Princess_Allez

Does anyone swear by them? Is there much, if any, difference in feel between the Kontrol and BLK models?

canklecat

Is there any particular problem you're needing to resolve? Metatarsal hotspots? Arch support fit? Heel slippage? I've had pesky foot problems since I was a kid and have tried all kinds of stuff, from custom made and expensive orthotics to custom made shoes to off the shelf stuff from Dr. Scholl's. The expensive stuff was almost always a waste of money.

Most of the Solestar insoles claim to have a rigid base. Those may be superfluous with most road-specific shoes, which already have fairly rigid soles and foot beds. My Scott and Fizik soles are rated something like 7 in stiffness and seem about right for me. I wouldn't try to fix a too-flexy sole with a rigid insole. The problem is the shoe design. If my walking shoes are too flexy and soft for cycling, I can't fix that with insoles.

But soles that are rigid can be made comfortable with an appropriate insole -- assuming there's enough room inside without constricting blood flow to the toes. That's a problem I have trying to make summerweight road shoes serve as winter shoes -- adding socks just constricts my circulation.

My main problems are metatarsal hotspots (from those rigid, supportive soles) and arch support. My feet are very narrow and sometimes I'll fix width fit problems with Moleskin and similar stuff, but that hasn't been necessary with my Scott and Fizik shoes.

Best value I've found in an insole is the Profoot Miracle, which costs a whole $10 or less from Walgreens. Lightest insole I've found. It's thin resilient and dense foam, not gel. Solved my problems with metatarsal hotspots and arch cramps. I usually don't notice hotspots in casual rides but when I tag along on faster groups where there's no coasting and hardly a break in pedaling, that's when the hotspots show up. The Profoot Miracle solved that problem.

Princess_Allez

My left foot seems to be pronating, even with my current set of Specialized ++ (medium) support insoles. I'm having unnecessary soreness from the misalignment of my pedal stroke.

I believe a rigid insole, like the Solestar, will prevent my foot from pronating. They also have a 6 week return period if you aren't satisfied with their product. I figure it can't hurt to give it a shot.

canklecat

Ah, pronation is something a well designed insole could help with. Especially if the shoes have a rigid enough bed to cooperate with the orthotic. I needed that type of orthotic as a kid.

There may also be ways to shim or modify cleats and pedals to help correct some problems. I'm considering that myself. My legs are technically the same length, or close enough for a fallible biological entity, but due to multiple injuries my legs are effectively different lengths for purposes of cycling (tilted hips). And another reason why I don't run.

But I'm in physical therapy now and about to try a new chiropractor to see if the slight leg length difference can be sorted out without orthotics or modifying my shoes, pedals, etc. I've even considered trying different crank arm lengths.

BTW, while there are limits to what we can accomplish with physical therapy, there may be some exercises that could help a bit with pronation. Of course the limitation to PT is that any improvements to posture, ergonomics, etc., tend to fall apart when we get tired. I was ready to quit PT after 3 weeks of feeling no improvements, but by the fourth week I began to notice improvements. Now after 8 weeks I'm feeling significant improvements, enough so that I've needed to adjust my bike fit to suit my "new" body.