Bump on the left insole of my pair of Rider Boot

Concerns with Rider boots are rare, Your issue is inside the boot so no photos are possible, correct?

I don't understand why you didn't at first contact Rider and the guy you got the shoes from?

Unless I miss my guess this is because the shoe is used.

I know it is hard for some folks to accept...and no disrespect intended...but this is what you have to expect with used shoes, to one degree or another.

I don't know why that's so hard to understand.

The chances approach certainty that when the shoes were brand new the insole was smooth. Simply because the last is smooth.

The first owner wore those shoes and the moisture and heat from his foot created a "footbed"...effectively contouring the insole to his foot. Once that happens...depending on the quality and material from which the insole is made...it is very difficult to reverse or change.

The chances approach zero that your foot is shaped like the original owner's. And equally slim that the heel to ball length is the same. The shoe may not even have fit the original owner correctly. Why else would he sell them? But now the "damage" is done.

If I am correct, however, more damage will occur...to your foot...if you keep wearing them.

It is not Rider's fault nor even the original owner's fault. The fault lies in the perception that buying used shoes is ever cost effective.
Edited by DWFII - 9/18/11 at 11:06am

It depends on how it's made. I thought Rider used Blake Rapid construction---which may or may not eliminate the need for cork filling. I'm not 100% familiar with all variations of this method.

If the insole is leather and thick enough...say 8 iron...the lump may be in the leather itself. And, as I say, difficult if not impossible to remove.

If the insole is very thin and/or very soft, and cork is used as a filler, then yes, the outsoles may be removed and the cork replace and leveled, and this may very well mitigate the problem if it doesn't disappear altogether.

But just wearing the shoes "as is" is asking for trouble. If I am correct this lump is in a critical area and it could cause some shifting of the bones or even nerve damage well before you get the cork to rearrange.

I hate cork--a blatant cheapening of shoe construction. Of course that's neither here nor there, but it is just this fugitive aspect of cork filling that is problematic.

Blake/Rapid construction will also show stitching on the top of the insole...that's the nature of B/R.

I don't like Goodyear welted construction...it is a cheap and expedient construction method that masquerades as something better and more long lasting. It is, at bottom, fundamentally a glue job because the gemming to which the upper and wlet are sewn, is glued to the insole. It requires an outsole to borrow any structural integrity and it requires some sort of filling...generally more than several millimeters thick.

I handwelt most of the shoes I make and if done correctly handwelted shoes don't require much in the way of forepart filling--a little soft scrap leather will do it. If that's not readily available some makers would use tar soaked wool felt. Where one would get such felt is a mystery to me as I have not been able to locate any for many years. But some English makers may have large supplies of old stock.

I dislike cork filling for the reasons I have already stated--it is fugitive. It is associated with GY welting. And GY welting is associated with manufacturing and , in my mind, with a general cheapening of the traditional techniques and materials used to make shoes.

Cork will disappear from under the foot in locations where weight is pressing down and sometimes, particularly with soft or thin insoles, bunch up and distort the insole where there is no pressure.

this is not a problem - this is apparently normal and an easy fix.

rule of thumb:

have the sockliner replaced by a cobbler. while at it, he smoothens out the insole with a special tool.

been there(more than once), done that, got the shirt. it's not rocket science.

just curious what ron recommends.

half-assed (amateur) solutions=half assed results.

Thanks for the kind words.

If you read the literature--books on how to make shoes, books on shoemakers and books on shoemaking--shoemaking, since the Middle Ages, has been called "The Gentle Craft." But Rees wrote a book called "The Art and Mysterie." So this idea of artistry and Craftsmanship (with a capital "C") goes back a long ways.

That said, I don't consider myself an Artist (with a capital "A"), I'm happy just to be a competent craftsman.

Sure take your shoes to a shoe repairman...that you trust to know the difference between GY and Blake/Rapid. At least you can get an opinion. That said, I seem to recall Rider saying all his shoes were B/R.

And yes, if there is slippage in the gemming...and often there is when a shoe reaches the state these seem to be in...you may loose some of the fit.

Best advice of all is to see if Rider will "recraft" these for you.
Edited by DWFII - 9/20/11 at 4:57pm

Aside from the brand new hand-welted boots Ron offers all of this boots are blake/rapid and don't use any cork filler. Ron posted years ago a cross section of one of his boots (cut stright up the middle) and there is no cork filler.

I am thinking that maybe it is the shank extending further towards the ball of your foot and it is pushing towards the insole.