bought bike shoes, got numb feet...

Originally Posted by aicabsolut

I wear Specialized shoes--I have 2 pairs, one women's road style with Keo cleats for my bike and one mens/unisex style with SPD cleats for spinning. Depending on the spin bike (slight pedal differences), insoles, and wedges, I get different foot/toe problems. I also had to do some tweaking when I put the Looks on my bike in order to keep these problems from happening there.

A couple of thoughts based on what has helped me (not addressing the size/sock thickness issue):
First, if you have a valgus foot issue, then the Specialized shoe could tilt your forefoot in too much of a varus angle (b/c of the Specialized BG). But this wedge is very minor with the basic insoles, so if you're tilting out too far with your outer forefoot, try moving your cleats to the outside of the shoe, putting more of the foot over the pedal (instead of inward, which will put your 1st metatarsal joint closer to center).

Another thing, as has been mentioned, is cleat angle. If you want to ride a tiny bit toed out or straight and your current setup has you too much toe-in, then your foot is going to try to twist inside the shoe and mash your little toes against the outer part of the shoe. Even with toe clips, if you can't move your foot in the cage to the correct angle, the effect is the same. Also be sure your cages and the farthest forward strap of the shoe are not too tight..your feet might expand some while riding.

Finally, you might want to get some of the BG insoles and try the varus/valgus wedges and see what happens. Or use orthotics (if you have any) inside the shoe instead.

As for ball of the foot hot spots, I find this is often caused by the seat being too low. Or, you might be dropping one hip and thus putting too much weight over one leg, causing you to mash a little too much at the bottom of the stroke. Another possibility based on my experience is that the cleats are too far forward (or your foot isn't far enough into the toe cage). Having the ball of the foot slightly in front of the center of the pedal, in conjunction with proper seat height and staying 'light' on the pedals, helps eliminate ball of the foot hotspots.

Check out some posts on the fitness Q&As at cyclingnews.com. There's information about cleat position, leg and foot abnormalities, and how to figure out what's really going on based on things like where calluses may be forming on your feet (under the ball, out at 5th metatarsal, etc).