One of the biggest issues I see riders struggle with outside of saddle issues are their feet. The feet play one of the most important roles when we're on the bike. Often, customers will tell me that their feet start off OK on their bike, but after a while they'll get a burning sensation, either under the ball of the foot, or more commonly on the outside of their feet by the baby toe (5th metatarsal).

A lot of riders I talk to push down on the balls of their feet while pedalling. Ideally, you want to try and push the power down through the arches of your feet, closer to the centre. Many customers arrive with their cleats moved all the way to the very front of the shoe. Generally, this isn’t ideal as moving the cleat forward will cause a toe-down effect in your pedal stroke. This greatly increases the discomfort in the front of your feet, causing those painful hot spots.

There are several things we can do to fix foot pain:

1. Ensure your shoes fit properly.

This sounds obvious, but 90% of the shoes I see on my customers’ feet are too narrow for them. They've tried to get around the shoe being too tight by going up a shoe size. In doing so, now they have too much room in the toe box and their foot moves around too much. Their toes claw at the inside of the shoe, attempting to stabilize the foot. With a fit, you'll get a size for your feet measured to the mm that you can take when you buy shoes.

Not sure if your shoes are too wide or narrow for your feet? To find out, simply pull out the insole, put it on the ground and stand on top of the insole, putting weight on it.

• If you can you see the insole around your foot, your shoe is most likely too wide.
• If your foot spills over the side of the insole, your shoe is too narrow for your foot. Chances are that there’s no room for your foot to expand in the shoe as it heats up. Enter foot pain here along the outside of your foot.

2. Buy the right shoes.

Not all shoe manufacturers are the same. A lot of shoe companies drill the holes for their cleats very far forward, and almost all soles have holes that don’t align from left to right. Your cleat holes could be millimeters off from each other, both in medial and lateral positioning. I like Lake cycling shoes because they have a wide range of sizes and widths to fit almost any foot, plus they’re a good quality shoe.

3. Get proper arch support.

As we move the cleats back as far as possible, you start to realize that no matter how much your shoes cost, the insoles that come with them have poor arch support. A solid pair of idmatch footbeds will help give you the support where you need it. I recommend these footbeds during almost every fit. After assessing your arch, we'll recommend the footbed that fits you best. This provides support, power and comfort, along with stability throughout the pedal stroke.

4. Add shoe wedging.

Because the heel is not affixed to the ground when cycling, a forefoot wedge can often help decrease hot spots across the ball of your foot and address some heel instability as well. These heel wedges can help to address pronation caused on the bike. Generally, I start with a footbed and if the rider still has some instability, then we'll address with heel, wedge and q-factor settings.

5. Add cleat wedging.

Most people pronate. How many people, you ask? Of every customer I've had since I've opened my doors over a year ago, almost 100% pronate. Pronation means your heels collapse in and take your knees along for the ride. Depending on your pronation level, you could need anywhere from 1 wedge, up to 3 or more. The more your heels collapse in, generally the more wedges you’ll need under your foot between the sole and cleat. This very much depends on how the rider feels. There’s also the odd case where you exhibit as pronation off the bike but supinate on the bike, causing your heels to roll to the outside. These issues can be difficult to resolve and take time to find what works.

6. Invest in mid-foot cleat adapters.

There’s one final solution that’s considered the holy grail of resolving foot pain across the ball of your foot. They’re called mid-foot cleat adapters. As the name suggests, they help you move your cleats back towards the centre of your shoe. Moving your cleats further back will have a knock-on affect on your saddle position. For that reason, it’s best done during your bike fit.

When it comes to fixing foot pain, one size doesn’t fit all.

These options can be used independently or in combination to help alleviate the pain in your feet. Some people may need all these options.

These are just some of the things we can do to help with foot pain. There are other issues that can lead to foot pain that aren’t so easy to resolve. Varicose veins, for instance, constrict blood flow to the feet and simply can't be resolved with foot fitting. Neuropathy is another health issue that can’t be resolved with a fit, although a fit might make you more comfortable.

Have questions? Send me an email. Or, if you’re ready to get fitted and comfortable on your bike, book a fit today.