Educational Articles

Cycling Shoe Surgery

Posted By Robyn Hughes, ND

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The above content is for educational or informational purposes only and is not intended to replace or augment professional medical instruction, diagnosis, or treatment. Read full disclaimer here.

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Comments
February 13, 2018
Dick Felton

I actually did the surgery that you suggest on a set of SIDI Maxi shoes and I must say that, with the insert out, I have lots of room—they are more comfortable for sure. I still get some hotspots, but I am sure it is not from the shoe being too narrow. SO, what to try now? I tried using my Correct Toes inside my cycling shoes, but the shoes are just a little too narrow for them to be comfortable on longer than 100 km rides. I also have Pedag metatarsal pads and Strutz foot pads. I have also started to wear toe socks while cycling. Do you have a recommendation on where to go from here? Thanks for all the great products and help. My feet are healing!

February 13, 2018
Natural Footgear

Hi, Dick,

Thank you for your comment. We’re glad to hear that your feet are healing!

One thing we recommend to ensure a more comfortable ride is to combine foot-healthy athletic shoes (www.naturalfootgear.com/collections/mens-shoes) with Catalyst platform pedals. Please check out our Catalyst Pedals Review article for more info about this great product for all types of cyclists:

www.naturalfootgear.com/blogs/product-info/catalyst-pedals-review

I hope this info helps! Please let us know if you have any additional questions. Happy pedaling!

Cheers,
Andrew Potter

March 02, 2018
Kevin

I found this article because it mentioned soccer, and I was hoping to find wide toe box soccer cleats or some other solution.

I’ve played soccer for many years but had to stop last year due the development of a bunion. Since early January, I’ve been wearing Correct Toes, using minimalist shoes exclusively, and doing the stretches and massages daily, and the situation has already improved a lot!

I’m very happy with this and will wait patiently for my bunion to recover even more, but I’m in my early thirties and would love to play soccer again someday. Do you have any advice about how to achieve this goal? Any thoughts on shoe options? Will the impact of the ball and/or opponents adversely affect the bunion?

Thanks!

March 02, 2018
Natural Footgear

Hi, Kevin,

Thank you so much for your question. It’s great to hear that you’ve been experiencing some positive results using a natural approach to bunion care. Terrific!

Unfortunately, very few companies and manufacturers are addressing the conventional shape of sports-specific footwear. At the moment, we don’t know of any brands making a foot-shaped soccer cleat. I think your best bet, at this point, is to try using a foot-healthy athletic shoe (such as the ones we offer on our site: www.naturalfootgear.com/collections/mens-shoes) in combination with your Correct Toes when easing back into soccer playing. I realize that, without the cleated sole, this may put you at a competitive disadvantage, but I think rehabilitating your toes and protecting your big toe problem area is the top priority here.

I hope this information has been helpful. Please let us know if you have any additional questions moving forward!

Cheers,
Andrew Potter

October 19, 2018
Daniel

Any recommendations for ski boots? Those things are terrible, but I love skiing.

October 19, 2018
Natural Footgear

Hi, Daniel,

Thank you for your comment. At this time, I’m not aware of any foot-healthy ski boots, either for cross-country skiing or downhill skiing.

My best recommendation is to bring Correct Toes toe spacers with you to the lodge or hut to wear between sessions, and to be sure you’re wearing some foot-healthy shoes or boots before and after skiing. It’s all about doing whatever you can outside of skiing to ensure strong and healthy feet.

If you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to reach back out to us!

All best,
Marty Hughes, DC

October 22, 2018
Boris

Hello,

I’m here because I’m just starting in with cycling and I consider myself a minimalist runner, and I therefore want to use minimalist cycling shoes.

I wonder if anything has changed since the time since this article was written regarding cycling shoes?

If not, I think I’ll look for some suitable barefoot shoes to go with Catalyst Pedals.

Thanks!

October 22, 2018
Natural Footgear

Hi, Boris,

Thank you for reaching out to us with your comment. Not a whole lot has changed in the world of cycling footwear since this article was last updated. We are aware of a couple of groups hoping to bring healthier cycling shoes to the market, but thus far, we haven’t ourselves seen or handled any samples or prototypes. If anything changes on that front, we’ll certainly update this article to reflect the new offerings.

Foot-healthy athletic shoes and Catalyst Pedals are still the best option for pedaling, in our opinion.

I hope this info helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Kind regards,
Marty Hughes, DC

October 22, 2018
Hansen

Hi,

Really enjoyed your article here. I do not find much on the internet regarding flat-soled shoes and cycling. If I were to make a custom cycling shoe with a carbon sole, would you recommend a flat sole, no tapering toe boxes, no toe spring, and zero heel elevation?

