I just started riding this week, have done two 8-10 miles rides, seriously outta shape, but determined. My question is this, the front of my feet tend to go numb about mile 6-7, is this a shoe thing, a technique thing, or a gear thing (I will admit that since I just started, I am still riding in tennis shoes, and pedal cages. Sorry just can't afford all the gear in the first week.) Also, my hands tend to get sore as well. Am I gripping the bars too hard, or is my weight doing this? Are these just 'growing pains' while my body gets settled in? Overall the bike feels comfortable as far as sizing, its just these specific areas, and of course the newbie saddle soreness!

Thanks for you advice.

I just started riding this week, have done two 8-10 miles rides, seriously outta shape, but determined. My question is this, the front of my feet tend to go numb about mile 6-7, is this a shoe thing, a technique thing, or a gear thing (I will admit that since I just started, I am still riding in tennis shoes, and pedal cages. Sorry just can't afford all the gear in the first week.) Also, my hands tend to get sore as well. Am I gripping the bars too hard, or is my weight doing this? Are these just 'growing pains' while my body gets settled in? Overall the bike feels comfortable as far as sizing, its just these specific areas, and of course the newbie saddle soreness!

Thanks for you advice.

Foot numbness is possibly due to your pedal cages fitting tight (they should fit snug so you can pull on the upstroke), also possibly your shoes.

Hand soreness could be due to gripping to tight, distibuting too much weight onto your hands...rough roads...etc.

The soreness in your feet is more than likely your shoes. When you push down all the force of your stroke is transfered directly into your forefoot. When you get a shoe that has a stiffer sole the force is distributed out. That used to happen to me on my old Kona Cowan(vastly different bike but same concept). And your hand numbness is most likeley due to a combination of things. A wise investment would be a good quality glove(less than 35 bucks). I'd suggest one of the Specialized gloves(www.specialized.com), just make sure you get a pair with their "body geometry" inserts. It's basically a big pad to protect your ulnar nerve. Good luck.

As far as your hands are concerened the bars are probably too low. Starting out you should have the bars level with your saddle. As you get in better shape and your core muscles strengthen and you are producing more power you can lower the bars more with out any discomfort.

In order to raise your bars you can add a few spacers under the stem or you may need to get a stem with more rise (or you can flip over your current stem). It makes all the difference in the world.

The soreness in your feet is from the tennis shoes. They have very soft soles, they flex while pedaling, and your feet are having to support your pedaling stroke on the ball of your foot (Think how tired your feet will get if you stood on the end of a step just on the ball of your foot). Road specific shoes have a very stiff sole so that this is not an issue.

If by "pedal cages" you mean the things usually called "toe clips" that you stick your feet into so that you can pull on the upstroke, using those with tennis shoes can definitely cause numbness by putting pressure on the topside of your feet. I had this problem and it got better when I went to some regular MTB-style shoes that were stiffer in that area, and then it went away completely when I finally upgraded to clipless pedals.

Somebody else has probably diagnosed your problem, and you can fiddle around with position and equipment until you solve it. A couple of things that might help:
If your bike has a stem (the thing that holds the handlebars) that can be flipped over to raise the bars, try doing that. If it has the old-style quill stem (one piece, shaped like a number 7), see if you can raise it by loosening the bolt at the top and sliding it up. Don't go past the MIN INSERT line on the stem, though.
Are you wearing gloves? They're not a huge help, but they do help a little.
Sometimes sliding the saddle forward or back on its rails (you'll have to loosen the bolt on the seatpost) can help a little. But do it carefully, because that effects your relationship to the pedals, too.
If you're nervous about being clipped in to the pedals, consider buying some cheap mountain bike shoes (check www.nashbar.com; Diadora is a decent low-priced brand) and riding with the pedals and toe clips you have. The shoes' stiff soles will protect your feet and help with power transfer, but you'll still be able to get out easily. If you want to move to clipless pedals later, you can add cleats to the shoes.
For what it's worth, I still do about half my riding with toe clips, and I've done many comparison rides between those and clipless pedals/shoes. At least for an aging recreational rider like me, there's very little advantage to clipless.

Okay, I have put about 60 miles on the bike in the last 3 weeks, and I think I have a better idea of what is causing the foot numbness. I noticed riding tonight that I seem to be pedaling 'on my toes' if that makes sense. I have been pushing forward with my feet on the down stroke and I think my feet get pushed forward, and the toes/ front of the foot gets all the pressure. Sort of like walking on tippy toes, but not that extreme. If I focus and keep my feet level with the ground, I can feel the pressure lessen. So my question is now, which way is better technique? Feet flat and fairly level with the ground, or feet arched up like you would have them running or something? When they were lever, I could feel different muscles working, so it will have to be something I work into habit if that is the right way.

I am 99% sure its not the toe clips, because they aren't even pulled tight, just loose around my foot. And I switched to my mtb shoes with a stiff sole, and that only seems to help minimally.

Thanks for all the tips so far. This forum is awesome.

Keeping your feet more or less level with the ground is a decent idea.

The biggest thing for a newb is positioning on the bike. Someone more famous than me said that it's a compromise between a somewhat adjustable machine and a somewhat adaptable body.

So, you need to figure out what adjustments to make to your bike, either from a fit calculator, professional fitting, or experimenting, and also allow your body time to adapt to new stresses.

Saddle height is most important, then stem length and height, then bar width, IMHO.

Are your hands still causing your problems? Lots of factors for this, but something I haven't seen mentioned is that one possibility is that you have the nose of your saddle too far down causing you to want to slide down the saddle, but you have to resist that by putting more pressure/weight on your arms/hands. A good place to start with saddle tilt is level, some find it more comfortable with the nose raised slightly, some like it level, others prefer slightly nose down, you'll just have to try and figure out what is best for you.