Although cycling is a sport where you are carried, your feet suffer a lot of abuse when you are on your bike for hours. In fact, despite the lack of contact with the ground, there is a lot of stress exerted on your feet when you cycle! This stress can cause pain and even injuries while decreasing your performance level and enjoyment.
Sidas X Team Astana Premier Tech
Every year our international team make customised cycling insoles for all the cyclists of the Astana Premier Tech, world tour team. The foot is subject to a lot of stress and the partnership between Astana and Sidas helped develop a range specific to cycling. These super innovative insoles for cycling help all bike enthusiasts, from competitors to bicycle tourists, to say goodbye to foot pain and hello to performance!
YES, CYCLING MAKES YOUR FEET WORK HARD AND SOMETIMES THEY SUFFER!
Kelly Avenas, a podiatrist and orthotist at the Sidas center, a cycling specialist and the Astana Pro Team's consultant in this area, explains how cycling stresses our feet in a very unique way. Because – and why not end some prejudice right now – although bikes carry you and your feet don't touch the ground directly, it doesn't mean they aren't working!
"First of all, when you walk or run, your feet flex naturally during movement with a tibial twist of about 15 degrees. On a bike, because of the cleats on your shoes, your feet don't flex any more."
"Secondly, these same cleats unevenly distribute the pressure exerted on the foot, which is usually distributed towards the front and back. Here, the lack of heel support tends to over-strain the forefoot."
"Last but not least, even if contact isn't direct, your feet get a lot of vibration from the road surface. They must then absorb these shock waves, which are sometimes very strong, especially when the terrain is uneven, such as the cobblestones in the Paris–Roubaix!" »
There are multiple consequences to these kinds of stresses, and they can sometimes be severe:
- Discomfort. Those infamous "hot feet" that are the bane of all cyclists. Which cyclist has not experienced this particularly painful overheating of their arches?
- Injuries. This repeated discomfort as well as the postural imbalance can, in the long term, cause inflammatory injuries in the metatarsals, under the foot, and also have an impact on the calves, Achilles tendons or even the knees.
- Loss of efficiency, with less precision pedalling, which therefore makes you less effective.
These stresses and their consequences are often increased by:
- The wrong choice of shoes – too small, too big or too narrow
- The wrong choice of socks
- Badly fitting cleats
This is why we highly recommend seeking help from an expert to advise you in selecting the right gear and setting it up properly.
OUR CYCLING INSOLE, A GEM OF INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
Being very aware of these foot problems specific to cycling, our collaboration with Astana Premier Tech to develop a range of cycling insoles specially for this sport. brought about a superb range of products to suit a range of consumers and athletes.
Bike Pro Ultra: The 'top of the line' custom cycle insole made for the elite and competitive rider demanding the most precision, comfort and performance.
Custom Bike Pro: Still a great custom insole for everyone made from slightly different materials this insole has been made to suit more consumers. Without sacrificing the performance or comfort.
Bike+: a comfortable (ready to use) insole for everyone who loves to get on their bike.
Bike 3D: These slim insoles, suitable for shoes with little space, will give you the ideal foot support for cycling or mountain biking.
A MIRACLE SOLUTION FOR COMFORT?
Cyclists up and down the UK have really noticed a difference before and after the use of insoles. Sidas UK work with specialist fitters, physios and podiatrists specialising in bike fitting. These specialists including James Roberts from Fit 2 Ride have experience in working with athletes and social riders. James has worked with professional riders from Canyon Sungod, Arkea-Samsic, Alpecin-Fenix, Movistar and St Piran as well as GB Olympic and Paralympic pathway athletes.
"Firstly, all the athletes I have worked with all praise the insoles as some sort of a "miracle" solution for comfort... and comfort equals performance!"
The insoles offer:
- Better distribution of the pressure points between the front and rear of the foot.
- A foot perfectly accommodated by the shoe and its sole, which gives you an incomparable feeling of stability.
- Road surface vibration absorption which decreases shockwaves and therefore reduces losses from friction.
- Correction of recurring postural defects which, in the long term, can lead to injuries.
...BUT ABOVE ALL, IT IS A GREAT PERFORMANCE DRIVE
Above and beyond comfort, the Astana team considers our sole to be a real driver of performance. It's a way of achieving that elusive extra percentage of optimisation that leads to big wins.
This is also the experience of our local team riders from the Giant Kendal Sidas Team.
This performance optimisation is based on:
- Less foot fatigue. Comfortable feet mean less tired feet so you can pedal harder and for longer.
- Precision pedalling for a unique performance. You've never cycled so smoothly before, or with such precision and therefore with such efficiency.
- The product's lightness, a marginal yet not insignificant gain when you're aspiring to reach a higher level, all while remaining stiff enough to give you maximum energy transfer without any losses.
IN THE SHOES OF...
Giant Kendal Team Riders Tom Minns & Rich Butler (AKA Slippery Rich).
Tom said... "The comfort I get from using Sidas insoles in my cycling shoes and day to day footware is amazing! I'll never use normal insoles again. The team at The Sidas Clinic are super helpful, helping recover following races.Thanks again for the support this year."
Rich said... "What a difference! Had a pair made for my cycling shoes and they really help me get that extra bit of power out and no sore feet after a long ride. Then I had a second pair made for my work boots and that has really helped reduce fatigue in my feet and legs after a long day. Wish I'd got them years ago. I Can't rate the team at the clinic highly enough".
Check out our full range of cycling products @sidas.store