I have a slightly 'weird' legs, in that my femurs are retroverted causing my feet to turn outwards a bit more than normal. If I stand with my feet pointing straight ahead, pedal width apart and squat, my knees meet in the middle before I even get half way. I currently have my feet pointing straight forwards on the pedals, and so my knees must either be moving closer / further away from the frame during the pedal cycle, or are being forced into a funny position. I guess that can't be good....
Should I realign the cleats so my knees (and thus thighs) move in a straight line with respect to the frame? This would involve moving the cleat so my feet point away from the frame at an angle of about 10 degrees. Is this a common solution? Will it increase my power generation potential?
Also, I posted on 30/10/2004 about a drive chain click. I took the bike to my LBS, and they test rode it (the guy was bigger than me and a semi-pro rider). No click. There was also no obvious problem with cranks, bb, seat post / bars, etc. Maybe playing with the cleats is the solution?
A copy of the post:
Quoted message said:
My bike has developed a intermittent click - by intermittent, I mean it will happen for a few minute, then disappear for a period of time; this could be a few minutes, could be an hour. It's a definite, short 'click', not a grind or anything like that. I seem to notice it more going uphill. It happens at the same stage of the pedal cycle (with the left crank at 10 o'clock). It doesn't happen if I peddle with my right foot only (i.e. left foot unclipped), but does happen (intermittently) if I peddle with my left foot only. It happens on both sides of the SPD. I can't reproduce it pedalling backwards, or with the bike on the stand. I've tried tightening / loosening the SPDs with no effect. I haven't noticed it if I ride with normal shoes, but then again I didn't ride it for long to test it.
The bike is a Raleigh steel frame road bike, Sora throughout, Ultegra hubs handbuild with Mavic CXP22s. The peddles are Wellgo MTB SPDs, and I ride them with a relatively cheep pair of Luck road shoes and Shimano cleats. The gears are set up pretty much perfectly, and as far as I'm aware (the bike is second hand from a careful owner), it's never been crashed.
My intuition says it's something to do with the left SPD pedal
I have a slightly 'weird' legs, in that my femurs are retroverted causing my feet to turn outwards a bit more than normal. If I stand with my feet pointing straight ahead, pedal width apart and squat, my knees meet in the middle before I even get half way. I currently have my feet pointing straight forwards on the pedals, and so my knees must either be moving closer / further away from the frame during the pedal cycle, or are being forced into a funny position. I guess that can't be good....
Should I realign the cleats so my knees (and thus thighs) move in a straight line with respect to the frame? This would involve moving the cleat so my feet point away from the frame at an angle of about 10 degrees. Is this a common solution? Will it increase my power generation potential?
Thank you in advance, David
Wouldn't positioning the cleat like that make your heels hit the crank arms? If not, then I think you should do it to save your knees. You can get pedals with extended spindles if you need them.
: : I have a slightly 'weird' legs, in that my femurs are retroverted causing my : feet to turn outwards a bit more than normal. If I stand with my feet : pointing straight ahead, pedal width apart and squat, my knees meet in the : middle before I even get half way. I currently have my feet pointing : straight forwards on the pedals, and so my knees must either be moving : closer / further away from the frame during the pedal cycle, or are being : forced into a funny position. I guess that can't be good.... : : Should I realign the cleats so my knees (and thus thighs) move in a straight : line with respect to the frame? This would involve moving the cleat so my : feet point away from the frame at an angle of about 10 degrees. Is this a : common solution? Will it increase my power generation potential? : : Thank you in advance, : David
I took my cleats off my shoes to "fix" them and then put the right one back on---wrong. I decided to have my toes point straight ahead, but I guess since my ankle operation that foot likes to point outward slightly. Moral of the story: I wound up with some severe knee pain and had to get an injection into the knee capsule. My 2 cents: fix the cleats so that your knees feel good. As soon as I figured out what was wrong, I rotated the cleat and my knee pain went away (gradually). Now, my left foot points forward and my right foot points slightly outward and everybody is happy.
On Fri, 05 Nov 2004 22:48:40 GMT, "Dave Hallsworth" <[email hidden]>
Quoted message said:
Should I realign the cleats so my knees (and thus thighs) move in a straight line with respect to the frame? This would involve moving the cleat so my feet point away from the frame at an angle of about 10 degrees. Is this a common solution? Will it increase my power generation potential?
My opinion only:
No pain, no problem. If the knees give you trouble, do what it takes to make them stop. If that means that your feet are angled outward, so be it. A heel-in foot position can be hard to work with unless the pedal has a relatively long shaft, though.
If you're really worried, consult a sports med specialist or the orthopedist that I assume you already have. -- Typoes are a feature, not a bug. Some gardening required to reply via email. Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.
I have a slightly 'weird' legs, in that my femurs are retroverted causing my feet to turn outwards a bit more than normal. If I stand with my feet pointing straight ahead, pedal width apart and squat, my knees meet in the middle before I even get half way. I currently have my feet pointing straight forwards on the pedals, and so my knees must either be moving closer / further away from the frame during the pedal cycle, or are being forced into a funny position. I guess that can't be good....
Watch pro racers ride... lots of them have their knees going toward the center of the bike when at the top of the pedal stroke.
Quoted message said:
Should I realign the cleats so my knees (and thus thighs) move in a straight line with respect to the frame? This would involve moving the cleat so my feet point away from the frame at an angle of about 10 degrees. Is this a common solution? Will it increase my power generation potential?
Most people have their feet pointed slightly out.
You might want to get fitted by an experienced person at a shop.
