Unusual shoe cleat position

Quoted message said:

Pat Fleming at [email hidden] 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 <[email hidden]>, "Pat Fleming"

Quoted message said:

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, [email hidden] sfu.ca~rcousineOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

Ryan Cousineau said:

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 said:

Either way, Fabrizio would be disappointed in you.

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

Art Harris

Arthur Harris said:

Rick Onanian said:

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" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Do any riders have the shoe cleat positioned closer to the arch of the

foot,

Quoted message said:

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" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Pat Fleming" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Do any riders have the shoe cleat positioned closer to the arch of the

foot,

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

when I switch to-from my Shimano sandals to my Diadoras & Sidis. I think

the

Quoted message said:

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 said:

Ryan Cousineau said:

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 [censored]. 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.

sheldonbrown.comgearsOpen ↗

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.

Quoted message said:

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, [email hidden] sfu.ca~rcousineOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club