cleat adjustment

bonzie1

Hi just got new cleats since i put them on my shoes my left foot is very sore.right down the middle of my foot. any advice.

Lumen

Move cleats backwards on shoe. Do both sides the same.

edit: then drop your saddle to compensate.

Jawgap

bonzie1 wrote: »

Hi just got new clets. since i put them on my left foot is very sore.right down the middle of my foot. any advice.

Put them on your shoes instead of your feet!!!!:D

bonzie1

Cheers. I shouldn't type when i get in from the pub. very funny.:)

kenmc

Lumen wrote: »

Move cleats backwards on shoe. Do both sides the same.

How will that help with a sore foot? (not being facetious for a change, genuinely curious as to how you can diagnose this via tinternet.)

Lumen

kenmc wrote: »

How will that help with a sore foot? (not being facetious for a change, genuinely curious as to how you can diagnose this via tinternet.)

I am diagnosing nothing.

As I understand it, moving the cleat backwards reduces the forces going through the plantar fascia, which is the bit that hurts (from the description).

As far as I can tell, this is a modification that has no downside, provided that the seat is lowered to compensate.

bonzie1

hI I noticed my left cleat was more to the left than the right one. Made adjustment and did move it back a little. Just heading out on my bike now. Hope the rain holds off. Let yas know how it goes.

lukester

Lumen wrote: »

As I understand it, moving the cleat backwards reduces the forces going through the plantar fascia, which is the bit that hurts (from the description).

As far as I can tell, this is a modification that has no downside, provided that the seat is lowered to compensate.

Joe Friel had an article stating that moving cleats backwards also offers significant performance improvements.

Joe Friel is like the Jesus and Chuck Norris of cycling, so it must be true.

sy

lukester wrote: »

Joe Friel is like the Jesus and Chuck Norris of cycling, so it must be true.

Hope he doesn't cycle in the Phoenix Park:D

bonzie1

Hi thanks for your replies. It worked. Cheers LUMEN. I did 45miles yesterday evening with no pain and still today no pain. Brill.

victorcarrera

I developed a similar pain in my foot after one of my cleats slipped sideways due to clicking out which resulted in my heel being a few centimeters wide. After a couple of spins I adjusted it and problem solved.
I had the feeling that my foot was rolling off the side of the pedal and was more pronounced when out of the saddle.

bonzie1

Just back from another spin and foot great no pain. Im amazed that such a small adjustment could have such a big effect. Cheers

**Timbuk2**

Glad to hear you've got your problem sorted - cleats can be tricky to get right, especially considering some problems don't reveal themselves until about 40 km into the cycle

If you have gone on a few (longish) cycles since adjusting your cleats and are happy with the location they are in, trace around them with a perm. marker, so if you ever have to replace them due to wear you can just replicate your old position.

Also make sure that your cleats are good and tight once you find the position you wanted - I had a friend who had the cleats come off his shoe while cycling and remain in the pedal!! (this is no laughing matter - if anyone has expierenced this they know it takes extreme effort to get the cleat out of the pedal)

Spins

Seems like that did the trick ok for bonzie.
I recently got new carbon soled shoes and have been finding that after about 40km my feet start to hurt above (toe side) and on the outside the ball of the foot. Any similar words of advice? Has anyone experienced this before? Are my cleats perhaps too far back (they are positioned well back)? A friend suggested that me feet just may not be used to the stiffness of the carbon soles. I've been out for about 5 long cycles (60-90km) since I got 'em and it doesn't seem to be getting better.

Lumen

There is a school of thought that you should set up your cleats so that your feet are oriented while cycling the same way that they hang naturally, i.e. when sitting on a table with legs dangling.

Or your shoes might not fit right.

It's probably a good thing that both feet hurt the same way.

lukester

Lumen wrote: »

There is a school of thought that you should set up your cleats so that your feet are oriented while cycling the same way that they hang naturally, i.e. when sitting on a table with legs dangling.

Or your shoes might not fit right.

It's probably a good thing that both feet hurt the same way.

If both feet hurt the same, and it's the feet rather than the knees/legs, sounds more like tight shoes.

