I bought some new Cleats and shoes to try and solve the foot pain issue I am having. The pain seems to be caused by the intense pressure I apply to my feet, not a joint or muscle pain. I have been using regular Shimano SPD cleats which have a small connection footprint. I bought a pair of Shimano SPD SL cleats which have a much larger connection footprint plus 15 degrees of float. These cleats were too wide to fit on my old shoes, so I had to get new shoes, I got a pair of Serfas Podium Road shoes. I ended up spending close to $200.00, so I hope this works. Since my wife Debbie went with me, I now have the added benefit of having her asking how the new pedals are working, she seems to think it was a waste of money. So now I have a bit more pressure riding on the outcome of this purchase.
June 16th ride, my first ride with the new pedal/shoe setup:
I think this was about the most painful ride I've had in a long time! My left foot felt like I was pushing barefooted on a steel bar for the last half of the trip. On the plus side my right foot had no numbness or pain at all.
Direct link to stats for this ride
June 17th ride:
I tried adjusting the cleats a bit, also loosened the shoe straps. I brought the cleat adjustment tool with me so I could stop and make further adjustments during the ride. Lot more comfortable this time, only a little pain plus some numbness. This ride had the extra benefit of having a nice hill, it raised my max speed to 37mph for the Musashi.
Direct link to stats for this ride
June 23rd ride:
It has been a stormy week, so I haven't had many chances to ride this week. This ride was great even though there were some strong 13 mph winds from the West, they didn't seem to affect me much, which is a great benefit of riding a recumbent. I also had no foot pain even though I was pushing hard against the wind.
Direct link to stats for this ride
It appears the new cleat/pedal setup is going to work, now I need to test on a longer trip.....
No comments:
Post a Comment