You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Wondering if anyone else has had this issue: I bought a pair of Spesh Recon gravel/mtb shoes back in mid-April and have been having mild, niggling inner knee pain ever since, though I've only just made a 'doh' connection. It's been getting steadily more intrusive. Switching back to my old Mavic shoes stopped the pain instantly on an indoor trainer. Cleat position/orientation is identical.
Goggle suggests that the Specialized BG shoes angle the forefoot outwards from the horizontal by a few degrees to suit the estimated 90% of people who have forefoot pronation issues, but also tells me that some people end up with knee issues as a result, part of the other 10% who have a neutral foot stance I guess. Seems like I may be one of those people. Apparently you can correct the issue with an aftermarket Specialized valgus wedge that returns the forefoot to neutral angle. Might try that, might just go back to Mavic shoes, which I know suit my feet.
Just curious as to whether anyone else has experienced similar. Sat here typing this with mildly sore knees and a bit of grumpiness 🙁
It might just be getting used to the different shape, give it a few more rides and just be kind to the grumpy knee in the meantime, a bit of heat or massage etc.?
I've been experimenting with a Valgus wedge to correct my foot's inclination to roll out the way and disengage the big toe area. Theory is this improves engagement of muscles further up the chain if you're properly pushing off the big toe (which funnily enough then reduces my patella pain).
Anyway, point being, first few rides with the Valgus wedge I got some inner knee pain afterwards, but not any more, the muscles or tendons must just have adapted.
Also have Recons (2.0 with one boa) and earlier this year started to develop knee pain in left knee (randomly as ive had them 2 years now) and spent a while experimenting with different cleat positions with no improvement. Solution i found was backing off on how tight i was doing up the boa... little bit of give was needed and no issues at the moment
Me too. Exactly the same. Specialized BG shoes give me knee pain, Mavics don't. Shimano's are fine too. But I currently have 2 pairs of Mavics and one pair of 5:10s. All fine.
Me too. Exactly the same. Specialized BG shoes give me knee pain, Mavics don't. Shimano's are fine too. But I currently have 2 pairs of Mavics and one pair of 5:10s. All fine.
Thanks, I was starting to think I was being a little paranoid, but google suggests that it's not an uncommon issue.
I watch quite a lot of the bikefitjames stuff in YouTube. If he's to be believed, you're not the only one to suffer this. Neutral shoes and appropriate arch support to give proprioceptive feedback seems to be the preferred method
It might just be getting used to the different shape, give it a few more rides and just be kind to the grumpy knee in the meantime, a bit of heat or massage etc.?
I've had them since April, so I don't think it's an adaptation issue, just a steady, grumbly knee pain that's gradually worsened, worse on the right, but there on the left too. I'm going to revert to my Mavics and either sell the Recons or wedge them back into neutral.
I watch quite a lot of the bikefitjames stuff in YouTube. If he's to be believed, you're not the only one to suffer this. Neutral shoes and appropriate arch support to give proprioceptive feedback seems to be the preferred method
Cheers, I'll have a look at that. I use Bontrager footbeds - they're made by Superfeet I think - and they've always worked well for me for arch support.
Yup. Had exactly this issue. Had been using Sp BG shoes for years, but got to a point where knee pain and IT band wouldn't go away- and couldn't work out what it was from the usual suspects. Changed all my shoes over to normal neutral forefoot tilted designs and the pain went away almost instantly... I can see now that my feet naturally want to tilt the other way, so the inbuilt varus tilt was never going to help my alignment. They should market them with a health warning. Neutral shoes with custom arch support footbeds has sorted most of my bike fit issues - Sidas footbeds being a godsend...
They should market them with a health warning. Neutral shoes with custom arch support footbeds has sorted most of my bike fit issues - Sidas footbeds being a godsend...
Good to hear you're back to normal. I'm with your on the 'health warning', it wasn't until the penny dropped and I started looking into the details that I realised the forefoot angle was a thing and could be an issue. Even if they're right that the shoe suits 90% of users, it still means one in ten buyers are potentially going to have issues, presumably depending on mileage and susceptibility.
