If you suffer from hot foot, heel lift or aches and pains in your feet or legs when cycling, it might be worth swapping out your shoes’ insoles for a more ergonomic footbed like the Ergon IP3 Solestar.

Many cycling shoes come with pretty low budget insoles that don’t support the foot well, particularly if you have a higher arch. This can let it slip around during the pedalling stroke, allowing your ankle joints to move from side to side.

The Ergon IP3 inserts are designed specifically for cycling shoes, either road or MTB. They have a high raised section on the inside of the heel-arch junction, which along with forefoot support is designed to stabilise the foot and reduce inward and outward movement during pedalling. Ergon says that this improves power and pedalling efficiency.

For its Ergon IP3 inserts, the company has partnered with Solestar, another German company, which specialises in cycling insoles and supplies pros including André Greipel and the appropriately named Christian Knees.

The bulk of the base of the insert is quite rigid and so works well in stiff carbon soled cycling shoes. It’s made of glass fibre composite and is overlain with a green covering made of EVA foam to provide cushioning. The front section under the toes is just EVA foam and there’s a gap in the more rigid structure at the heel too.

The black covering material of the Ergon IP3 inserts is made of a carbon mesh fabric, which Ergon says is an antibacterial. It’s vented in the forefoot, where cycling shoes typically have vents in the outer sole too. The vent holes are quite large with rough edges and you can feel them under your toes in thinner socks.

On longer rides, I’ve found that the IP3 Solestar insoles have added an extra level of comfort to cycling shoes with firm carbon soles, some of which have lacked support, particularly to my fairly high arches. With their standard insoles, some of these shoes have given me cramps in my feet when cycling. But this has largely been eliminated by swapping to the Ergon insoles.

If you get the Ergon IP3 insoles wet or dirty, Ergon says you should just hand wash them then let them air dry. It says that they should not be put in a washing machine, which limits the opportunity to get them really clean.

Canadian-based company Sole produce a variety of insoles, or footbeds as they call them, for use in different sports.  The insoles are special, in that they are heat-mouldable and adapt to the shape of your foot.  People with high arches or flat feet often purchase special insoles, but most rival products come in pre-set arch sizes.

Sole claim that the benefits of their insoles include:

• Custom orthopedic support
• Equalised pressure distribution
• Reduced plantar fascia strain
• Increased balance and feel
• Improved natural heel cushioning

The specific sole we tested was the Signature CD Thin, a lightweight, low volume, insulated footbed, ideal for cycling shoes. The soles are designed to be baked in an oven for 2 minutes at 200ºC, where upon they are removed and placed into the desired shoes. Wearing these shoes then moulds the insole to the contours of your foot.  Check out the instructional video below to see the heat moulding process in action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aweSr3MQ1DQ

We found that once moulded, the soles made our cycling shoes feel like slippers, with a very snug fit.  The customised arch support was noticeable and increased comfort substantially, to such an extent that they will be staying put in our shoes for the foreseeable future.

In addition, the footbeds helped keep our feet warm during recent cold rides, courtesy of the 400g of 3M Thinsulate insulation, and if this is a bit too effective they also feature odour protection.

Head over to Sole for more information.