[Closed] Specialized body geometry insoles, how long do you give them?

The neutral ones should just replace your usual ones, I'd only use the more supportive if I had a diagnosis of abnormal foot arches or whateva.

I think it took me a summer to really settle in with them for long rides. Much less for the ‘odd’ feeling to go. It took longer to get used to not having them- I keep meaning to try but some more for the new shoes

I have flat feet so I use the green ones (i.e. least flat) to supprot my floppy flippers

They made a big difference almost immediately but that was because walking/riding with normal insoles would leave me with really sore feet for hours afterwards. I guess if your problems are milder it may take more time for benefit (or lack of) to become obvious

I have the blue ones and would notice the insole touching my arch, I cant remember when I stopped noticing! Been using them for over a year and no longer notice it, I can say the issues which caused me to get them went almost straight away

I've got fairly high arches and get pain in my big toes on longer rides. Is this the sort of thing that might be helped by these insoles ?

Tangential question. I’ve used these but, as with any other off-the-shelf insoles I’ve found, the raised section is extremely short and feels more like having an egg stuck in your shoe than having a better-supported foot. Anyone found the same, and an inexpensive solution, without going for full custom orthotics?

OP, why have you put BG insoles in, is it just to give them a try or to resolve a specific issue?

if the former, maybe some time, maybe never
if the latter probably immediately, assuming they're the correct solution

i use the full fat green ones after seeing a physio and working out that these would straighten my leg whilst pedalling and save my knees and notice immediately if i haven't got them in

I persevered with BG soles for a while as needed a bit of arch support for high arches, the blue ones didn't work for me as it felt the support was in the wrong place and actually hurt my feet more.
A better affordable solution as recommended by physio were SOLE thermoformable insoles, around £35, popular for walking boot fitting - you will need the thin ones for tight fitting cycling shoes. I find these very good, you put them in the oven and they mould to your foot shape, and they've very comfortable.
https://yoursole.co.uk/products/active-thin

An even better solution at around £80 per insole I found are the Sidas bike specific insoles, which are made at fitting centres with equipment to take moulds of your foot shape. I find these perfect and now won't use anything else..
https://www.sidas.com/en/insoles/144-bike-custom.html

Both of above cured persistent knee pain and IT issues & plantar fasciitis- but be aware that if you're using Specialized BG shoes that they have an inbuilt Varus tilt- I'd been using BG shoes for years and couldn't get rid of knee pain - Switched back to normal neutral shoes and issues went away. Specialized used to admit that the virus tilt only worked for about 85% of people, not so obvious anymore in the marketing.

Dont really know what my specific issue is. I have high arches, a knackered knee, a duck foot, foot tilts outwards when I get tired, I use flat pedals, after a proper ride my knee hurts, my hip flexor is really tight and my big toe knuckle hurts.

I need to see a professional but really dont know where to start, I feel like I need a physio bike fitter, not one or the other, both.

Looking for any little helps I can get.

I like the sidas ones as well despite their spendiness. Sigh.

Not sure where you are based, but a proper bike fit will include looking at your flexibility etc to help ascertain the correct bike fit. If you are based near the south coast, I can highly recommend  https://www.vankru.com/

With regard to the insoles, I would not be just guessing about them. A good Specialized dealer should have the pressure system to tell you which insole you require.

I'm fairly familiar with cycling foot injuries having had them, and worked in the industry fitting cycling shoes among other things - but am in no way a physio, and would always advise seeing one. However, in most cases with high arches, because one is placing force through the ball of the foot only during cycling in an unnatural way rather than equally spread in the foot when standing, you are asking the arch to do a lot and in most case if unsupported the arch will flex rolling the knee inwards, potentially a cause of knee, hip, or plantar fascia tears in the arch as a flexible foot's arch collapses. Supportive footwear that keeps the foot in a neutral position is key for these sort of issues and it's worth bearing in mind that often flat pedal skate type shoes don't always offer the same support as rigid cycling shoes, but they can often be significantly improved with the correct insoles.

General foot instability on the pedal can easily be the result of the very common in cyclists over tight hip flexors or glute weakness, or tight hamstrings - a good physio should easily be able to diagnose this sort of thing and the good thing is that theres loads of easy stretches to ease those things...It's well worth looking into because in fact even as a rider gets stronger they are placing more load through the foot- there's a good reason that pro cyclists say that the most important piece of kit is their footwear...

I feel like I need a physio bike fitter, not one or the other, both.

http://www.njdsportsinjuries.co.uk/

Recommended, when it's possible to do such things again obvs.

They sold me some other brand insoles and I felt an immediate improvement, sounds similar to JoB's issue.

This:

A good Specialized dealer should have the pressure system to tell you which insole you require.

If you can get into a local spesh place they have a board you rest your bare feet on and it shows you a imprint of how your foot sits naturally and they recommend based on this, if you go along and do it and it shows you have nothing going on atleast youve ticked off one possible cause.

The board test can be replicated if you google foot arch type there is a few ways to check at home.

I tried the blue ones and preferred them straight away, as they support more of (the arch of) your foot. They did what Spesh claimed - stop your foot collapsing under power.

Then I tried the greens and that was a closer call but still good, so I'm on greens in everything now.

I also tweak the 'contour' by having a second (non-BG) insole underneath, which I trim in various places to remove any high-spots in the BG insole that sits on top of it. For example, I broke my right foot when I was younger and the outside metatarsal needs to be given a tad more room in the shoe.

I've got the insoles guided by the pressure pad.

Or just google 'running wet arch test' as you can easily do this at home to determine what foot type you are as a start point, the principles the same although running mechanics obviously differ and insoles good for running will rarely be the same as for cycling - but the key is to support the foot in its natural neutral position. An often quoted guide if you need arch support (not everyone does) is that you should be able to just feel the support when standing in a cycling shoe but it should disappear when pedalling, ie: you don't want to be pedalling feeling that any pressure is on the arch as this will hurt, and is why arch support in the wrong position is counter productive. A really good bike fit will measure your feet in length, ball, arch position and can even recommend brands for foot shape - the levels to go to depend on how much your feet are troubling you.

Be aware it is a minefield and I've found the perfect insole in one brand of shoe may not work in another due to differing shapes and arch support already in some brands outsoles - it's a case of finding what works and sticking with it.

Plus a huge caveat that it may not be the shoes/insoles at all causing problems - a good test is to observe your knee stability when you perform a one leg squat type move, ie: balance on one leg and bend the knee as if doing a squat (carefully) if you wobble about all over the place its a good sign of glue strength/ hip stability issues. The more stability one can achieve the less strain on everything in the chain between saddle and pedal....the sort of thing a physio can help when the world opens up again.