spd-sl pedals/shoes calve pain

thecryof

Hi all, 3 or so rides of about 40-75 km each with my new Shimano SPD-SL pedals/shoes I began to notice a sharp pain around the back of the right leg, above the calve. Once it became so painful I had to stop. After reading up on this here and other places the modifications that I made are lowering the saddle a small bit and moving the cleats all the way back towards the heel.

I rode today about 46 km with this set-up and noticed the areas that where painful before seem now to be "more" normal, more like they were getting a good workout. I was paying attention to not pull up so hard, and try to pedal normally at a good pace (i need to get the cadence sensor add-on for my computer).

Is it normal to feel more around the back of the knee, and the calve area because I am using these shoes / pedals? How "comfortable" should this set-up really be?

smidsy

Should be totally comfortable.

When you changed pedals and shoes did you allow for any difference in thicknesses as pain at the back of the knee tends to suggest over extension.

If you had no pain before that would suggest the relationship between saddle and BB was good - you need to maintain the same relationship (but compensate for any differences).

thecryof

Yes but, I believe now that raising the saddle after installing the new pedals thinking that my feet were going to be higher on the pedals was a mistake. I'll ride again Sunday and pay attention to the set-up. Good to know that this should ultimately feel comfortable.

singleton

When I first fitted SPD SL pedals, it took some getting used to but I had no pain.

I did re-adjust my saddle height to get a proper fit with the new pedals and shoes.

thecryof

Looks like I have this sorted. I rode 80km with a 25kph average speed today without the pain I had before, but just noticed what seemed normal stress on the knees and legs.