What part of foot on the pedal?

Victor

What part of the foot do you put on the pedal? I tend to be a bit random, but do I have it right that its best to use the toe, or does that only apply when using clips / cleats?

humbert

It's the ball of your foot with cleats (give or take a little) and that's what feels right to me.

With flats my foot might be a little further forward to give more room for slippage but still pretty much the ball of my foot.

projectmayhem

Use the middle generally as it's most comfortable but when I need to pick up speed or get more power (going up hills etc.) I use the front of my foot generally speaking.

abcdggs

Pretty sure i read somewhere that if one was doing a tri or iron-man it is advisable to have the cleat positioned more toward the centre of your foot as this way the muscles used in the cycling section arent the same as those required for the running section. Whether or not this has any scientific backing i dont know but i thought was an interesting article, wish i could find the article now...

Lumen

abcdggs wrote: »

Pretty sure i read somewhere that if one was doing a tri or iron-man it is advisable to have the cleat positioned more toward the centre of your foot as this way the muscles used in the cycling section arent the same as those required for the running section. Whether or not this has any scientific backing i dont know but i thought was an interesting article, wish i could find the article now...

There are a few respected advocates of mid-foot cleat position (Friel discussed it here). The idea is that the muscles of the lower leg which stabilise the foot in a ball-of-foot-over-pedal position don't actually contribute any power, so taking them out by moving the foot forward is more efficient/less tiring on those muscles.

Obviously this changes effective seat height and leg angles a bit, and the fatigue aspect is more of an issue if you have to run off the bike.

For me the most compelling reason to avoid mid-sole pedal position is that it looks gimpy.

sy

Steve Hogg who has quite a reputation in the bike fit world is in favour of a more aft foot placement. Interesting article here.
Personallly I prefer ball of foot position as it gives you better calf definition;)

doozerie

Some further articles which discuss the mid-foot cleat position below. It's an interesting subject, but in my case I've been using the traditional ball-of-foot position for years and stick with it for the moment out of laziness if nothing else - I might try out the mid-foot position at some point but for now the prospect of mucking about with cleats on various shoes and adjusting saddle heights and possibly handlebar height and reach fills me with overwhelming apathy.

From http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/...-bike-position :

Germany's Gotz Heine believes that for greatest efficiency, the tarsometatarsal joint (the midfoot) should be over the pedal axle and has any amount of compelling evidence to back this up. For sustained steady effort of high or low intensity, this position, correctly applied will mean greater ability to sustain power over time and / or better ability to recover from severe efforts. TT's, pursuiting, Audax riding, road racing and triathlon are ideal for this kind of cleat positioning.

From http://www.cyclingnews.com/reviews/b...bio-mxc2-shoes :

Heine's 'bio-mxc2' cleat position eschews conventional cleat position methodology by placing the pedal axle roughly beneath the arch of your foot – several centimeters behind what most people would consider normal.

Though unusual, the idea behind Heine's mid-foot or 'arch' cleat positions is rather logical: he and other mid-foot proponents such as renowned coach Joe Friel and Cyclingnews fitness panelist Steve Hogg surmise that the vast majority of a rider's power is produced by the quadriceps, glutes and hamstrings while the lower leg only serves to stabilize the efforts of what happens above. As such, the lower leg is merely a conduit and doesn't produce enough effective power to justify the metabolic cost.