Breaking in new shoes/barefoot
My inexpensive tri shoes finally have fallen apart. Ironically, it's the "easy" part that is disintegrating, i.e., the upper. Oh well.
Anyway, I splurged a bit and ordered myself some Sidi T2s. I'd like to experiment with riding them more barefoot.
It's been so long, I don't remember how much break-in (and thus foot pain, blisters, etc) to expect from bike shoes. Just looking for suggestions on how to go about breaking in and starting to ride more w/o socks... first the former then the latter? or both at the same time but just short until they are broken in?
Anyway, thanks.
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If you are wanting to wear them with no socks, I'd start that way. But only do it until it starts to feel uncomfortable, then I'd switch back to a more comfortable setup. This will get your feet and shoes in shape the fastest I think.
Mike
I think the short of it is - if they fit well, socks aren't needed and your feet will be fine.
- Ease into new shoes
- A little body glide can go a long way
- If a blister starts, cut it open/off, and put neosporien or similiar on it right away...don't wait and think it will get better on its own.
When first switching from socks to sockless, just take it slow and ease into it. 10', then 15' then 20, and so on.
Once adjusted to sockless, I typically wear a new pair of shoes for a short run (or ride) and see how they feel first. Typically, if i am going to get a hot spot is shows up in 30 minutes or less. I take note of where the hot spot(s) were and put a little body glide on them before the next workout and for the first week of using the shoes. Typically with in a week the shoes are broken in (or my feet have adjusted).
Like Mike suggested I often use the switch shoes mid workout approach. Sometime I have to test new shoes by a certain date (I know, poor me :-) ) but I don't want to chance messing up my workout or feet, so I will run the first 30' of a run in the test shoes, then stop home and change into a pair of my current training shoes.
The good news is that when I do get a blister or have an issue with a shoe, I let the guy that designed the shoes know. For example, the Zoot TT 2.0 used to rub the outside of my foot inbetween the bone that sticks out of my ankle and my achilies, eventually causing my foot to bleed. In the TT 3.0 (and all future shoes) they changed the shape of the plastic support within that part of the shoe and I have never had that issue again since.
@ William - I got a new pair of Sidi T2s last summer, and it wasn't until I had at least 300+ miles in them that I felt they were losing some of their new shoe stiffness. I also have a 12 year old pair of T2s that must have over 20K miles on them, and apart from replacing the heel pads and cleats several times, they are still going strong, so the break in period is worth it.
Sorry, I can't help you with no-socks strategies, I'm stil too much of a softie to go without, and usually need the warmth as well in this climate.
Thanks for the feedback about stiffness. That's the reason I was wondering about it with bike shoes - after all, you flex those shoes a lot less than regular walking or running shoes. I use Mike's strategy of "just wearing" various shoes (e.g., new boots or running shoes) from time to time, but that doesn't seem practical here. :-)
I have experienced almost zero break in on new bike shoes. No issues going sockless in them as well. The only socks I can fit in my tri shoes are super thin ones so really not a problem. You really should not have any blister issues in bike shoes as your feet should not be moving in them at all. There is a good old Tom Demerly article on how bike shoes shoudl fit that is worth a look. Bottom line was tight.
As for running shoes they key for me in going sockless is lquid band aid stuff painted on my heels and upper part of the balls of my feet a few times starting a day or 2 before the race. It goes on like rubber cement [it may actually be rubber cement] and works awesome. Might be worth a try if the bike shoes are rubbing as well.
There's a spot that rubs - right at the top of where the tongue would be (near the ankle, but on the top of the foot) - where I have decided to try to "break them in" with socks for a bit, but other than that, the minor flexing of the bike shoe has meant a lot less break in than some other shoes.
@Chris - is there any particular brand of the liquid bandaid stuff you like or are they all about the same? That sounds like a great idea.
Usually, the bonding compund is a cyanoacrylate ( the stuff used in superglue). The ethyl forms are potentially toxic in the body, so look for one with "octyl" cyanoacrylate. Surgeons use this stuff to close wounds without sutures. But the brands "Band-Aid" and "Nexcare" contain potentially toxic compunds, so stay away from them.
An intellectually amusing sidebar...the strongest alkylating (e.g., methylating) agents are generally less "toxic" if they don't kill you immediately from a huge dose or ingestion, i.e., if you spill a bit on yourself...but this is because they will alkylate your skin etc and not make it inwards to more vital stuff (liver etc) simply because they are so reactive.
And as long as I'm at it, I will rant about DMSO. Do NOT use DMSO for anything even if GNC says you should.... The DMSO itself isn't particularly toxic, but it's among the best solvents in the universe for getting stuff through cell membranes. In other words, it's as toxic as anything accidentally dissolved in it and I'm not going to trust GNC to give me super-pure DMSO.
I will trust Al about the toxic badness in the stuff. I always used what was called NuSkin. It was the only brand out back in the early 90's when I started using it as a way to cover minor wounds when sailing in salt water. Lately I have been buyign whatever is the cheapest at the drug store. Guess I need to pay more attention.
NewSkin doesn't have any superglue like stuff in it. It's what I have in my home med drawer to put on skin slits like deep paper cuts, hangnails, etc. It does have oil of cloves, which is both an anesthetic and antiseptic (dentists use it on exposed tooth roots (?"Marathon Man" movie reference?). Just don't drink it or inject it!
Regarding the ethyl vs octyl (or butyl also) superglue - I was just noting what is used by some surgeons to close their incisions, and the risks of putting the ethyl on a deep wound which has "big" exposed and incised blood vessels in it, like a surgical incision. It should be fine for the use you all are talking about.