And Eric, your right; asymmetries can worsen with midfoot because ankle movement reduces and many people use more ankle movement on one side than the other when pedalling as an automatic compensatory mechanism for LLD’s, inability to sit square on the seat and so on.However, if you are happy with your all round performance don’t feel that you lack anything in your jump, leave as is.Quick follow up – just read more of the Knee Pain post, and it appears that you meant what you wrote. I am surprised that after 1 fit and 3 re-fits that such a simple problem was never solved. Also, if you are thinking of switching your cleat position then read this more detailed article by Steve Hogg.
If it does in your case, it is an ideal method for what I term ‘serious social riders’; TT riders, Audax riders, touring riders, or endurance riders. i’m not totally sure i agree.Steve, when thumbing through some action shots of my pedaling, I noticed that I have quite a bit more heel drop than I thought. If you agree with that, why is the focus of the literature on BOFOPA?
Bear in mind that much of this effort is not contributing directly to propelling the bike but merely to stabilising foot and ankle. For about £150, you can get your position checked by a trained eye at your local bike shop. This is a learnt behaviour. My right metatarsal joint is 8mm further back than my left so I moved my cleats to compensate. Thanks again. The only way to find out is to try.Thanks for the phenomenal bike fit Steve, so much to report but in a nutshell... No saddle sores, no sciatica, 5-7 percent increase in power...One last question. Technical FAQ: Cleat position and shoe science. My feet are like flippers!I find this a persuasive argument and think it reasonable to answer yes. If you need your calves loaded to feel more in control then it will be a benefit to have a more forward cleat position.
Huge toe overlap, though not an issue unless track standing or performing walking pace U turns.Midfoot is different again because the substantial seat height drop it requires lowers the centre of gravity of bike and rider and means that descending is more secure for most.Other info: I am a racer, ride 15-20 hours a week. So, once they gain a decent cleat position, those people need to move their seat forward. I’ll leave it there for a while and see how it goes.May the best team win tonight as long as they are Maroon!To answer your question though, you may need to move your cleats in either direction depending on how you are attempting to compensate. I look at the pro-riders and all have differnt pedaling technique. I think it’s better to be a few mm too far back to the heel than the other way around. The reason you get knee pain with cleats with rotational movement is poor hip / lower back function OR, much more likely, lack of foot correction. Is shimano pedals wider stance then Crankbrothers etc..? This foot position also is the absolute starting point for any bike fit in general, as each measurement or adjustment builds on one another. If it still feels odd, then the change is a negative one, at least in your case.Sorry I digress. One caveat –Thanks again. So in theory, despite the shortcomings, this kind of cleat positioning suits disciplines that require a burst of speed – such as track cycling, cross-country mountain biking and road sprinting. The problem I am having right now is not whether or not to try a more mid-foot position, but rather when to do it. When the foot is locked into position in an attempt to solve alignment or lack of foot correction issues, there is always a risk involved.joe friel, an american triathlon coach has been recommending the midfoot cleat position for a couple years now as well. Most pedal systems incorporate at least five degrees of rotational float, which allows some degree of correction.The further forward the cleat moves towards the end of the toe, the longer the distance between the ankle joint and the pedal surface, creating a longer lever that increases the torque produced by the calf muscle, but also increasing the work done by the calves. Most have some form of adjuster screw that allows the user to decide how tightly clipped-in they want to be. At first I thought it was setback, but it didn’t make sense that I could be so severely robbed of power by moving my weight a bit more rearwards. Your answer intentionally excluded 4-hole shoes (as I specifically requested info regarding 3-hole shoes).I re-checked and my cleats were positioned so that the ball was actually slightly behind the axle and they were moved 13mm back to get the ball 1 cm behind.