Help, cleat positioning is driving me menatal !!!

starockets

Does anybody out there have any quick tips to help position cleats on a new pair of shoes.

I have had my previous pair of shoes for 7 years or so and everything was fine (apart from them falling apart). So, i have replaced them with a new pair of Sidi's, old ones were Pearl Izumi. The problem is that I cannot get my right cleat in a position that feels comfortable and right now i'm starting to go somewhat loopy.

It doesn't help that the left foot was fine in one hit.

I have googled myself out trying to find a solution but so far only the "standard" answers pop up and I have tried all of them. I have even resorted to bare feet to see how things shape up "naturally" but still to no avail.

Any wild and barking mad ideas floating around the forum by any chance?

Wooliferkins

http://www.ergon-bike.com/gb/en/product/tp1 :?:

boneyjoe

Also had this with a new pair recently. Think its just that each shoe will fit your foot in a slightly different way, and it takes some time to get used to it. Got the cleat as close as possible to the perfect position, and then just rode without fiddling for a couple of weeks. Haven't looked back.

forward_loop

Are you sure its the cleats - the inserts on Sidis are terrible ?

Difficult to offer other options without knowing what you have tried - or what the actual issue is ?

starockets

Forward loop wrote:

Are you sure its the cleats - the inserts on Sidis are terrible ?

Difficult to offer other options without knowing what you have tried - or what the actual issue is ?

This could be the next option, I've had a look at the inserts and they are a bit guff.
Any recommendations on the the best ones available?

I've tried hanging my legs of a table, marking my feet / shoes, moving the cleat bit by bit, riding with the cleat semi loose then getting out of the shoe and tightening the cleats up in that position.

I've even tried putting the old shoe on the problem foot paired up with the new shoe on the ok foot. That felt fine.

The main issue is that wherever I put the cleat I feel myself wanting to move the foot into a different position so as to get comfy on the pedals. I'm starting to think I have a bit of a mental block now and whatever I try will result in me thinking it's not right.

sungod

i use specialized's bg footbeds in both sidi and specialized shoes, three different ones available...

red - standard
blue - medium arch support
green - huge arch support

...unless you can get to one of the the shops that does fitting, you'll need to know how much you pronate to choose the right one

rough guide to self-assessing pronation...

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7 ... -0,00.html

if there's none/slight, get red
if it's maybe an inch of ankle shift, get blue
if it's more, get green

...but it's better to get proper assessment, especially if there's a lot of movement

also, they are supplied with sets of shims as well to adjust foot angle, and a guide to self-assessing/fitting

excellent footbeds, i use blue and the yellow shim, solved problems i had (after much time trying different cleat positions, pedals etc.)

Monty Dog

Does it feel just weird or are you experiencing discomfort / pain? Perhaps a pedal that offers a greater degree of lateral float is the solution - maybe your old shoes were so sloppy your didn't notice? I'd start on the basis that you are symmetrical i.e cleat-positions are symmetrical, but if you know you have leg-length discrepencies or prior injuries/ problems than strongly suggest you seek extra help - £50 for a bike fit might seem extravagant but won't be if you're laid-up for 3 months with knee-trouble.

starockets

Monty Dog wrote:

Does it feel just weird or are you experiencing discomfort / pain? Perhaps a pedal that offers a greater degree of lateral float is the solution - maybe your old shoes were so sloppy your didn't notice? I'd start on the basis that you are symmetrical i.e cleat-positions are symmetrical, but if you know you have leg-length discrepencies or prior injuries/ problems than strongly suggest you seek extra help - £50 for a bike fit might seem extravagant but won't be if you're laid-up for 3 months with knee-trouble.

I've had my bikes set up from a bike fit done a few years ago and all is good in that department. It's got me the length of the country without any problems on the old set up.

I haven't any pain as yet with this new set up, it is more of a niggling annoyance. The sort where you tuck your shirt in badly and you are forever fidgeting to get comfy, eventually starting off all over again.

I'm going to try some differenent insoles tonight taken from various walking boots, cricket shoes, existing cycling shoes just to see what differences there are if any over the standard Sidi "piece of cloth covered cardboard".

"strongly suggest you seek extra help" this is what my girlfriend keeps telling me whilst holding me up on the rollers in a freezing garage at 11 o'clock at night.