Last Friday I went into my 1-hr sprint with waaaaay too much confidence, and had a high-speed upd pretty close to the start. I didn’t have any speed-tracking device, but I’ve ridden over 30km/hr in full control before, so I think I bailed at 35-40ish.
I landed hard on my right foot before falling forward and rolling onto my side. My right foot crunched into the front of the shoe when it hit the ground. I haven’t had it checked out yet, but it’s still very swollen, my big toe is all purple and blue, and quite painful. I think it’s just bruised up, but I’m going in to make sure tomorrow.
So I made some stupid choices that caused the fall, but I’m blaming my shoes for the injury. I think they were too small, and I didn’t have the right one tied very tightly, which together allowed my foot to slide forward with enough force for this to happen.
I thought I read somewhere that cycling shoes should fit a bit smaller than walking shoes, since they’re stiff, and that it helps power transfer. Is there truth in this? The shoes I had were slightly uncomfortable for walking, and my toes were right up against the front. Riding, they felt great after riding for a couple minutes.
Has anyone else hurt their feet in this way from a upd before? Did you find a way to prevent it in the future?
Any recommendations for grippy stiff shoes for road riding? I’ve seen favourable reviews of 5-10s.
I did something very similar once. I was wearing running shoes that were too small and I fell off my unicycle and my foot smashed into the ground, jamming my toes into the front of the shoe. My big toe was swollen for a couple of days but after that it was fine. I now wear stiffer soled skate shoes with more toe room and haven’t had any more trouble. I think the most important thing is that there is enough toe room that your toes can’t hit the front of the shoe in a fall.
I broke my big toe a couple of summers ago. Missed a big rolling hop and ended up kicking the pallet with my toe. I was wearing light hiking shoes, which gave no protection at all for that kind of impact.
I spent a while after that looking for shoes that would protect my toe. Lots of people suggested things like 5.10 Impacts or steel toed shoes or whatever. As you’ve figured out, armoring the toe of the shoe doesn’t help if your foot can slide forward and hit the front of the shoe. The best thing I found is a pair of La Sportiva approach shoes. They have a stiff toe - intended for crack climbing - and they are narrow and fit tightly enough that my foot doesn’t move in them. I’ve taken several falls since then that I think probably would have broken my toe again in the other shoes.
Here’s the thread about toe protection I started when I was looking for options back then.
the 5:10 impacts and karvers have a really nice boxy toe section that is quite rigid and has saved my toes a number of times from big rocks and high speed bails. You can get them pretty tight with the right sizing and lacing so i’ve never had issues with foot slip in the shoes themselves. The grip is an absolute game changer too (as long as you have some good pedals to put them on).
Never had problems with my feet.