Shuffleman

I developed a hot spot on the side of my left foot a few weeks ago. I have heard of them before but never fully appreciated them until recently. I have changed nothing on my bike for two or more years. I am wearing the same shoes that I have worn for 5 or more years. Will moving the cleat forward help? Any ideas as to what would cause this in light of the fact that there have been no alterations to my equipment, riding style or mileage? After 7-8 weeks of hoping it would go away, I thought I would search for some answers.

Barrettscv 

Your shoes might be breaking down.

joejack951

Or your cleat(s) may have shifted. Happened to me.

DrIsotope

That's what happened to me. Fine one day, hot spot on my right foot the next, and that hot spot kept getting worse. New shoes, and not a hot spot since.

OP, don't measure the life of your shoes in months or years. A shoe on a shelf lasts virtually forever. My pair of Giro Republics lasted about 12,000 miles, by which point the soles were really flexy and my feet got really angry. For me, the right shoe went first, because that's my unclip-at-a-stoplight foot.

nycphotography

mine end up being a combination of worn out pedals, bearings, and cleats and shoes that had the shoe rocking left to right and shoes that had stretched too large in the toe box letting the foot slide around inside the shoe. I guess 9000 miles was about the life limit for them, though I may be able to rebuild the speedplay pedals with new bowties and bearings.

Basically replaced everything below the knee and the problem was resolved... but it didn't fully go away until the last part got swapped.

TimothyH

Time for new insoles. Five years is a long time.

Always do the easy and cheap thing first.


-Tim-

nycphotography

yeah I started with insoles first. lol

Rowan

Like any shoes, bike shoes will loosen the older and more use they get. I have worn out three or four pairs of shoes... and all of them have been favourites.

Some of the issue maybe the plastic/fibreglass/CF sole material has started to flex more than it did when new. The stitching of the upper may have stretched -- look at the thread holes to see if they are enlarged. And look and feel the fabric of the uppers to see how well it currently supports itself.

Also have a look down while you are pedalling and see how you foot is in relation to the crank at the bottom of the stroke. There is a chance, if you are like me, that your ankle is starting to turn outwards which can change the whole position of your foot in the shoe because of the looseness of the uppers.

Shuffleman

Looks like new shoes are in order. Hopefully that will cure this. I will check out my pedal stroke at the bottom as well.
How long do these hot spots typically last for?

berner

Sometimes the equipment wears out but sometimes the body changes. I had my shoe size increase after I began hiking and backpacking. Like the old Chinese philosopher said, impermanence is the natural condition of the universe. This applies to feet also.

Rowan

A couple of days at the most. Otherwise, you might need to consult someone in the medical field.

ReneV

I started getting hot foot out of the blue, too, and I went through many of the same `fit' considerations as above. This made things worse. In the end, I fixed the problem simply by loosening the shoes when the hot foot started up.

Pirkaus

Did your shoes get wet? I had this problem this spring after getting caught in the rain one day. I rewet my (North Wave) shoes, stuffed them with paper and allowed them to dry. Problem solved. YMMV

black_box 

This might help, loosen the straps and possibly wear thinner socks. When tightening the straps down, put all of your weight on the foot (which spreads it out more) and then lock them in place.