Cleat Positioning

TMR

My cleats were fitted by Bespoke Cycles when I went for a Retul fit with them. At the time I noticed that one of the cleats was further forwards than the other. When I mentioned this I was told it was so the shoes were anatomically in the same place. I've been reflecting on this and have realised it's a bizarre explanation for two reasons; firstly only one side of my body (the left) was hooked up to the Retul system so he couldn't possible have any idea what the other side was doing, and he didn't check the right side at all during the fit.

I went out last weekend and my right calf was sore afterwards. I went out yesterday on a 40 mile club run and the tendon behind my right knee and my right hamstring are now sore. I've lost confidence in the fit TBH, and am thinking about trying someone else.

Should the cleats be positioned identically on the shoes? My left side is fine, so I could try mirroring that placement on the right and see how I get on.

T-Rekster

perhaps not the best advice but I simply located the cleats visually centrally on where I perceived my foot would normally apply pressure and ensured that both were centred in perfect line with the shoe itself and with each other, the result is my foot sits on the pedal almost exactly in a parallel line with the drive train. for me this has kept my entire leg straight and in line with the bike, no twisting of the ankle or knee, and to date no aches & pains.

Others probably know better but this worked for me

BTW I use road shoes & pedals with a floating cleat which allows some natural movement of the foot.

Berk Bonebonce

People's feet can be different from one another, but just how different I am not sure. Not different enough to require a different cleat location.

too slow to go

I`m still having trouble setting the cleat for my left shoe as i have found my left foot turns in slightly and i keep getting cramp on my left leg after 20 - 25 mins cycling. I too thought both should be centred and identical but its not that simple for me

So for me there is a difference from left to right.

Mark Bom

This is a topical post for me as I've developed a 'warm' feeling in my left knee during the past few rides due to, I believe, cleat position.

I'm new to road shoes and cleats and although I've felt no pain in my left knee, I could tell it wasn't quite right and as such I've been tinkering with the position of the cleat to try and rectify the problem.

I'm still feeling uncormfortable in my left knee, no real pain, but it doesn't feel right and after yesterdays ride has developed a nice warm sensation inside.

My question is, should I rest and wait for the knee to recover then start again with adjusting the cleat position, as at the minute I don't know if I'm improving the situaton or not?
All very frustrating!

There's a great article in BikeRadar about knees and problems with cleats etc that I've found useful for the future. Just type in 'knees' in the search field.

Mark Bom

Forgot to mention...on the article about knees, it suggests sitting on a table with your legs dangling in a 90% position to the table. Then as they hang in a relaxed state, you can see the natural position of your feet and the position your cleats should be fixed.

Might help the OP's problem. I'm gonna try it later!

Teach

Mark Bom wrote:

Forgot to mention...on the article about knees, it suggests sitting on a table with your legs dangling in a 90% position to the table. Then as they hang in a relaxed state, you can see the natural position of your feet and the position your cleats should be fixed.

Might help the OP's problem. I'm gonna try it later!

Couldn't agree with you more. I was having problems and saw this original post. I walk slightly pigeon toed. I had the cleats set absolutely central. My right shoe now points inwards and the left is nearly straight on. The difference is huge and I bet there isn't a centimetre in difference but shh... don't tell anyone, my right knee no longer hurts.