Unusual shoe cleat position

Do any riders have the shoe cleat positioned closer to the arch of the foot,
rather than at the ball of the foot? Any advantage or disadvantage?

Pat Fleming at wrote:
Do any riders have the shoe cleat positioned closer to the arch of the foot,
rather than at the ball of the foot? Any advantage or disadvantage?

Some recumbent riders feel that the further back cleat position is better.

In article ,
"Pat Fleming" wrote:

Do any riders have the shoe cleat positioned closer to the arch of the foot,
rather than at the ball of the foot? Any advantage or disadvantage?

Yes. I have my cleats very far back, something I started after badly
messing up my Achilles tendon on my first 100km ride. Messed it up so
badly I couldn't walk properly for several days!

The cleats were one of two adjustments I made, the other being to drop
my seat slightly. Whatever worked, worked, because I did the same ride
about two months later without incident.

Now I also use shorter cranks, to try to combat knee issues. Yeah, I
have fun legs.

Oh yeah, there are two issues with further-back cleats:

1) it feels funny for a while, especially pedal entry. This is because
you have to line up a different part of your foot, but also because
you're probably into a part of the cleat pocket which has less clearance
around the cleat to the rubber, and thus seems slightly fussier about
entry.

2) it increases toe-overlap with the front wheel. I have a some toe
overlap even without wacky cleat positions. Riding a fendered bike makes
it better and worse: worse because the fender adds another inch or so of
overlap, better because striking a fender with your toe is not nearly as
disconcerting (or hazardous) as hitting the tire.

--
Ryan Cousineau, http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine
President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

On Fri, 21 Nov 2003 01:35:12 -0800, Ryan Cousineau
wrote:
Now I also use shorter cranks, to try to combat knee issues. Yeah, I
have fun legs.

Shorter cranks? I imagine that the extra leverage, and the
resulting reduced force, would make long cranks the better choice
for knee problems; unless the issue is extension range.

Either way, Fabrizio would be disappointed in you.
--
Rick Onanian

"Rick Onanian" wrote:
Either way, Fabrizio would be disappointed in you.

Yeah, he probably doesn't even ride a 52 cm frame. ;-

Art Harris

Arthur Harris wrote:
"Rick Onanian" wrote:
Either way, Fabrizio would be disappointed in you.

Yeah, he probably doesn't even ride a 52 cm frame. ;-

Art Harris

He would if the bike was stylish enough in other ways. Remember style always
come first. Speed and comfort are functions of style.

--
Perre

You have to be smarter than a robot to reply.

"Pat Fleming" wrote in message
t...
Do any riders have the shoe cleat positioned closer to the arch of the
foot,
rather than at the ball of the foot? Any advantage or disadvantage?

I always use the forward bolts but have trouble finding the clip-in position
when I switch to-from my Shimano sandals to my Diadoras & Sidis. I think the
cleats are farther back on the sandals but I'm not sure if that's the only
reason they feel more relaxed.

Doug
Toronto

"Doug Purdy" wrote in message
ble.rogers.com...
"Pat Fleming" wrote in message
t...
Do any riders have the shoe cleat positioned closer to the arch of the
foot,
rather than at the ball of the foot? Any advantage or disadvantage?

I always use the forward bolts but have trouble finding the clip-in
position
when I switch to-from my Shimano sandals to my Diadoras & Sidis. I think
the
cleats are farther back on the sandals but I'm not sure if that's the only
reason they feel more relaxed.

Another thought... my Sidis are my winter shoes at size 49/50, while my
sandals are 47/48. When I switch between the two I'm just wearing normal
bike socks and my heels are at the back of both shoes so the cleats on the
Sidis would have to be farther forward relative to my foot.

I feel like I have more power in the sandals. In summer socks, like I'm
wearing in the Sidis in this warm 40-55F/5-12C weather, I feel the cleats on
the Sidis are too far forward.

But it's not critical for this commuter. When I finish adjusting my front
derailleurs and fixing my brake squeal I might get around to it. By then
I'll be wearing winter socks and the cleat position will be almost correct.
Don't you just LOVE a problem you can fix by ignoring it?

Doug
Toronto

In article ,
Rick Onanian wrote:

On Fri, 21 Nov 2003 01:35:12 -0800, Ryan Cousineau
wrote:
Now I also use shorter cranks, to try to combat knee issues. Yeah, I
have fun legs.

Shorter cranks? I imagine that the extra leverage, and the
resulting reduced force, would make long cranks the better choice
for knee problems; unless the issue is extension range.

The shorter cranks put my knees through a smaller range of motion,
avoiding the "deep knee bend" action that puts me into the pain zone.

The whole "crank-length=leverage" theory is complete crap. Thanks to
gearing, you can expose yourself to just about any level of knee force
you want on any length of crank you feel like. Sheldon Brown's "gain
ratio" concept makes this explicit, since it takes crank length into
account when calculating gearing.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gears/

I run a 13-26 "V" 8-speed cassette on my fast bike with 53-39 gears.
Nothing magical about those gearing choices: I don't really need
anything bigger than a 53-13, and the 26 gives me a generous climbing
cog.

With 170 mm cranks, the gain ratio goes from 2.9 to 8.0, assuming a
23-622 (700C) tire.

With 165 mm cranks, it goes from 3.0 to 8.2. This is the same as going
from a 53-39 to a 54-40 and staying with the 170mm.

To be sure, the physiological change is also pretty small. I can tell
the difference between my 165 mm fast bike and my commuter, which still
has 170 mm cranks, and, um...gearing of some sort.

Either way, Fabrizio would be disappointed in you.
--
Rick Onanian

I need to take some pictures of my bikes. You have no idea.

I also wear Sugoi arm warmers and Trek leg warmers, so I don't think
those are exotic enough for him. Maybe he likes the Hind jersey,
--
Ryan Cousineau, http://www.sfu.ca/~rcousine
President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club