How to Choose the Best Insoles (for Your Cycling Shoes) 

See video with Neill, click ‘like,’ then watch. Neill has helped me immensely through the videos. I have made many changes to my bike based on the information he’s shared, and I’m riding farther and stronger because of it. Thank you, Neill!

One of the biggest problems is that most orthotics supposedly "for cycling" have heel stack. This raises the heel and defeats the heel cup retention of the shoe

Highly interesting info, thanks 🙌🙌

I have high arches and I’ve Been riding the G8 for about 2 years. Even my foot Dr was impressed by the level of customization they offer

...what about flat feet or collapsing arches?

As a schoolboy ,I had an imprint done with a mould of plastiscine from Clarks shoes at David Jones .The insert made was very comfortable and evenly supportive . No significant pressure points as a result .

@RCA I just got G8’s because of you’re advice they are really good 😊

I have high arch, wide feet and short toes. Found Footbalance to be the best option for cycling (and other sports shoes). They are basicly heatmolded for my feet. Around 80€ per pair here in Finland. Was so satisfied I now own 3 pairs (don't need to change them between shoes so often).

Awesome video! Can we get a review of that Yoeleo 👀👀👀

As always…Brilliant,thank you. Funnily enough ,been doing ‘bike fit’ for many years now and the one thing most people ignore-is to get a decent(for their feet) insole!!

Saw the RCA group at the Tdu, went pass me going the other way at Brighton beach.

Bought Giro Trans shoes several years ago. Came with adjustable insoles similar to G8.

Damnit! Every time I think I have outsmarted Neil with my fit - I am wrong. That is except for the Coefficient Bar - I when there on faith. G8 insole, changed my pedalling efficiency for sure. And wait for it! I just had to get rid of the single bolt seat post - Yip! Two bolt adjuster is better. I was wrong and the damn single bolt started slipping under heavy seated sprinting/anerobic efforts. Thanks again for proving us wrong.

G8, Sidas, Superfeet. The latter 2 if you dont have the budget. Sidas for arch height levels 3-5 and Superfeet for arch height 2 probably.

Listening to Neil is like being in your favorite class! My question is, I live in Atlanta, GA and am looking for someone here to help dial in my fit. Can Neil recommend someone in my region. I would be eternally grateful.

Thanks for the video. Btw I noticed that specific insoles usually imply that you need to buy shoes 1 size bigger than with the (flimsy) insoles provided with the shoes.

Anyone who tried good safety shoes with a good insole knows how big the difference is between a stable foot and a typical sneaker. Sadly the insoles I've tried (Jalas and Sievi) are a bit too wide for cycling shoes and even normal shoes. Tried to cut them but it didn't turn out so well :)

Love your content guys, thanks for the work you put into these, like the way that issues are always well explained. But! Don't understand here why you're not encouraging people to do something about their foot problems? I can only speak here from my own experience and not from any expertise, but here it is: 59 years old, been wearing orthotics in my walking shoes for maybe 30 years, perhaps 6 years in my cycling shoes. What I understand though, is that most modern walking footwear stops our feet from working properly, hence the problems that I suffer from with weak ankles and fallen arches. I am now one year into strengthening exercises on my feet and maybe 6 months into exercises for my ankles - yep, just learning this as I go along hence this sequence. My feet and ankles now work so much better and my need for orthotics is much reduced. Off the bike I can carry much heavier loads in a rucksack than before, without getting bad reactions in my knees, simply because that load is now being transmitted up and down the legs in a more effective fashion. The muscles in my feet and ankles are now working properly, holding my foot in the correct position to transmit those loads. I've felt benefits on the bike too - just a slightly strange but pleasant sensation of the foot having good contact with the shoe and pedal and power going through it (sorry can't find better words to describe this). It's a great sensation though, just feels like everything is working in an integrated fashion! I have work still to do, after all you don't fix 30+ years of modern footwear robbing your feet of the ability to work properly with a couple of weeks of resistance band exercises. I do hope eventually to be orthotic free. Yes, it's lots of work over a long period, but I can also say is very satisfying. Yes agree that orthotics have their place. As you describe, if done well they can provide pretty much instant fixes to long term problems and give people more comfort and pleasure on the bike which is just great, not arguing against that at all. But surely good also that the source problems themselves are fixed or at least improved? Some simple exercises with resistance bands built into your usual stretching regime can go a long way to help I think. Again, love the content and the detail that you share, thank you!