October 22, 2018
Natural Footgear

Hi, Hansen,

Thank you for your comment! I’m glad that you enjoyed the article.

Yes, indeed, your plan for the custom cycling shoe sounds excellent. You might also consider a midfoot cleat position to get the most out of the foot and lower body during the pedal stroke.

If you have any other questions, please do let us know!

Kind regards,
Marty Hughes, DC

December 29, 2018
Eric Pinard

Louis Garneau has come up with a fix for the toe box problem:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=37zXrMuJN4c

I got a model with the X-Comfort Zone and it has fixed my problems without using the scalpel.

December 29, 2018
Natural Footgear

Hi, Eric,

Thank you for your comment. The Louis Garneau X-Comfort Zone looks interesting, and I can see how it might be helpful for ball of foot tightness, but it still doesn’t solve the major problems associated with conventional cycling footwear. These shoes still spring the toes and hold the big toe in a bunion configuration. An interesting attempt, but in my opinion, the shoes are not there yet.

Kind regards,
Marty Hughes, DC

February 21, 2021
David

I just discovered your article on cycling shoes. I am the principal inventor of a new science-based technology that potentiates human performance with what I call bio-engineering principles. The first application of the technology to a consumer product is a road bike shoe. The shoe goes far beyond anything you have discussed and provides improvement in force transfer in the order of 25% with 360 degree power. The shoe is now in the pre-production stage. I am cautiously optimistic that it may make it to market in 2019.

February 21, 2021
Natural Footgear

Hi, David,

Thank you for your comment. What you’re describing sounds rather interesting! Please do report back to us with any updates.

Kind regards,
Robyn Hughes, ND

February 21, 2021
Dean Reimer

For a few years now I have been looking, unsuccessfully, for cycling shoes that have no toe spring. I have hallux limitus (darned close to hallux rigidus, really) and long rides with my toe forced into extension can cause pain for days afterward. Anyway, I was googling again today and found that a company called Lintaman has recently introduced a completely flat-soled shoe called the Minimal. You might check into this and consider adding it to the options on this page. Thanks for the great information!

February 21, 2021
Natural Footgear

Hi, Dean,

Thank you for posting your comment. And thank you for sharing a bit about your experience with cycling shoes to date. We are familiar with Lintaman cycling shoes, and that model you mentioned, the Minimal, is indeed zero drop, which is excellent, but the toe box of this cycling shoe still tapers quite a bit (certainly, more than we’d be comfortable using). If Lintaman could work out the toe box to be truly healthy-foot-shaped, this model would be pretty fantastic. Perhaps that’s still to come. If it does, we’d happily incorporate this cycling shoe into the body of the article.

Cheers!
Robyn Hughes, ND

February 21, 2021
Josh

Fantastic info, thank you! I have moderate bunions on both feet, and I’m currently shopping for my first pair of bike shoes. I’ve been dreading the fit and pain. I did not realize shoe surgery was a thing!!! I will be getting that shoe stretching tool and stretching ALL of my shoes. Also, Louis Garneau has a feature called “X-Comfort” on some other of their shoes: They’ve sliced out a chunk of toe box and replaced it with elastic. I might try these. But it’s good to know I can do it myself if needed.

February 21, 2021
Natural Footgear

Hi, Josh,

Thank you for your comment! I’m glad to hear that you found the article helpful. That’s interesting about the Louis Garneau cycling shoe feature you mentioned. Sounds interesting! If you have any follow-up questions about cycling shoe surgery, please don’t hesitate to reach back out to us.

Cheers,
Robyn Hughes, ND

February 22, 2021
Natasha

Hi. What about Bont? In the US, you can get them made with a flat, wide last. Also Luck shoes from Spain, and Lake (in wide)? The only problem with Lake is that the last is curved, which I don’t like, as my feet aren’t shaped like that. I don’t like a high instep or narrow midfoot, either, which I fight against. I just want the shoe to be like pushing off the floor, rather than my foot being held in this hour-glass-shaped shoe with lumps and bumps.

February 22, 2021
Natural Footgear

Hi, Natasha,

Thank you for your comment. We’re familiar with the cycling shoe brands you mentioned, but unfortunately, none of them measure up to our high standards for what cycling footwear should be. Even the so-called “wide” or “extra-wide” options have significantly tapering toe boxes that force the toes to conform to the shoe, instead of it being the other way around, which it really ought to be. We have found that it’s much better to adopt a platform pedal and foot-healthy athletic shoe combo for our road riding, and we haven’t noticed any performance drop-offs as a result—so we’re sticking with that, and we think most riders would benefit from doing that as well!

Kind regards,
Robyn Hughes, ND

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