Selle Italia's new idmatch footbeds are the latest addition to the brand's bike-fitting system. The footbeds have been designed from the ground up as a cycling-specific product, claimed to offer real-world improvements.
The idmatch bike-fitting system already included saddle fitting, cleat positioning and a fully automated bike-fitting tool. The brand demonstrated the new footbed system at Eurobike 2022.
Selle Italia says that when it decided to add footbeds to the menu, it found existing options on the market had been adaptations from other sports, such as running, rather than designed specifically for cycling.
That meant the brand needed to start from scratch, using the information it had gleaned from more the 50,000 test subjects.
Selle Italia designed the footbed fitting system to measure the important dimensions of the foot, working from the heel forwards into the ‘power’ zone, where its data shows most riders position their cleats.
The idmatch footbeds aren’t size-specific; instead, you measure the position and shape of your arch in a few minutes using Selle’s heat-sensitive and laser-aligned gauge tool to define your foot shape, then the front of the footbed is cut to fit.
Instead of individual sizing as per shoe size, this means the footbeds come in just small, medium and large sizes.
Selle Italia's new system offers three distinct foot shapes:
- 1: Fallen arches – the natural shape of your arch is low, meaning much more contact with the inside of your shoe
- 2: Medium arch – the most common foot shape, which Selle Italia describes as a ‘normal’ foot
- 3: Hollow arch – higher and more pronounced, as well as shorter in the arch shape
The biggest difference, however, is the use of a bonded exoskeleton on the underside of the footbed that's designed to support your foot. This is intended to add stability throughout the full pedal stroke.
Like most footbeds, the idmatch footbed has an arch insert. However, on the idmatch footbed the arch insert extends through the midfoot and curves around the heel.
Selle Italia claims this “bonded exoskeleton” stops the midfoot from rocking outwards and supports the heel through the whole pedal stroke.
The brand says the idmatch footbed offers real-world improvements, such as improved pedalling efficiency and higher comfort levels when compared to other cycling shoe insoles.
Selle Italia says the footbeds weigh in at just 88g per pair (uncut size large) and will be available from Selle Italia idmatch stores globally. Pricing is still to be confirmed.
We got ourselves fitted for a pair (for the record, we're a 3 – Hollow arch) and came away with them, so we’ll be putting them to the test soon.
