differing stack heights between road shoes

[AngryScientist]

my knees are pretty sensitive to saddle height, and a saddle a bit too low has proven to cause knee pain for me.

interestingly, i recently got a pair of the specialized audax shoes to try out and rode with them a bit over the weekend. to me it was unexpected how much more stack height they had compared to my normal giro road shoes. noticeably more angle to my knee at the bottom of the pedal stroke. so much so, that i stopped mid ride to raise my saddle a bit to compensate for the increased stack height of the shoe. confirmed the next day when i had to lower the saddle back when going to my normal shoes.

since i regularly ride multiple bikes, for me i'm going to stick with one shoe brand, it would be a pain in the ass to have two saddle heights for either pair of shoes across multiple bikes.

no point to this post other than an interesting observation. it never occurred to me that different shoes might have enough variance in stack height to warrant a saddle height change.

[sales guy]

As someone who worked in the shoe section of the bike industry for years, I can tell you it's a massive issue for many people.

Ours had the lowest sole thickness of any production shoes out. And it also had a neutral footbed. I will say it helped a ton of people having the neutral footbed. Byron from BikeHugger used to run S branded shoes and he had major knee issues. Switched to us and it went away. He actually had to stop riding for a bit due to the pain the amount of wedge the S had in their shoes.

Not everyone can handle a ton of stack or wedge. And honestly I found it best to start with a neutral base and wedge up from that vs trying to get rid of wedge. And since S has theirs built into the sole, you can't remove it.

With the stack, you'll never know truly what it is. People will say stack and what they are really speaking about is sole thickness. Cause we actually cut open shoes down the middle and found 99% of them quoted sole thickness for their actual stack numbers. That can lead to issues for people who ride multiple bikes and brands of shoes.

You need to stick to one brand or one specific shoe. Thats the best way to minimize issues, especially with your knees.

[ripvanrando]

I hear ya

I have three pair of the same cycling shoes and use the same pedals on all bikes. One pair Sidi shoes have been so modified to allow walking that they are fairly hideous. 1-2 mm deviation is ok but 3 mm or more can cause issues on long rides.

Changing a saddle out is even worse. (BTW...I never have knee problems and my cadence is 70-75)

[weisan]

I have even heard of riders "complained" about the different thickness of the pads on their shorts that change the saddle height...so, no, this didn't sound too crazy at all, angry pal.

[ripvanrando]

I have even heard of riders "complained" about the different thickness of the pads on their shorts that change the saddle height...so, no, this didn't sound too crazy at all, angry pal.

That is true. Assos Mille is a thick pad compared to the Centos. I will adjust if the ride is long and on the Centos bib.

[FlashUNC]

Millimeters add up.

[juanj]

I also recently got a pair of Audax shoes (in almost new condition), and my problem with them is that the insole's arch is very stiff and raised, making the shoe very uncomfortable on my flat feet. The issue then translates to a bad knee angle. I solved the issue by putting the insoles from my old shoes into the Audax, and now the shoes are rideable, without having to adjust seat height.

I'm going to look for an insole (Specialized or otherwise) that is comfortable and suitable for my feet. Maybe you can find an insole of appropriate height that will make changing seat height unnecessary?