I found that the G8 was too narrow for the Lake wide shoes. I wish they made the forefoot wider so that you could trim it to the shoe.

I have the G8's (#5 + red metatarsals) and the green BG's, in two shoes ( both Specialized). My feet like the feel of switching between them. Kind of like swapping shorts with slightly different chamois, keeps pressures moving around.

i ended up going with Currex. I really wanted the G8 system since it could be adjusted but the G8 just felt like the edge of the support was poking my foot.

Looking to solestar, black carbon !!! They are great

Having a bit of light hearted fun . The information is still important though . Too many shoes to cover , so many brands .

Its a bit weird for me because otoh I'm fairly flat footed but I dont notice the level 4 G8 on the left foot and almost not the level 3 on the right. Heck the level 2 I noriced more - it was too long, felt like it was under the metatarsal area. Arguably it's flat when standing or walking. But not when there's no pressure on it. Standing/walking fairly heel in, toes out. But cycling I'm more straight, even without arch support on my flat pedal bike I notice I self select a more straight foot position. Can reproduce this by extending the leg. The more I extend the leg, the further the toes want to move out. It's like a short calf muscle pulling it out 😮

Only issue I've found with G8s is they don't work well with more flexible uppers like on the Giro Empire SLX, Giro Imperial and any knit uppers. Besides that, where you place the arch insert will change depending on the shoe brand.

Always great advice. I just wish I was not at the other end of the globe. You would have a loyal customer

I've been using the G8's for about 4 months and I feel like my feet have gotten stronger. I can balance better barefoot when I anchor my toes to the ground. I tried the specialized ones before but the arch support was way too forward and middle also they are pretty thick.

What is your recommendation for cyclists who suffer from plantar fasciitis

Any advice on trying insoles on in the store, since uncut insoles won't fit inside your shoes? I've tried sizing down and popping them in, but I'm sure the placement of support differs with each size. I've found how the insole interacts with the last/form of the shoe can change how it feels.

Personally I'm both hypermobile and also really stiff feet, years of martial arts now cycling havnt mixed all that well. I really struggle with foot pain only things that stopped it was wearing size 12 shoes when I'm 10.5 and ultegra platform pedals.

I didnt hear any comment on heat moulded innersoles,any thoughts on this.

How about those who are flat footed?

The Rapha Pro Team shoes have 2 levels of arch support heights too!

Lake has custom carbon insoles that are cheaper than G8. Has anyone experience with them?

I need the thinnest insole possible with a medim to high arch. Impossible?any suggestions?

G8 we’re good for me up until a point, then I tried Ice Bugs (euro brand) which were hard to get a hold of but I knew the larger metatarsal dome would work for me on longer rides and I was right. The specialized ones for me were just completely underwhelming.

I tried the G8 with different arch pieces in many different positions, never was really comfortable. My foot went numb on the outside and the little toes which I never had before. Any ideas?

Hw do you manage corns on the little toes. Got very painful corns both little toes that are painful on riding. Trying new wide shimano cycling shoes no help

I’ve been using Solestar carbon insoles for quite a few years now and they seem to do the trick, I have custom insoles for day to day walking about, don’t like them for running sports as they are just a bit too rigid.

What about Lake heat molding insoles?

What about solestar insoles?

Unfortunately I can't even stand the G8, even without the arch support. The shape, the pressure points, including under the ball of my foot, and even without the adjustable support, are annoying, even though I have an arch, rigid, narrow foot. I wouldn't buy them willy nilly without being fitted - they're expensive. I wasted a lot of money while at this stage a floppy sole works better for me. I am sure I'd benefit from more stability, but definitely need help from an expert.

