numb toes while ridin road but not mountain?

[peterslovo]

Recently got a new pair of shoes - Specialized Comp MTB for riding both my mountain and road bike. I have Time cleats on them for my Atacs. Went for a good hard 1.5 hour mountain bike ride - comfy, no problems.

Then went out on the road bike - my toes went numb after about 15-20 minutes. The shoes seem to fit well, and I have no problems on my MTB, just on the roadie...what gives? Never had this problem before, should I play around with cleat setup on the shoes? Seems like they are where they need to be, but I've never experienced numb toes before.

[mntlion]

to tight over the instep? that cuts off blood flow quickly and toes go numb

[Vinman]

could seat height be a difference, ie higher road saddle height?

Other than that and what mntlion said not sure why you would get numbness on one bike and not the other.

If it were cleat position it seesm like it should be causing it on both bikes

[AfroMullet]

On a MTB you normally get off and walk every once in a while, And you change your weight around a lot. Both of those could lead to increased blood flow.


Maybe check out some Superfeet insoles for your shoes, and like mntlion said, make sure the straps aren't too tight.

[peterslovo]

Maybe check out some Superfeet insoles for your shoes, and like mntlion said, make sure the straps aren't too tight.

Tried my superfeet for last night's road ride...a slight bit better, but still went numb. I'm trying to move the cleats back a bit for today's ride, we'll see how that goes...

[fondigley]

I have experienced the same feeling in my specialized road shoes. I think they were just too tight and they are a half size too small. But my specialized mountain shoes feel perfect.

Has anyone had the numbness in the hands? I usually get that on my morning road ride to work. Any thoughts.

[peterslovo]

i've been getting that a bit too...have a new road bike (new to road biking...been riding mtb a long time) and am working on proper fit, etc. Been trying different things like adding removing headtube spacers, turning the stem upside down to get more/less upright position, and altering the angle of the bars and location of the grips.

I'm getting closer, but it's not perfect yet. I'll give it a couple more tries, and if that doesn't work, then it's to my LBS for a proper fitting!

[AfroMullet]

for the hands:

make sure your seat is at the correct angle
make sure you have the correct stem angle/length
move your hands as often as possible
wiggle your fingers while riding (don't just have a death-grip)
try riding with / without gloves, or with different gloves

[scoober]

I cross over my MTB shoes for road use as well. Sidi Dominators on Ritchey SPD clone pedals. On longer road rides I will get the occaisional forefoot numbness, and I have just been attributing it to the small profile of the pedal.

My theory is that even on long MTB rides you are standing, sitting, pedal, pedal, hold, pedal, ratchet, hold, corner, etc... so it gives your feet some variation, and the small pedal platform is not that detrimental. But on longer road rides where you are most likely hammering and spinning constantly, the bend of your foot over the small platform may be causing some numbness.

One of these days when the budget allows for dedicated road shoes and pedals, I am expecting this problem to go away.

[Viva]

for the hands:

wiggle your fingers while riding (don't just have a death-grip)
try riding with / without gloves, or with different gloves

There's an idea. I used to ride with gloves many years ago and seem to recall bouts of hand/finger numbness.

As far as your feet go, your position on the road bike is obviously different and this can be for a variety of reasons- crank arm length, saddle position- fore-aft, cleat position...

[hev]

I think scoober's assesment is right. try moving the placement of the cleat on your sole. I have had luck making my shoes/pedals more comfy this way.

[Cornholio]

Maybe I'll try that! My toes go numb every time I ride, but I've never done anything about it.

[Darkside]

I'm gonna second scoober's analysis. Much smaller pedal platform plus constant pressure at a higher cadence would definetly lead to toe numbness. I've had the same problem when I rode SPD's and Sidi mountain shoes on the road.

As for hand numbness, you probably have too much of your upper body weight centered over your hands, i.e. you're not stretched out enough. A good rule is that when you're in your comfortable cycling position, you should be able to look down and draw a line between your eyes, the crack between the stem and the faceplate, and the front hub. Take your bike to be fit at a reliable shop, it's the best $50 you'll spend, especially if you're having problems.

[peterslovo]

So, ended up moving the cleats slightly farther back towards the back of my foot, and did a 2.5 hr group MTB ride last night. No problems with numbness at all during the trail stuff, except for the 1/2 hour road part - the toes started to go a bit there.

Seems like the constant pedaling in the same motion on the road triggers the numbness. Going to try the road bike this afternoon and see how that goes - I think it might be the shoes...

[SkiOrDie]

It's always my brain that goes numb on a multi-hour road ride.

Seriously, constant reps of the exact same movement could be part of it, especially if the strap over the top of your arch is very tight.

But, it really is the brain that goes numb.... no trees to dodge, rocks to hope, posion oak to roll in....