Assessing heel lift

[kgreene10]

Originally Posted by Pinned

If you are getting heel lift while on the bike I'd suggest starting with a good bike fit - something needs to be altered and a good bike fitter will be able to assess and fit for shoes within that.

Thanks. I’m not getting heel lift on the bike. I’m asking whether anyone has a thoughtful rule of thumb for assessing the degree of acceptable heel lift in shoes when trying them on at the store.

[kgreene10]

Originally Posted by mjb266

I would bet $$$ you could find a NOS SW6.

Been looking. So far only yellow to red fade in my size and a pair with the interior fabric starting to disintegrate but I’m hopeful other options will materialize.

[HenryA]

Originally Posted by kgreene10

Thanks. I’m not getting heel lift on the bike. I’m asking whether anyone has a thoughtful rule of thumb for assessing the degree of acceptable heel lift in shoes when trying them on at the store.

I think all super stiff soled bike shoes are going to give heel lift when walking. They are not made for walking.

Does your foot move in the shoe when pedaling?

[kgreene10]

Originally Posted by HenryA

I think all super stiff soled bike shoes are going to give heel lift when walking. They are not made for walking.

Does your foot move in the shoe when pedaling?

Thanks. I’m not getting heel lift on the bike. I’m asking whether anyone has a thoughtful rule of thumb for assessing the degree of acceptable heel lift in shoes when trying them on at the store.

[bironi]

This is from the REI article I suggested on my initial post.

How Bike Shoes Should Fit
Choose bike shoes that fit comfortably from the start. (Due to their stiff soles, shoes that are not comfortable initially have little chance to break in and become so later.)
All shoes should allow your toes enough room to wiggle slightly.
Your arch should be snug and supported.
Your heel should not slide up and down.
Note: When trying on bike shoes, you may feel some slippage in your heel when you walk. This is due to stiffness of the soles, which is designed to support your foot in a stable position while cycling. If you feel that a poor fit is causing the slippage, try a smaller size or a different shoe model.

Bike shoes are sold in either U.S. or European sizing depending on the manufacturer. Euro size conversion can vary by manufacturer; on REI.com product pages, click on the "Size Chart" icon for the correct conversion info.

https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-adv...ing-shoes.html

[kgreene10]

Originally Posted by bironi

This is from the REI article I suggested on my initial post.

How Bike Shoes Should Fit
Choose bike shoes that fit comfortably from the start. (Due to their stiff soles, shoes that are not comfortable initially have little chance to break in and become so later.)
All shoes should allow your toes enough room to wiggle slightly.
Your arch should be snug and supported.
Your heel should not slide up and down.
Note: When trying on bike shoes, you may feel some slippage in your heel when you walk. This is due to stiffness of the soles, which is designed to support your foot in a stable position while cycling. If you feel that a poor fit is causing the slippage, try a smaller size or a different shoe model.

Bike shoes are sold in either U.S. or European sizing depending on the manufacturer. Euro size conversion can vary by manufacturer; on REI.com product pages, click on the "Size Chart" icon for the correct conversion info.

https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-adv...ing-shoes.html

Thanks. This restates my starting point in the thread — yes, the heel lifts when trying on in-store. Is there any rule of thumb or clever approach to determine how much in-store heel lift is acceptable?

[Alan]

Most cycling shoes have some heel lift. If you stand in them without cleats and shoe is flat yes the heel will be somewhat elevated. When you are on the bike this is a natural position and heel lift on the bike is determined by cleat setup which a lot of people don't get right. I like cleat position with my setup in front of pedal axle and there are guidelines on this.

See links below:

https://www.bikeradar.com/features/h...cycling-cleats
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/fitnes...orrectly-23575

I like cleats as far back as possible on the shoe and this has the effect of reducing heel lift. This pushes your foot over the middle of the pedal spindle. A good fitter can help w cleat position. Not many people can do this on their own. Even I had to use a fitter to position cleats who used the dartfish app to look at my knee tracking to set cleats position especially side to side.

If the heel is loose use tongue pads and good insoles like G8s to position your foot correctly. Again good fitters know about the G8s or other quality insoles. I have custom orthotics that work great. You can get tongue pads on Amazon very cheap and different thicknesses and you can try on the shoes in the store by just putting the tongue pad between the shoe and your foot. I have narrow shoes and use tongue pads with some shoes.

Hope this helps

Alan

[pdmtong]

Idk how i figured it out, but I use and need" the Sidi heel screw thing that narrows the back heel area. For me, that is a very important feature.