Insole wear pattern

I’m constantly amazed by the information I can find in the TR forum, but haven’t been able to find anything on insole wear patterns, and whether any useful information can be drawn from the wear itself, good or bad.

Shoes are MX237s in wide (yeh, I’m one of those SPD on the road bike folks). Cleat position is a touch behind the ball of my foot. Insoles are SQlab 215 medium support, are 13 months old, and have about 15,000 km or so on them (99% road miles). The insole material is pretty compressed/worn under the ball of the foot and under the big toe, to the point where I’m thinking replacement might be in order. Debating whether to stay with these, or try a different brand, too (Specialized perhaps).

Does the wear line up with what you’re seeing on your insoles? Is it normal to see that much compression under the ball and big toe? Am I just weird for asking this in the first place? :sweat_smile:

Are you experiencing and foot issues or anything further up the leg?

My first actual follow-up in a physical fit would be to check your fore-foot angle and rear-foot angle, to see if that wear correlates to your natural body position.

Legs feel good, no knee pain, knees seem to track well up and down without knocking out sideways. On longer rides, 4 hours or more, the outer edge of my feet will get a little sore. I’ve noticed recently that the tip of my big toes seem to be more sensitive to pressure (like if I gently push them against the floor) than I remember them being, which made me wonder after seeing the big toe wear in the insole. If I’m doing a longer SS interval, I do have a tendency to “claw” my feet, but I try to be aware of this and keep my feet relaxed when I notice it.

I should look around to find a good bike fitter here. I haven’t done one since by and large I’m comfortable on the bike, no real pain or anything on outside rides long or short, but I’m sure there’s room for optimization. I should at the very least take a video of me on the rollers and post it in the mega fitting thread.

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