Superfeet insole - raised heel ?

[arcspin]

Hello,
I'm looking around to buy a new pair of insoles and have a question about the Yellow Superfeet insole.

In their statement they write:
""Superfeet YELLOW adds fit, comfort and performance to any slim footwear with a raised heel.
Recommended footwear: Hockey and figure skates, road cycling shoes, track spikes and western boots.

Q: Which insoles work best for Cycling shoes?
A: Which insole is best depends upon the type of cycling shoe it is going into. Commuter shoes and Mountain Biking shoes are usually pretty tight fitting, so the Blue or Black is a popular choice. We also offer the Yellow for road biking shoes ( with an elevated heel ) which has a special feature designed into it. It has a "ramp" that slopes down from the heel to the forefoot and is designed for those kinds of shoes (you can usually tell by resting your hand on the inside to feel if the shoe has an inner slope).


Q: What is the difference between the Yellow and the Black?
A: The Superfeet Yellow insole is designed to sit approximately an inch and a half off the ground at the heel. The heel elevation is the same profile that hockey skates and figure skates follow. The Superfeet Black insole is designed to sit flat with no heel elevation.
""

My questions are as follow:
- Do cycling shoes have a raised heel?
- If so, why do cycling shoes have a raised heel?
- And if cycling shoes doesn't have a raised heel, why do they state that their Yellow Superfeet are for cycling shoes ?

[I pressed the button]

I cant see a raised heel working in a cycling shoe. I could be wrong, but I have no idea how a raised heel is going to fit in a cycling shoe or be of any use to you if it did.

I ordered a pair of these:

http://www.yoursole.com/products/footbeds/slim/sport/

They were very highly recommended to me. Note: "slim". No raised heel. The slim sport is made specifically for tight fitting athletic use. I dont need an insert that I can also use in my western boots. They are custom and will mold to fit your foot exactly.

I dont have them yet, so I cant comment on them, but I will once I have had some time to ride with them. Maybe someone else has experience with the inserts you describe and can comment on them? I am just as befuddled as you regarding the raised heel.

[arcspin]

I cant see a raised heel working in a cycling shoe. I could be wrong, but I have no idea how a raised heel is going to fit in a cycling shoe or be of any use to you if it did.

I totaly agree with the raised heel...
They also state that sales personal can attend a workshop/education to educate themself in their product line and I'm hoping that someone on this forum have attended that workshop and can shed some light on the subject.


Cheers,

//arcspin

[cogsci]

I'm also curious.

[Stolichnaya]

I could be wrong, but I think Superfeet are getting at the fact that most road cycling shoes are designed with a last that places the heel higher than the ball of the foot. Take your road shoe and place it on a table next to a pair of running shoes. You will see the difference. The sole on the cycling shoe is not flat. All humor aside, it is kinda like a woman's stilletto shoe - a modern road cycling shoe is designed to cradle the foot and put the ball of the foot in a specific downward position - in cycling's case to put power to the pedal.

[bman11]

I have been using the yellow superfeet inserts with Sidi ergo 2's for over a year now. They are awesome. I would highly recomend these inserts. Fantastic product. I can't explain the raised heel issue though.

[arcspin]

@Bman11
I too think they fit nicely inside a cycling shoe. I'm just curious about the raised heel issue.

I'm not quite sure how we are to look at a shoe when it is level, I have tried to level my shoe and it seem pretty level to me.

I was under the impression that a raised heel is raised inside a shoe or it has a high heel....
I really don't know how one is suppose to see if a shoe have a raised heel or not !?

any thought ?

[I pressed the button]

Ooh you have nice red ones. I need new Sidis sometime. Maybe next year. Maybe red? Hmm.

Reread the description for the yellow. Says its designed to sit the heel 1.5" off the ground. Must be the text is supposed to mean its designed for a shoe that already sits with its heel raised. You do have an inch or so already under the heel to get the shoe almost level, but all that means is in fact the arch is raised due to the cleat (lol). Probably just means their description is worded a bit odd, because there's no way you're getting 1.5" of heel raise in a cycling shoe with an insert. Cant even get .5" in there and still be able to wear them.