Are the insoles Neill ends up recommending his clients specific to the cycling motion, or should they also be getting some of the same ones for their everyday walking around shoes too?

Why not use Formthotics?

2 years with roadbike today stop cycling using roadbike because all my body hurts and i cant afford bike fitting. Back to folding bike no pain and happy

It would have been good to explain why insoles are so necessary and the advantages they bring to a bike fit.

I don't really have problems on the bike but I do with my running shoes and I'm currently looking for insoles. I feel like all my load while running is on the outside of the foot and nothing on the arch. It's causing me pain in the sole lasting 4-5 days.

Why isn't Neil talking about what extreme flat-footed people need? He kept going on about people that have really high arches. What about those of us that have no arch? Ortho doctors and physical therapist have described my feet as nothing more than a bag of bones.

Why wouldn’t you just do a custom insole at a podiatrist clinic (like you do for a regular shoe)?

Moldable inserts?

wot's the bike ?

I would rather spend the money on a custom insole made to my size than try out diverse ones which are going to cost me the same amount in the end until I have found the fitting one for me. Because if you need biking insoles, you might need insoles for your daily wear shoes aswell anyway. And that's when you will get discounts on the 2nd pair of insoles. But what I want to point out is, than it isn't worth anything to have a custom insole, if there's no shoe to fit the correctly sized and shaped insole into. And this is the fault of the bike industry. Products cost a hell lot of money, but they are still not capable of making different widths of one and the same model of a shoe. This puts me off so much, bacause I always end up having to squeeze my foot into a way too narrow shoe, even MTB-shoes with tendencies to be a wider fit, are too narrow for me. Shoemakers with their hand craft have been able to do different widths for years and that already years ago, so why is the biking industry still not capable of it, despite al their fancy machinery and CAD??? Honestly, if my foot is squeezed and hurts with every pedal stroke, I loose a lot of power because I am scared to put my foot down because of the pain. If there was no pain, I could go on for longer and I would easily overcome the losses in aero that a wider shoe comes with. Kust by really putting all my force into my pedal stroke. And don't tell me I just have to buy a size bigger.... For cleated shoes, you can not go three to 5 sizes bigger like I would need, because then your joint of the big toe is not sitting at the right place for you to apply your force correctly and efficiently. The bike industry should definitely overthink their standards. This would really make the sport accessible to everyone! I have feet which are not a normal width D, but width K.... Seemingly, it is common for women with lower tension in soft tissue structures, so their feed spread more and are often wider. Imagine finding a fitting shoe. My shoelength would correspond to EU 40, But my foot width would need a shoe to be as wide as a 45.....

I prefer the G8 to Sidas customs but in both cases the price is just 😱 these things should be a third of what they cost.

I purchased Australian-made insoles, the whole set. Cut to my 41 shoe size and.., Total disaster. My shoes got distorted and my feet were in pain. I have DMT shoes, which are perfect without any insole.

Have you heard of tread labs? I’m testing them out but not much luck yet. Using carbon arch version

I spent $500 on one of those "printed insole orthotics" and within 30 minutes of riding it's feels much more painful, big pain in the right foot in the right middle area, so long story short it's worse. The fact I spent $500 and it's just worse makes me feel so ripped off and they just tried to upsell me the innersoles with new shoes to make a buck

Still waiting for the, "other" body type video. :)

G8 were good.. until they weren't. That plastic support is soft that it does literally nothing. Considering the price it's just mad

Hard to concentrate with that saddle in the background……

Those things sell for nearly as much as the shoes! How do they justify that price for a piece of injection plastic? How do they expect market penetration at thst price point. They are WAY out of the ballpark for the average joe, not cool!

This is all nonsense. The arch of the foot is a delicate area & should not be messed with. If you needed arch support, you'd be born with it.

👉 *promo sm*

What about Lake heat molding insoles?