Cleat position

[Justinslow]

Hi.
Any thoughts on the best position for cleats in relation to the shoe - more to the front of the shoe or more to the rear of the shoe?
Reason I ask is i noticed mine were not the same on each shoe/pedal (must have moved in use) when turning the bars one shoe was just coming into contact with the front wheel and the other had clearance. I've moved them both to the front of the shoes to allow maximum clearance with my front wheel. This was on my TT bike and I don't have the issue with my road bike as there is more clearance so hadn't noticed.

 

[Milkfloat]

Take a look here - midway down.
http://bikedynamics.co.uk/fit01.htm

 

[screenman]

You need them in the correct position for your foot, not sure what the front wheel has got to do with it. If you are going to turn the bars that much you may as well be walking.

 

[fossyant]

You need the ball of your foot directly over the pedal axel, so that generally means the cleat needs to be under the ball of your foot

 

[User6179]

Cleats as far back as they can go for me and towards the BB ,Tried them forward once and did 50 miles , my calfs were sore for a week .
I think you need to cycle a flat pedal first and see what your natural position is .

 

[Levo-Lon]

I like mine forward towards the toes..
i seem to get the hot spot with them set back..also i find i can unclip faster and easier with them forward..more leverage i spose,but i do have low mobility joints..unlike some who can rotate the feet well past the realease point.
i could never do the turned foot when playing golf..my leg would snap if my shoe didnt turn at the end of the swing..

 

[jowwy]

all the way back for me....stopped all knee and foot pain when i did that.

 

[Sea of vapours]

As far back as I can get for me, which isn't as far back as I'd like. Lots of toe overlap but that's only an issue at near-stationary speeds, so it's easy to avoid the possible problems.

Steve Hogg has a very good article on the possible benefits of midfoot cleat positioning.

 

[Levo-Lon]

As others have said, under the ball of your foot is the place to be. Not moved somewhere to deal with a toe overlap issue. To get the angle right, sit on a table with your feet dangling and replicate the position your feet sit at.

i use that method for cleat angle in relation to how your feet are toe in or toe out..but the fore and aft is different? I think, you should have ball of foot knee centre in line etc..but that dont suit me..but its a good start point..

 

[Justinslow]

Ok thanks all, the shoe clashing with the wheel has not been an issue as like others have said the bars are not turned that much, particularly on a TT bike where it's all about going fast in relatively straight lines! It was purely because one shoe and cleat were different to the other so I was trying to "reset".

 

[Tin Pot]

Mine are all the way back based on a 4hr bike fitting session. A combination of concern for toes, hill climbing and general triathlete approach.

 

[User482]

You need the ball of your foot directly over the pedal axel, so that generally means the cleat needs to be under the ball of your foot

I used to set mine up that way, but increasingly was suffering pain in the back of my knees. A tip given to me by my LBS was to set the cleat back 5mm so the ball of your foot is just forward of the axle. The reason is that when sprinting or climbing, your foot will move back slightly in your shoe, and that's when you're putting most pressure on your joints.

Whatever the logic, it worked - no more pain. The owner of my LBS is Oli Beckingsale, former CX national champion, so I pay attention to his advice.

 

[ianrauk]

I used to set mine up that way, but increasingly was suffering pain in the back of my knees. A tip given to me by my LBS was to set the cleat back 5mm so the ball of your foot is just forward of the axle.

I suffered the same and remedied it with the same solution.

 

[Justinslow]

It is interesting and thanks for all replies.
I've read the links supplied and yes readjusted so that the cleat is pretty much as far rearward as possible. Interestingly though my shoes don't actually allow for that much fore and aft movement, maybe a centimetre or so. The ball of my foot is over or just in front of the pedal spindle, I think for TT riding it needs to be there rather than the cleat forward in the shoe.

 

[martint235]

There's a lot of trial and error in it but the above has set you going. Now you might need to tweak them a bit but not much (I need my heels pointing out slightly for example).

If you get hotfoot, just alter them a little bit.