cleat placement

For years I rode with Shimano SPD pedals and mountain bike shoes. Last year I began to develop left foot problems. I had intense pain on the outside portion of my foot near the bony portion where the phalanges and metatarsals join. I have seen a foot doctor, undergone an MRI and x-rays with no cause of the pain (at times it was too painful to bear weight).

MY DH encouraged me to switch pedals and shoes to see if that would help. I purchased a pair of Shimano 105's and a pair of Giro Factress shoes. The first couple of rides were pain free but sadly the pain is now returning about 15 miles into a ride. I have switched the arch support in my left show to shallow (green) support. That gave me some extended time today before the pain returned. I currently have the cleat centered on the shoe. Do I need to move it forward? Back? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Go see a professional bike fitter about cleat alignment.

I agree with having your cleat position checked by a professional. For months, I suffered from knee tendinitis in my left leg. My bike guy figured out that the cleat on my left shoe needed to be rotated to the inside whereas my right cleat was fine being perfectly straight. Once that adjustment was made, the pain instantly went away.

Note, you may need to take your question to a few LBS. I tried having my cleats adjusted at two other LBS but they didn't do as good of a job at identifying the problem. Good luck.

You might be able to find someone (if you want to go the advanced route) who does full body analysis on your positioning, weight distribution, etc. I'm considering going to our local guy (http://www.thefootmechanic.com/) to see about custom orthotics while on the bike, as I get a cramp in my left foot on occasion while walking in my road shoes after a ride.

If you can't find a real professional, maybe you have an LBS who can analyze your position. I'm also wondering about your seat position because that can affect how you pedal.

Going to see a professional for a fit is never a bad suggestion. Do it if you can.

Meanwhile, you can try putting your cleats as far back as possible on the shoe. You'll likely have to drop your saddle a little bit to keep from feeling like your reaching for the pedals. Dropping the saddle will keep you from toeing down as much and will create a little more bend in your knee. Both of these factors take some pressure off your calves. Tight calves often lead to the type of foot pain you are describing.

There's a really cool little self test you can do to check your calf length. This is a description of the test. What the instructions don't say is that you also want to make sure that your foot is lined up so that the long axis of the foot is perpendicular to the door. People with tight calves often toe-out (relative to the heel). Although there may not be much research on norms, in my experience 12 to 15 cm from the wall is pretty functional. Less than 12 cm warrants stretching the calves.