Foot location on pedal

[Paulus]

Always a ball of the foot on the pedal since childhood, whether using flat touring pedals, pedals with toe clips and straps or SPD's.
Depending on the frame and fork spacing, and crank length you could easily get toe overlap when cornering and turning.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I place my cleats as far back as possible. Thus spindle behind ball of foot I suppose. No loss of power and better for the Achilles over prolonged distances. If you are riding not very far, it won’t matter that much, if it works for you.

 

[presta]

I vaguely remember a grown up telling me that I'd wreck my feet if I pedalled on the insteps.

This seems entirely reasonable to me, it's the ball of your foot that you push off from each time you take a step forward, and the ball of your foot that's designed to take the loading. The balls of my feet are over the pedal spindle and the toe clips already touch the mudguard, so there's no scope for change anyway. I can't see how anyone could avoid overlap pedalling on the instep.

 

[Sea of vapours]

I can't see how anyone could avoid overlap pedalling on the instep.

Toe overlap isn't an issue unless you're going very slowly and thus turning tightly, since at normal road speeds the handlebars are not turned all that much. I've only ever once contacted the wheel with a foot and that was not on a road. Clearly, it's advisable to be aware of the /potential/ for contact though!

 

[Dadam]

I always used flats and never thought about it since I was a kid. I remember grown ups, my Dad and probably the bloke on the bikeability at school (or whatever it was called in the 70s) telling me to use the ball of the foot. I tend to unconsciously shift position to get comfortable anyway. Only since first trying cleats 2 years ago did I really think about it and try different settings and have settled on putting the SPD cleats as far back as they'll go on the shoes I have. Further forward just felt uncomfortable.

 

[wafter]

Consider that there are potentially two factors at play here:

- The position of your foot on the pedal in isolation / how the foot interacts with the pedal
- The effect of pedal foot position on the relativity between your feet and your arse

If you're getting knee pain I'd suggest that the latter is the issue. If you can resolve this by pushing your foot forward on the pedal, you might wish to try pushing the saddle back a bit which would give your legs more room and might make the knee situation better.

This will of course increase reach to the bars; which may or may not be a good thing depending on your shape and how the bike is currently setup.

When I first started riding with clipless I got a lot of knee pain and resolved this by pushing the saddle back as well as the cleat position on the shoe to give more room for my freakishly long femurs... this was compensated for by reducing reach with a shorter stem.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Interesting that several people report setting cleats as far back as possible. This is what I do, on the rare occasions that I get new shoes.

When I started with clipless I'd faff around trying to find the right, most comfortable position. I noticed that all this faffing usually resulted in the cleats being right back. So I cut out the faff, and it seems I'm not alone.

 

[Dirk Van Der Dirk]

Knee pain could be due to seat height as well

 

[simongt]

Since 'wising up' about foot on pedal position many years ago, I've always ridden with the balls of my feet on the pedals. It is of course to a point, dependent on other positional issues, but it still works for me - !

 

[midlandsgrimpeur]

The general bike fitter rule of thumb (assuming clipless pedals) is to have your cleats as far back as you can get them as you want to take pressure away from toes which eases tension through the feet and ankles, in theory. It is worth noting if you had cleats positioned really far forward on the shoe and moved them back fully (say more than 1-2 cm), then you should lower actual saddle height to compensate.

 

[Shearwater Missile]

I use flat pedals, always have. I find my foot changes position throughout a ride, does it matter ? It`s a bit like changing your hand position on the bars, that is my line of thought. I used to be a runner and always ran heel-toe and pronated quite a bit. I ran a 10k in under 33 minutes(my fastest). Sometime later when I mentioned about having a bit of knee pain, over use probably, someone suggested that I ran on my toes. I did just that and yes It was easier on the knees, however It did`nt feel natural and I tried to go back to heel-toe, I could not. I can`t run now, cycle no problem. What works for you, works. If it ain`t broke don`t try to fix it !

 

[Ajax Bay]

I used to be a runner and always ran heel-toe and pronated quite a bit. I ran a 10k in under 29 minutes(my fastest).

What @Shearwater Missile was too modest to say was: "I was an excellent runner in my youth with a sub-29 minute 10km!" - extended to a marathon this is sub-2:12 territory.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I use flat pedals, always have. I find my foot changes position throughout a ride, does it matter ? It`s a bit like changing your hand position on the bars, that is my line of thought. I used to be a runner and always ran heel-toe and pronated quite a bit. I ran a 10k in under 29 minutes(my fastest). Sometime later when I mentioned about having a bit of knee pain, over use probably, someone suggested that I ran on my toes. I did just that and yes It was easier on the knees, however It did`nt feel natural and I tried to go back to heel-toe, I could not. I can`t run now, cycle no problem. What works for you, works. If it ain`t broke don`t try to fix it !

I agree - I find that my feet change position at different parts of the ride
I do find I go batter if I move the pressure point towards my toes a bit when I need to pedal harder
and standing on the pedals with the pressure towards the front of my foot helps to get up short steep hills
such as railway and canal bridges

I don't run - never have as it was always boring but very difficult for me
When I was older I found that this was probably due to asthma but I just assumed everyone was like me at the time

these days my knees won't allow it - hence starting riding bikes again - that was

 

[Shearwater Missile]

What @Shearwater Missile was too modest to say was: "I was an excellent runner in my youth with a sub-29 minute 10km!" - extended to a marathon this is sub-2:12 territory.

My apologies. I am incorrect with my time, it was actually 32:45 in 1988. I misremembered, perhaps I hankered after that time. Sorry, I did`nt mean to mislead. It was at the Southend 10k which is a pretty flat course. Do they still do that run ?

 

[Ajax Bay]

I was a teeny weeny bit surprised (but who am I to doubt) as rather few go sub 29!! (Super shoes make a difference nowadays). I never made it under 31 but did win the British Vets (ie over 40) 10k one year in 31mid. Cleats well back.