Flounce

hi all,

I'm just starting to get into long distance cycling / randonneuring, longest rides are now around 150 miles, and for the past year I've been battling achilles tendonitis.

I have had a professional bike fit but an expert in my area, and he has moved my Speedplay cleats as far back as possible, lowered the saddle etc.

On my part, I've been religious about stretching and doing physical therapy on my achilles in the form of eccentric lengthening exercises (stair heel drop).

All the above has gotten me from about 3 hours in the saddle to about 12 hours in the saddle before getting achilles tendon pain. Which is good enough for your typical recreational rider, but I aspire to double centuries and beyond (1200km 2019 Paris Brest Paris).

My bike fitter would like to make additional adjustments, but I feel that I'd like to try mid-arch cleat position to decrease achilles tendon stress.

Aside from drilling holes in the current Shimano road shoes, I'm looking for affordable shoes that allow mid sole cleat position. I use speedplays but am open to switching to other cleats.

SO , after that long intro, my question is: are there shoe companies that make road cycling shoes that allow mid-sole cleat position other than D2 Custom Shoes ? D2 appears to be ridiculously expensive, $1000 a pair.

Thanks.

P.S.: If you know a bike fitter in Southern California who has experience with drilling holes in the cleats and fitting me to my bike with these mid-sole cleats, let me know. I love my bike fitter, but just wondering if there are others with more experience with mid-sole cleats in particular.

fietsbob

How about platform pedals and stiff sole flat shoes , without the Fancy hardware ,

since the industry designs around the ball of the foot Over the Pedal axle,

And that has been the way Cycling Competitve Coaching has been advising cyclists for over a half Century



and you want something else..

Hand made Traditional leather Cycling shoes like made by REW Reynolds. Products | REW Reynolds, Cycling Shoes, Leather Cycling Shoes, Lace Up Cycli

Or Maybe You are not doing enough warm up stretches ? Sign up for some Yoga courses.





...

IK_biker

//snip

Bob, "warm-up" and "stretch" have no business in the same sentence.

Sorry for the thread hijack.

Secret Squirrel

Have you tried the Speedplay "CLEAT EXTENDER BASE PLATE KIT" It gives you 14 mm more rear adjustment. I am currently using this with good results (Mortons Neuroma)
SPEEDPLAY : HIGH PERFORMANCE PEDALS

Carbonfiberboy 

Not so. Dynamic stretching is now used by elite athletes more than passive stretching. For the Achilles, see:
The Most Important Pre-Run Warmup: A Calf/Achilles Dynamic Stretch | The Balanced Runner?

I do 30 standing one-leggeds twice a week with each foot. Highly advised. Might fix the OP right up over a period of a few months. One sees bodybuilders at the gym doing seated weighted calf raises. Not a good idea.

berner

I've been using KT tape on and off for a few months on a cranky knee and have found it helpful. The tape is so comfortable I forget it is there and while costly if used often, it does last through several showers. Achilles Tendonitis - KT Tape - Kinesiology Tape For Strength and Support I've also just begun using it on the archilles tendon, as shown in the video of the link, to unload my calf muscle a bit which has grown very tight. No report yet on the effectiveness in that use. I also do dynamic stretches of the calf muscle and find this helpful.