Cleat positioning???

[effy]

Ok, I have two pairs of SPD riding shoes and I'm still dialing in the newest pair. The first pair I have has the cleats positioned off the ball of the feet. (This works for me) Now my hubby just read an article about a Dr. who says it may be easier on the foot, if the cleat is actually in the middle of the shoe, under the arch. This would require drilling new holes for the cleats. I just wanted to find out what other people are doing with there cleats, whether they are SPD or LOOK. Your feed back would be helpful.

[Mr. SR500]

You naturally ride with your arch over the pedal spindle, just hop on a cruiser and look at your feet after a couple minutes.

However, ball of the foot over the spindle is still the best rule of thumb. Spinners tend to slide the cleat up a hair, mashers or power riders slide it back. Make small adjustments and see what feels best.

I've never seen anyone move cleats by drilling new holes. However, I've have modified cleats to get a bigger q-factor (moving the feet apart or away from the bottom bracket). Most cleats don't offer enough adjustment there.

[OakLeaf]

Ball of the foot over the spindle. That's how I ride the commuter, too (platform pedals, no clips). It hurts my knees even thinking about putting my arch over the spindle. Maybe that's because I'm an overpronator and it's not so easy to correct for that while cycling??

ETA Post a link to that article, but it doesn't really make sense to me. Your arch isn't made to touch the ground when you walk or run - why should it touch the pedal when you ride?

[alpinerabbit]

there are bunches of discussions on arch cleat position on cyclingnews.com - dunno.

I just noticed although my cleats were positioned equally on both shoes, I constantly had the unpleasand feeling that they were too far forward on my right foot. Tried to scoot more into the toe box but it would not help for long. I've moved them back, will test this weekend.

Foot Length discrepancy?

[makbike]

When I went for my fitting they moved my as far forward as possible due to my severe "toe pointing." It has helped.

[SouthernBelle]

Mine are slightly back from the balls of the feet. Not to the arch by any means.

On my clip free commuter, I ride in pretty much the same spot.

[effy]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness.php?id=fitness/2008/bike_position
http://www2.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2007/01/cleat-position.html

My apologies this guy is not a Dr, but a cyclist. My husband was reading the first article and did a google search and the next site was found. I know that what may work for this guy may not work for me, but I do like to be informed and get feed back from others. I'm very new to cycling, so your imput is really appriecated.
Thank you for the imput so far.

[KnottedYet]

Sheldon Brown www.sheldonbrown.com and Andy Pruitt's Complete Medical Guide for Cyclists are both very good resources.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

At first I thought this thread was titled "Cleat Poisoning". :cool:

[aicabsolut]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness.php?id=fitness/2008/bike_position
http://www2.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2007/01/cleat-position.html

My apologies this guy is not a Dr, but a cyclist. My husband was reading the first article and did a google search and the next site was found. I know that what may work for this guy may not work for me, but I do like to be informed and get feed back from others. I'm very new to cycling, so your imput is really appriecated.
Thank you for the imput so far.

This shouldn't require drilling more holes. He's only talking about something like a 5mm move back from first metatarsal over pedal spindle. The plate in the shoe will easily move that much. I tend to follow this fit generally. Works well for me. It eliminated hot spots I'd get on the balls of my feet from having the cleats too far forward.