Insoles: Spec BG or Solestar?

[guru]

Any positive or negative recommendations for either Specialized BG insoles or Solestar insoles?

[charliedid]

All you can do is try.

I love the Solestar I have minus the super grippy top sheet they have. If they have changed that I will buy another pair.

[2000m2]

Originally Posted by guru

Any positive or negative recommendations for either Specialized BG insoles or Solestar insoles?

What is your goal with insoles? Do you need arch support, for example?

[guru]

Both support and comfort

[ridethecliche]

I've honestly been pretty wowed by my specialized insoles. I don't say that flippantly but they solved a lot of the issues I was having and I think helped with some knee issues as well.

[Turkle]

Another +1 for Specialized. They work so well for me and at $30 are very fairly priced.

[Bob Ross]

Originally Posted by guru

Any positive or negative recommendations for either Specialized BG insoles or Solestar insoles?

I have (had?) one pair of shoes with custom-molded ~$200/pair Esoles footbeds. When I needed a second pair of shoes ready to go, I skipped the custom footbeds and tried a pair of Specialized BG, for <$40/pair.

I'm never going back to Esoles! The BGs do everything I need a cycling shoe insole to do. And they're available anywhere, off-the-shelf.

[professerr]

I’m gonna be the contrarian here and say Spec insoles don’t work for me at all. The little metatarsal button thing in the front arch area cause me real pain and numbness within minutes, even if the shoes are barely tightened. I have high, well formed arches and don’t like any support at all, especially for cycling which is pretty much zero impact. For my Specialized shoes, I have the cobbler cut a thin insole out of leather that matches the profile of the insoles that came with the shoes. It’s like, $30 bucks or something, and even forms to the shape of my foot after a bit.

[Wakatel_Luum]

Originally Posted by guru

Any positive or negative recommendations for either Specialized BG insoles or Solestar insoles?

Solestar: Black

Pro: Durable and the carbon in the sole is quite supportive.

Con: The soles are too thick and squash my feet, the soles are also very textured so when sliding my feet in the shoe my socks grip the inner sole and pulls/curls my toes downwards. Apparently Talc helps but who uses that these days.

Result: Back to my old Sidi insoles, they maybe thin with no arch support but jeez my feet can now spread and my feet are happy.

I tried Specialized Body Geometry many years ago. The angle (pronation) of the inner soles was awful and put my feet in a non neutral position so a fail for me.

[2000m2]

I used some red Solestars in my old Luck shoes and they work fine. Picked them up when they had a sale and got some for my ski boots too, hoping for some arch support. In my cycling shoes, I ended up going back to Powerstep insoles for arch support. The Powersteps were in my running shoes to help with plantar fasciitis and I've found the arch support helpful in my new Lake cycling shoes. I do not find Solestars to have much arch support.

[kytyree]

I've had two different versions of Solestars, and have the BG Blue in one pair of shoes. I don't love the Solestars, I've replaced the original insoles in a pair of SW7's with the BG's after the original ones became worn and I've been fine with them. But I do think it depends what you're after with using insoles. The Solestars I have add some stiffness, something I wouldn't need with a shoe like the SW7.

[JSL]

Insoles are so person specific that it's really hard to make a recommendation. For me, BG have worked the best with small modifications.

[Grateful Rider]

Not cycling specific but have been using Icebug insoles for years and would highly recommend

[coreydoesntknow]

I am currently running both (BG medium arch and Solestart Blks) of these insoles in various shoes and move them between shoes regularly. They are both equally comfortable, but different.

The Solestars really do eat up a lot of volume in the shoe, so if you have a low volume shoe or have a high instep on your foot, they may be tough to swing. I think at the end of the day they are better ergonomically though, forcing your foot into inversion a little bit, which my knees like.

The BG insoles (med) feel like the have more contour, which feels nice and comfortable, but I tend to start getting hot spots with them on longer days. I really like them in my mtb shoes which I don't usually spend long hours in.