There is a commonly held belief among recumbenteers that for best climbing power you should have
your cleats as far back as possible. I've had my cleats set that way for a while. I rode
cross-country last summer with the cleats in that position. For the first week or so I had a sore
left knee but that cleared up and I had no further leg problems for the rest of the trip. I made the
trip on a Tour Easy with Shimano pedals and Shimano sandals. The pedals are the ones that have SPD
on one side and a platform pedal on the other.
This spring I've been riding an older Vision on an indoor fluid trainer and the Tour Easy and a Ryan
Duplex tandem on the road. Last weekend, a beautiful spring weekend in Wisconsin, my wife Sandy and
I rode on the tandem. While riding the tandem, which has a low bottom bracket, I noticed that my
left foot was rotating through an arc as I pedaled. The foot was rotating enough that the toe of my
sandal was rubbing on the crankarm leaving a "smear" of melted rubber on the crankarm. I also
noticed that there was some similar melted rubber on the crankarm of the Vision. I've been
concentrating on pulling up and trying to maintain force all the way through a pedal stroke while on
the indoor trainer but the left foot was still rotating.
The other day I reset my cleats to a more traditional position under the ball of my foot and the
rotation went away. Straight position all the way.
Details. I walk straight without either a toe in or toe out position. The Tour Easy and the Ryan
have low bottom brackets. The Vision has a medium height bottom bracket. I think the bottom bracket
axle on the Ryan is wider/or narrower than that on the Tour Easy. I haven't noticed the rubbing on
the Tour Easy.
My conclusions from this little experiment is that you should set your cleat position for best foot
and leg mechanics, the position that is best for you. There are always exceptions to the recumbent
"bible." Listen to your own body.
Ron Friedel