Fstop

I've been wanting to try out riding with clipless pedals for a while, and now that I've gotten a new road bike I finally made the leap. I got some new (to me) cleats, shoes, and pedals (Shimano M520 pedals with SM-SH56 clips in Northwave shoes; all used), and put them on the bike a few days ago. I spent a while working on getting the angle of the cleats right, and think I've got them angled properly (after pedaling for a good stretch I try to rotate each foot both to the left and right, and I have approximately similar amounts of rotation in each direction before the pedals unclip).

I took them for a test ride, and for the first mile or two everything was fine. Then I noticed that the muscles/connective tissue on the lower-outside-rear portion of my left foot was starting to hurt. I tried shifting the cleat position so that the cleat was more towards the outside of the foot, but that didn't seem to help.



The red oval is what was hurting during the ride. The next day the blue circle (soft tissue on the bottom of my foot in front of my left heel) is aching, and that whole area of my foot is sore. My right foot is 100% fine. I've ridden the bike with the new shoes/clips twice for about 3 miles each time, and the same thing happened both times. This foot pain didn't happen when I rode the same bike for about 18 miles in sneakers (on flat pedals) last week.

Any ideas on what might be causing this?

One note is that I don't know what size the shoes are; they may be a bit too large for me. They slide on very easily, and even with somewhat thick socks and tightening the straps all the way down my foot can move up a bit in the toe box area when I'm pulling up (but I've never worn cycling shoes before, so don't know how they should fit).

Carbonfiberboy 

IME cycling shoes should fit tightly, so tight that they are a bit uncomfortable to walk in. My best fit has my toes in light contact with the front of the toe box when I'm walking. When I ride, there's no contact at all there. IMO the problem is your shoes, which don't fit at all properly or which are not well built. I see that someone replaced the insoles with Superfeet insoles. When shoes are built and sized properly, the stock insoles should work best, so whoever had these before you didn't like them either.

For a second opinion, it might be that your feet are not well conditioned for much of anything, and the use of a fixed cleat position puts more stress on the muscles of your feet than you are used to. If you regularly hike in the mountains this isn't the problem, but if not, maybe so. In any case, try moving the cleats back to the rear cleat attachment bar and moving that all the way to the back of the slot. That should have you riding more comfortably in poorly fitted shoes.

Fstop

Thanks Carbonfiberboy! Sounds like the shoes may be too big; I've ordered a couple of new sets to see if I can find a better fitting pair.

I'll take credit for the insole replacement ... thought they might help.

Regarding foot conditioning, I bike, walk, and roller skate regularly, so I think my feet are in pretty good shape.

I'll try moving the cleats back more. If I do find a better fitting pair, would you recommend I start them out with the cleats all the way at the back too?

Carbonfiberboy 

No. I like my cleats centered even with the ball of my big toe. Others like theirs placed differently. You have to decide for yourself what works for you.

fietsbob

Shoe repair shops have a shoe stretching tool..