I developed a problem with my foot (from cycling and not stretching I think) which has caused my right heel to push in towards the crank and actually rub on it often. I have seen some body workers and I have a pretty comprehensive issue with my entire leg (crazy tight from sitting in bad form programming all day) but I think I can help it by getting the bike fit better.
I just got clipless pedals 2 years ago (mountain bike style) and that's when the problem started (forcing my foot into one position when my leg was too tight to accommodate it). Foolishly I have not changed the cleats since then and the float is was out of control, allowing my foot to move towards the crank as I push down. Changing the cleats will probably help and the pedals have a way to adjust the tightness but I don't know how much this will help the float (I don't see anyway to adjust that). I tightened them up once a lot to check but I couldn't get my foot out easily enough so I abandoned the idea that was the solution.
Does anyone have advice as to how I can get less float on that right foot as I try to fix the root of the problem without making it worse? I just got some cheap Pearl iZumi shoes and cheapest Shimano pedals (mountain bike style) since I was testing them but maybe road shoes with the 3 point connection have less float? Any ideas would be great.
- Speedplay Zero pedals with their adjustable inner and outer float limit stops. Basically both pedals are independently adjustable for float in both directions via small set screws so you can still have pedal float but with limits set so that you don't hit the crank arms or have to swing your heel really wide to release. They're also double sided like your MTB pedals which make them easy to engage without having to look down and flip them upright which is nice in a road pedal.
- Get a good fit from someone who specializes in cleat fits including, spindle length, shimming and wedging. Excessive foot motion during the pedal stroke is often related to issues such as Q factor or varus/valgus issues or even leg length discrepancies. A good cleat fitter will investigate and has a good toolkit of fixes for these issues. Check out a fitter associated and trained by these folks: http://www.bikefit.com/ They've trained an awful lot of fitters and have good tools for identifying and correcting cleat alignment issues.
-Dave
Related discussions
More from this subject
Closely matching published threads from Road Cycling.
