yet to find someone with this numbness

baturjan

my toes start feeling numbness 15-20 min. sitting in the saddle.

What I've done/doing:
1) Total tanding time of one minute for every 15 min. keeps it to a minimum.

2) I've tried various saddles but none have worked yet. The best saddle yet (not cured by any means) is the Fizik Arione. I thought by measuring my sit bones at the LBS and trying a Specialized Alias saddle would work, but 12 minutes into it and I was going numb.

3) Wearing gel bibs from Performance has giving the bigest difference from any product.

A friend told me to find out if it's blood circulation numbness or nerve numbness (stop and pinch the area, if it hurts, then it's blood. If it doesn't hurt then it's nerves.). It's nerves.

Anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions on why this is happening?

Eden

Lots of people get numb toes, but I think it usually has more to do with your shoes and/or cleats than anything else? The easiest thing to do is make sure you don't fasten your shoes too tight in the first place - feet have a tendancy to swell a bit as you ride.

gclark8

Shoes too narrow.

Like runners, bike shoes need to be wider than street shoes. I am selling mine for just that reason. (Shimano SH-M038, 10/45, $75, Perth only)

__________________
Cheers,
George.

baturjan

I agree at keeping the toebox strapped loose. I thought that it might be the shoes too, however, I've tried two different shoes, which feeel great (plenty loose) and I still get numb. The other thing is that when I stand and ride the numbness goes away. If it where the shoes you would think that the numbness might get worse when I stand because that puts even more pressure on my feet.

Hookyrider

I agree withthe posts made already - generally it's the shoe, possibly the pedal (some folks get bothered with pressure from a small cleat/pedal interface), and then there is good old fashioned mashing - which will casue numbness. If you are having the other issues, mashing will only serve to agravate the problem.

Make sure you have a good shoe fit, room in the toe box, but not excessive. Can you stand on your cleats? How does your toes feel?

Then if all feels hunky dory, how do you peddle? Like the pistons of a giant steam engine? Up and down with no scrape at the bottom, your knees not being "thrown" to the handle bar?

HR

baturjan

I don't mash hard on the pedals. I ride with a higher cadence and circular motion.

I have Ultegra pedals for the bigger platform.

I moved the cleats back a little and loosened the velcro strap all the way, par someone's suggestion. That did help some.

I've since taken a closer look at my shoes. I can stand on the cleats no problem. However, I think I should have gotten a "wide" version. I'm wearing Sidi. The shoes felt so good right out of box, and they still feel good. However, I think they feel good because the "leather" stretches to compensate for the width of my foot without feeling uncomfortably tight. I can feel under my foot that the sole of the shoe should be wider. My foot actually is an "E" width.

Any recommendations on a brand that sells a "wide" version?

otherworld

I’m confused here….. You say it’s your toes that get numb but you are talking about the whole saddle thing and your shorts etc, and yet the replies are about shoes. Are you really talking about your penis and calling it your toes or am I missing something?

Jay.

baturjan

Jay, when I wrote "toes", I meant toes. I figured the saddle was the issue because it goes away when I stand and ride.

gclark8

Sidi Mega range is E+.

Also, crank length, how long and how tall are you? Your circles may be a little big.
Seat position, fore/aft, try a little further forward, 1/4-3/8".
Next, seat height, try a little (1/2") higher, if too much, then drop by a1/4".

__________________
Cheers,
George.

Felt_Rider

I wished I had known about a wearing a wider toe box in all my shoes, not just the cycling shoes.

I now have a neuroma in my right foot because (work shoes) the tightness of the shoes that I was wearing irritated the nerve between the 3rd and 4th toes (known as Morton's Neuroma).

The general solution for people that suffer from this is to change all their shoes to a wider toe box especially athletic shoes.

The next solution is to use special inserts that have a metatarsial pad that causes the toes to spread out thus relieving pressure off the nerves.

More severe conditions like mine need medical treatment.

I chose to have alcohol injections in my foot which causes sclerosis of the nerve or in other words blocks the pain signal from the nerve to the brain and the body reduces the inflammed nerve. I had a series of 6 injections every other week and it did help, but I still get slight numbness and sometimes a slight "hot spot" in that foot.

For general athletic shoes I highly suggest New Balance because they generally take this into consideration and are often shown on foot care web sites. For cycling shoes I am not sure, but I have been fortunate that my current shoes fit well with the first strap loose.