On the feet dangling thing, I used that technique myself, but on my recent bike fitting, I was advised that it's more accurate to note your feet if you lean forward on the table, as if on the bike. For most people this will rotate the feet outward slightly. Have very slightly adjusted my cleats based on this, so far so good.

abcdggs

i was wondering if you could be a bit more specific on this sitting on the table approach to cleat placement? dont really understand what you mean? thanks

Lumen

abcdggs wrote: »

i was wondering if you could be a bit more specific on this sitting on the table approach to cleat placement? dont really understand what you mean? thanks

The idea is that your feet have a natural angle (i.e. pointing left, straight or right) at which they are comfortable. You set up your cleats so that your feet are at this same angle while cycling. The "dangle" test is one way to work out the natural angle of your feet - just sit on a table with your legs dangling naturally and look at how your feet are pointing.

TBH, this sort of correction is more usually associated with knee pain - I don't know that wrong cleat angle would give your pain in your feet, unless maybe you are riding at the extreme of your cleat float and scrunching your foot somehow to get comfortable.

abcdggs

that sounds like my exact problem. my left knee starts to hurt after about 15 km. i thought it might have been from pushing too high a gear (usually ride ss) but i'll give this a go and see how it works out, thanks a million

pgibbo

Spins wrote: »

Seems like that did the trick ok for bonzie.
I recently got new carbon soled shoes and have been finding that after about 40km my feet start to hurt above (toe side) and on the outside the ball of the foot. Any similar words of advice? Has anyone experienced this before? Are my cleats perhaps too far back (they are positioned well back)? A friend suggested that me feet just may not be used to the stiffness of the carbon soles. I've been out for about 5 long cycles (60-90km) since I got 'em and it doesn't seem to be getting better.

I have similar issues. My feet, up around my toes in particular kill me after 60km. I am planning to check my set up on the trainer this weekend to see if the cleats need to be moved back.

How do you judge how much the saddle needs to drop after adjusting the cleats?

Spins

Lumen wrote: »

It's probably a good thing that both feet hurt the same way.

How do you mean? Do you mean that maybe it shows that I have an even stroke over both feet?

Shoes definitely fit tho, so don't think it's that. Have club TT tomorrow so will fiddle around with them a bit and see what happens. If I find the answer and someone else posts the same query, I'll remember...

Lumen

Spins wrote: »

How do you mean? Do you mean that maybe it shows that I have an even stroke over both feet?

More chance that it's an injury in the making rather than an injury that's happened, I'd guess.

Whenever I've hurt something properly it's always been on one side.

Captain Havoc

I had this recently, for some unknown reason, I never throw the old bolts out, so I measured each one until I got the shortest one. Problem solved

horizon26

I am always adjusting my cleats I can never find the perfect adjustment.Mostly my cleats are more forward than backwards.Speaking to a few cyclists there cleats are almost all the way back.I have tried this but it does not feel right.On the bike I nearly always stop at least once to adjust them.Is there a way of measuring the correct position?:o:o

zzzzzzzz

horizon26 wrote: »

I am always adjusting my cleats I can never find the perfect adjustment.Mostly my cleats are more forward than backwards.Speaking to a few cyclists there cleats are almost all the way back.I have tried this but it does not feel right.On the bike I nearly always stop at least once to adjust them.Is there a way of measuring the correct position?:o:o

The ball of your foot should be directly over the pedal spindle. Put your shoes on and mark with a line where the ball of your foot is. Clip in to the pedal and you should see how far you need to adjust.

horizon26

Oh thanks for the tip i will try it tomorrow

Lumen

aidan.offbeat wrote: »

The ball of your foot should be directly over the pedal spindle.

That's debatable.

zzzzzzzz

Lumen wrote: »

That's debatable.

Hmmm... interesting.

elchupanebrey

I'm new to cleats and am having a bit of pain in my right knee, the shop i bought em off recommended moving them about til i find the best position.

Do both cleats have to be in a matching position on each shoe.

Also would moving saddle forward/backward have any bearing on the knee.

I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to setting up the bike.