in a fall.
Those of you who are serious cyclists can go ahead and laugh at me because I suppose this is pretty pathetic to a real cyclist, but I'm a runner at least partly because I'm not a great all around athlete and dont have the greatest sense of balance. I just have alot of endurance and am good at pushing myself. Also one of the reasons I bike is get in some extra training time in without injury and it would be stupid to bike and then get injured so it affected my running.
1. I kind of know what you're talking about, but I think it's unlikely. Usually people get hurt from hitting the ground, not from their bike; but it's possible that they might hit the ground in a different way if they had unclipped before falling. Pro cyclists usually manage to unclip before falling, so it does seem to be important to them.
2. But it's much more likely that you crash because you don't have clipless pedals -- a common cause of crashes is if you're pedalling standing up and your foot comes off the pedal.
3. It's also possible to fall because you have trouble unclipping at a traffic light, but you won't be moving and you'll just fall over sideways. People will laugh at you, but you'll be fine. This happens to everyone once, maybe twice, when they start using clipless pedals. Then unclipping becomes habit.
If the soles flex they are no good:My Shimano's have a half inch thick,solid plastic sole.
Good shoes,clipless pedals as suggested.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Categories.aspx?CategoryID=682
These are Australian prices and i think they are cheaper.
Exchange rate roughly 1:1