It's a little bit annoying, not least because it snuck up on me gradually. Hopefully it'll clear up a little more quickly. Switching shoes on the trainer was an instant fix for pain while pedalling, but I still have residual aches.
In case anyone's interested, covered in the very first bit of this YouTube video:
That's what happened to me. It wasn't instant pain, more a growing issue over time. Tried changing cleat and saddle positions before coming to the conclusion that it was the forefoot angle of the shoe. I think I then sold those shoes on for £20 in a train station. I didn't know about that 90% thing though. I just thought I had odd feet/knees as all my mates were happily wearing BG shoes.
I didn't know about that 90% thing though. I just thought I had odd feet/knees as all my mates were happily wearing BG shoes.
It was a sound-bite off the interweb, so might not be entirely accurate, but this is the Specialized explanation for the angled forefoot. I find it mildly ironic that a shoe designed to decrease knee strain may actually cause it, sigh...
The human body evolved to walk, not pedal. Issues with forefoot numbness, “hot foot”, arch collapse, medial and lateral knee pain, and instability—all of which erode efficiency, power output, endurance, and comfort, while potentially leading to injury—occur when humans wear traditional cycling shoes, clip in, and pedal for hours on end. We set our sights on solving these problems through design and validating the solution with science. It’s the proven Body Geometry method, after all.
Working closely with the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine, our in-house design squad set out to solve these issues one by one. So that we don’t stub our big toe while walking, the inside of our foot angles upward when we raise our foot. This angulation, called “varus”, is great for walking, but when riding, it causes significant lateral movement at the knee, which potentially decreases efficiency while pedaling and can lead to knee strain. It’s uncomfortable at best but can create painful injury. To solve this problem, the team developed an outsole with a Varus Wedge—a 1.5mm outward tilt to the outsole that stabilizes the forefoot during the pedal stroke and helps align the ankle, knee, and hip.
Just curious as to whether anyone else has experienced similar.Me too. Though i had foot pain as well, they have that bulge in the insole to "support your metetarsals" or whatever.
Just made my toes numb.
So i changed the insole, and got sore knees as well. Haven't used them since.
(Their early BG gloves with the massive gel pads were similarly awful.)
Strange, but we're all different i guess. I went shimano after years of using Spesh BG shoes. Shimano were odd giving me dodgy knees, so had to get adjustable Giro insoles with different arch inserts to change the angle of the arch. That worked-ish for a couple of years, but changed back to Spesh BG shoes a couple of years ago and i am once again happy riding all day
Have a read of Steve hogg’s blog posts about wedging, arch support and propreoception - quite detailed but similarly fascinating ! My spesh shoes fit my feet well but the canting etc not so … tried g8’s insoles with a yellow spesh wedge to neutralise the forefoot canting, then a fit involving custom insoles to level the forefoot, arch support and heel wedging - the difference was immediate and very surprising. Now have very happy feet which also means happy hips and knees too
Have a read of Steve hogg’s blog posts about wedging, arch support and propreoception - quite detailed but similarly fascinating
Thanks. It's a whole new world of micro detail I'd never considered until my knees started to grumble, mostly my shoes have just worked for me with the addition of Bontrager insoles and I've finished stuff like the Whitton wearing Spesh BG shoes without issues, though maybe that was before the whole canted forefoot was a thing. I'll have a read.
Telling that the first shoe - least recommended - on that Bikefit James vid above was the Specialized precisely because of the forefoot.
I've got sidi road shoes from the 90's with canted forefoot, a better degree of cant than BG though, as i've done 300km days with no issues.though maybe that was before the whole canted forefoot was a thing. I'll have a read.
I've got sidi road shoes from the 90's with canted forefoot, a better degree of cant than BG though, as i've done 300km days with no issues.
I've ordered some of the Specialized internal wedges to neutralise the slant, but I feel that the shoes and I now have trust issues. I may just eBay the things.