Cleat position

[jowwy]

I posted the question as to find out where other people place their cleats in relation to foot position to gauge a response and open up debate on what feels better for you and why....

i have both set-ups and find that cleat position forward is best for my pedalling style and performance. it wasn't about am i doing it right, did the LBS set them up for me, or do i know what i'm doing.

many people will have different set-ups and there will be a reason for that, injury, fitness, comfort etc

 

[black'n'yellow]

Not everybody's cleats will be in exactly the same position, if that's what you meant. But general consensus it that the pedal axle should be under the ball of your foot - and the cleat position should reflect that - certainly within a few mm either way to accomodate personal preference...

 

[jowwy]

Not everybody's cleats will be in exactly the same position, if that's what you meant. But general consensus it that the pedal axle should be under the ball of your foot - and the cleat position should reflect that - certainly within a few mm either way to accomodate personal preference...

no it isn't what i meant hence this comment on my last post

many people will have different set-ups and there will be a reason for that, injury, fitness, comfort etc

 

[black'n'yellow]

ok, I'm with you now - it's another one of those "what size trousers do you wear?" threads. I'll leave you to it..

 

[jowwy]

ok, I'm with you now - it's another one of those "what size trousers do you wear?" threads. I'll leave you to it..

 

[gaz]

I've seen people who have made custom mounts in the very middle of the shoe and put the SPD cleat there. As they prefer the position.
Just imagine them coming to a hell and trying to pedal out of the saddle, HAHA!

 

[jowwy]

I've seen people who have made custom mounts in the very middle of the shoe and put the SPD cleat there. As they prefer the position.
Just imagine them coming to a hell and trying to pedal out of the saddle, HAHA!

yeh i know gaz - its one of the reasons i posted the question - because i have seen many pictures of different cleat positions and just wanted to know what people prefer

 

[Leaway2]

This post contains (perhaps unwittingly) a signpost about the way cycling is going in terms of acquired knowledge and the seeking thereof.

Many years ago I bought my first set of (Look) clipless pedals and shoes to match. The guy in my LBS set them up for me and showed me the basic tips and variables. It was the 'old' type of Look pedal and had grubscrew adjusters for the spring.

These days many people buy accessories online (nothing wrong with that and I do it myself) and miss out on the often valuable input of experienced cyclists at the point of sale.

The web forum is a wonderful thing and has much to commend it, but it can't put a spanner on your headset and say "About this tight" or give a tug on your gear cables and say "This is the sort of tension you're aiming for".

The confidence imbued by this sort of face-to-face chat with an experienced spanner-twiddler is invaluable. There will be less and less of it.

This is absolutely not a criticism of the OP, who asks a very reasonable question. It's just an observation.

Very true I am sure, but t'interweb is stocked full of choice, advice, videos, instantly on demand, its probably the best time to maintain your bicycle.

Sorry OP off topic again

 

[byegad]

Under the ball of the foot for an upright and further back on a recumbent. Don't know why it works like that but I had to move my cleats well back when I went recumbent.

 

[RWright]

http://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/blog/2011/04/power-to-the-pedal-cleat-position/

 

[WobblyBob]

I have mine pushed back as far as they'll go, i only went clipless last year & put them as far forward (not sure why) as they would go, went out on a 20 mile ride & my calf's were killing me, i then did a little research & then changed them to the rear & have never had a problem since.
I used to run until having problems with my calves hence the cycling, so my cleat 'issue' is more than likely injury related....but hey it works for me

 

[RWright]

I have a bad knee and went with them as far back on the shoe as possible without modification to the shoe. Works for me too.

 

[Eribiste]

My (cheap Aldi) shoes have two positions for the cleats along the foot. I started off with the cleats on the forward position, but because my hamstrings were starting to ache at about 30 miles, I tried the rear setting partly for an experiment, and partly because I read the words of wisdom from Sheldon Brown. I have found that using the aft position has cured the hamstring problem a treat! It's only a small positional change, just a few mm, but these small changes can make a lot of difference to comfort in my experience.