Feet Angles & Clipless Pedal Setup

doyler78

Does anyone know anyone who has ever not been able to use clipless pedals because their foot it angled to widely.

In the past I have tried to use spd's (have m-324 combi pedal - platform one side and spd binding other side) however always got bad knee and hip pain and had to give up. I put it down to my fitting and not really knowing what I was doing however I read the c+ article on seat height which suggested a 25 degree knee bend using goniometer. Checked them out and got one for £8 so thought it was worth a try.

It gave me the idea when I got it that I could use it to sort out my spd setup ie I could use the angles my feet are when standing in an unforced position and then replicate that on the bike. Result was that my spds will only allow a maximum angle of adjustment left or right of centre of about 8 degrees which is perfect for my right foot however my left foot has a 16 degree angle so I have no way of creating my natural angle on the bike - in fact I don't even come close.

This doesn't suprise me as when I have tried before I was left with very bad knee and hip pain which would put me off the bike for several weeks hence my reluctance to even revisit them however from time to time I do go there as I really wanted to be able to use clipless as I wanted to do a lot more riding and this would greatly have assisted me in being much more efficient.

Just wondered if anyone else had come across this problem and is their any clipless pedal system which would allow a much greater range of movement in the setup of the cleat left or right of centre, in my case right of centre as I am toes out.

Hate toe clips so really not interested in that as a potential solution would rather just stick to being slow in trainers if that is my only other option.

redddraggon

Are you duck footed?

I'm duck footed (nearly 45 degrees) when I walk, I tried to replicate this with cleat position but all that happened was rip chunks out of my shoes and overshoes through contact with the crank arms and chain stays.

I gave up and positioned my cleats so that my feet are nearly straight to avoid contact with crankarms/chainstays. Luckily I'm not suffering from any knee from this positioning.

Garybee

You should be able to achieve as much angle as you want by fitting the cleats to your shoes at an angle. The limit will be when your heel hits the crank-arm though. ou can improve this (slightly) by spacing the pedal further out using washers between it and the crank-arm.

doyler78

redddraggon wrote:

Are you duck footed?

I'm duck footed (nearly 45 degrees) when I walk, I tried to replicate this with cleat position but all that happened was rip chunks out of my shoes and overshoes through contact with the crank arms and chain stays.

I gave up and positioned my cleats so that my feet are nearly straight to avoid contact with crankarms/chainstays. Luckily I'm not suffering from any knee from this positioning.

Could well - just measured this on the ground and the angle is 40 degrees when measured from the centre of the back of my foot to the centre of my toes. When I couldn't achieve the angles I wanted I then started with a central position and worked round until I reached the furthest I could get. All those would give me the feeling as though my knee was twisted therefore pretty certain they weren't going to work I gave up as I didn't want to cause the problems which I had previously experienced with weeks of the bike.

Good to hear you managed to find a position which was useable.

doyler78

Garybee wrote:

You should be able to achieve as much angle as you want by fitting the cleats to your shoes at an angle. The limit will be when your heel hits the crank-arm though. ou can improve this (slightly) by spacing the pedal further out using washers between it and the crank-arm.

Garybee that sounds interesting however I'm lost on how to achieve any more angle. I have it is far to the right as possible and have it twisted round on the bolts as far as it will allow given that it is fixed to faceplate which attached to the shoe and there is a central strip between both sides of the screw fixings on the shoe. How do I get the extra angle?

Garybee

Sounds like you are a pretty extreme case. What types of cleat/pedal are you using?

doyler78

Garybee wrote:

Sounds like you are a pretty extreme case. What types of cleat/pedal are you using?

SPD's - SM-SH56 multi-release cleats (can't twist out on left side either - not enough flexibility in my foot reason why multi-release is essential) Pedal is the Shimano PD-M324 which is combi pedal - basically spd binding one side and a platform on the other (which is use almost exclusively).

taffyscouser

Sit on the edge of a table and let yout feet dangle. Relax and give it a few minutes. Look down at your feet,,,,,are they ankled in any way? If yes it is a rough ball park way of trying to get a rough estimate from the way they angle as to how to set the cleats before you adjust them for fine tune. If you are that extreme consider the local bike shop with some measuring skills or get a poper bike set up session with a club coach or similar.

doyler78

taffyscouser wrote:

Sit on the edge of a table and let yout feet dangle. Relax and give it a few minutes. Look down at your feet,,,,,are they ankled in any way? If yes it is a rough ball park way of trying to get a rough estimate from the way they angle as to how to set the cleats before you adjust them for fine tune. If you are that extreme consider the local bike shop with some measuring skills or get a poper bike set up session with a club coach or similar.

Unfortunately Northern Ireland seems to be deficient in LBS that offer bike fitting services beyond the standard and as a consequence I have been unable to find any that offer cleat fitting unless of course anyone out there knows of one.