[arcspin]

Yeah, the red ones are sweet, you just have to look down on your shoes and you instantly gain a few watts looking at them shimmer in the sun *hehe*

I too find it odd that they refer to the raised heel issue on many places in the text about the yellow Super feet.

"Says its designed to sit the heel 1.5" off the ground."
This is a very strange, coming from a insole company, because a cycling shoe is not design to be on the ground, it is design to be on a pedal and therefor why would you need a raised heel, the shoe revolves around an axle !?

This is purely speculations from my part...as always


//arcspin

[skinnyClimberBoy]

i rode with sole insoles for about a year, and at first they were a huge improvment over the stock SIDI insoles, but after i forgot about ever riding with the stock sidi insoles and became used to the soles, i realized that the sole insoles arent too grat.

first of all the price is nice, 45 CAD, but the heat forming aspect is 100% bogus, you can deform the insoles as much when they are cold and when they are warm. and they do not hold their shape enough for heat formign to be effective.

the concept is nice, but a proper insol must hold its shape under load, with SOLE i never had a consistent feelign in my shoes.

so i got custom orthotics, and they rock, super solid composite material and only a tad heanier than the SOLES. they hold theyre shape 100% and fit me very well, they also have more padding than the soles with helps fill up my shoes a bit.

ive seen superfeet and i believe they are like SOLES but with a hard plastic addition to the rearfoot area, this must help a lot with keeping the insoles firm and hold the shape more.

still i think going custom is well worth it, i got medical to cover it too!

[Stolichnaya]

Ok, let me try to explain this again -

Stand on your tip toes in your bare feet. Are your heels raised? Yes.

Now look at the picture of your Sidi shoe. If you were to put that on and stand in it the shoe puts you in an awkward position. You have to lean forward to stand up. That means your heel is is a raised position because of the shoe and you have to compensate with your uppoer body to stand up. Those road shoes have a raised heel. It is the LAST we are talking about here.

Place the shoe so that the cleat is flat on the ground - the heel is raised.

[arcspin]

Hi Stolichnaya and thank you for taking the time and energy to try and explain this to a shoe n00b like me

Ok, but why would you need a raised heel, the shoe revolves around an axle?
You probably need a raised heel because the shoes have a raised heel but anyways, the shoe has no ground to take in consideration while cycling...

And are there cycling shoes who don´t have a raised heel ?


Again, thx for taking the time and explaining this to me and of course all the rest that are reading this thread.

//arcspin

[Richieman]

Do they also have a good protection against foot odor like zederna insoles?

[Stolichnaya]

I am not a maker of shoes, or a podiatrist or anything that makes me an expert. However, when I think about the pedaling process, the ball of the foot is the pressure point when applying power. When you apply power to the pedals, your foot automatically pushes down on the ball of the foot. This places the entire foot in a position where the ball of the foot is down and the heel is raised. The same positioning occurs when you pull up on the back of the pedal stroke - your heel comes up. The sole and last design of most modern road cycling shoes has developed to match that natural "under power" foot position - it is ergonomically more efficient and supportive. Remember, the attachment point is under the ball of the foot.

If you want shoes that are flatter in design, you might want to look at mountain bike shoes, which are designed to be walked in - although, they are heavier and in most cases more flexible.

I think that Superfeet has designed the yellow insoles to follow the standard curve of a road cycling shoe - i.e. heel up.

I also do not think that the shoe really revolves around an axle. The shoe remains in most cases in a fixed orbit position (at 12 o'clock) on the arc in which the pedal axle travels.

If you are looking for a flat footed position, you should consider pushing your foot back to an arch position. Biomac, the German custom shoe maker, is a champion of this position and some notable riders have used it to success.

[stuey]

As you can see in this diagram during the pedal stroke the heel is above the ball of the foot most of the time hence why cycling shoes have a raised heel.