According to G-Form, their insoles have been “specifically designed with a medical grade gel to reduce vibration and pressure whilst cycling”. Now most of us that have pedalled for hours have at some point developed ‘hot feet’, which is a numbness/pain that can become unbearable.
The general thinking is that this discomfort results in consistent pressure on the ball of the foot, worsened in hot conditions when your feet swell slightly, making the shoe a little tighter.
There’s a gel pad that’s positioned where the ball of your foot is that is claimed by G-Form to minimise vibrations from the trail and pressure between the foot and the pedal. They apparently contain a “spring-back technology that won’t flatten out and will keep over 95% of its thickness”.
We had very positive reports on the effectiveness of the insoles from two testers that have experienced ‘hot feet’ on long rides. Both felt that the inserts worked as they’re meant to, but one did say that his ‘hot feet’ issue wasn’t a problem on every ride with his regular inserts, so wasn’t able to draw an absolute conclusion; only that while riding with the G-Form inserts, he never experienced any foot numbness or discomfort. Some of our testers (those that haven’t got issues with ‘hot feet’) argued that the gel cushion could affect pedalling efficiency a little. Not unlikely and only really a concern if speed is more important to you than comfort.
The G-Form insoles contain an anti-microbial formulation to help prevent bacteria, fungus and odour developing and are only fractionally heavier than standard shoe insoles. G-Form also sells just the gel pads that can be attached to regular insoles, although we feel this might add a ‘lump’ under the ball of your foot, which isn’t the case with G-Form’s insoles that have been designed around the gel pad itself.
SIZES: UK 3-5/EU 35.5-38; UK 6-8/EU 39-42; UK 9-11/EU 43-46; UK 12-14/EU 47-49.5
PRICE: R244 per pair
CONTACT: www.g-form.co.za; 071 6067337
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*Originally published in TREAD Issue 28, 2014 – All rights reserved
