Health: Insoles can be crucial for comfort and performance

8 comments
By Cycling Plus | Monday, Mar 28, 2011 5.00pm

Walking and running come naturally to us but pedalling isn’t a normal state of affairs. “Our feet work by our arches collapsing and energy being stored like a leaf-spring,” says Sean Madsen, a biomechanist at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine in Colorado and an expert in Specialized’s Body Geometry (BG).

“That energy is returned during the push-off, when we propel forward. None of that happens with cycling. Riding is a forefoot oriented activity, meaning the arch collapses and stores energy precisely at the point when we want to deliver it.”

This is what makes an insole a useful tool for providing support to your arches. “It provides stability to the foot and allows the best possible power transfer,” says Madsen. “BG insoles have three levels of arch support. This is to accommodate the variety of arches out in the general population.” Red insoles are the lowest, blue are mid-height and green are the highest.

“Blues are the most common arch height,” says Madsen. This doesn’t come as a surprise; most of the population have Rectus arches, somewhere between flat (Planus) and high ones (Cavus). “The insoles have a metatarsal button for spreading the metatarsal heads, which are the ends of the bones that connect to the toes. This helps to reduce the incidences of hot foot and numbness.”

As well as the insoles, you can also get a varus wedge to correct forefoot varus, which Madsen says affects up to 90 percent of the population. “Forefoot varus is a condition in which the big toe is elevated over the little toe when the foot is unweighted, meaning the front half of the foot rotates outwards,” explains Madsen.

“In cycling we need the front half of the foot to rotate inwards to make contact with the insole and apply power to the pedal. Therefore, forefoot varus can cause a loss of power, and injuries to the knee due to excessive internal rotation of the tibia.” A varus wedge can counterbalance this by angling the foot, bringing it into contact with the pedal and stopping rotational movement of the knee.

A study published in 2003 takes the claim for insoles even further, stating that they don’t just prevent injury and make you more efficient through positioning but can also cause a reduction of blood lactate levels and an increase in time to exhaustion. “The goals of insoles are capturing the arch, improved stability at the foot and increased power transfer,” says Madsen. “Find out your foot shape and arch height by drawing around your feet or, more accurately, going to see a specialist, and see the difference proper insoles can make to your ride.” 

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User Comments

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  • “Blues are the most common arch height,” says Madsen.

    If that is the case, why do Specialized supply red ones as standard?

  • Looks like a thinly disguised advert for Specialized.

    I pedal a heavy bike to work every day with my normal shoes on. I seem to have no problems with power transfer.

  • Marketing me thinks, not health care

  • its true,on a race if you dont have the corect stuff you have problem

  • I have flat feet and have had custom orthotics for years from a trusted professional who has also treated many international sportsmen and women. I'm sure he would laugh at the thought that FOAM can support your arch when you are putting sufficient force through your foot to propel you and your bike at 18-20mph.

    I bought body geometry shoes, not because of the insole but because they had a large toe box.....however 6 months on I have consistent heel pain if I ride for longer than 90 minutes so it's the bin for them too I think

  • It might help to try the footbeds before venturing opinions. As Sean says, cycling is a forefoot-based activity and the foot doesn't push flat down with body weight force. Experts like Andy Pruitt (who I suggest has treated more top-level athletes than just about any other trusted professional) had a hand in the design of these aids and as many top professional riders will attest - they work. Roman Kreutziger recorded a significant wattage increase when he started using the shoes and footbeds. That apart, these are a significant health aid in correcting biomechanical pedaling deficiencies and in injury-prevention.

    The red soles come as standard because people with rectus and cavus arches can still use the flatter insoles but people with flatter arches cannot use the greater arch supports without risking injury - so this is entirely a utilitarian choice.

  • After a switch to flats I recently started getting foot cramps at night after a long ride. I added some Superfeet green insoles with proper arch support and the improvement in comfort whilst riding was amazing. Not had a single foot cramp since.

  • Modern shoes are flat and dont support the feet, and we tend to wear them longer which causes weakness in the ankle/feet.

    Superfeet work but are designed for walking which puts you foot in a totaly different position to cycling.

    They are great for boots and give a lot of support which reduces fatigue.

    Cycling (especially cliped in) puts a lot of force through the ankle and into the ball of the foot. a custom footbed fitted by a specialist can correct lots of things which leads to less fatigue and more power.

    You would happily spend £40 on some new bling to make your bike perform better or faster, yet people find it difficult to invest in something that will make them more efficientand powerful.

    Once you try them you wont go back and they can be switched between shoes.

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