Quote Originally Posted by ny biker View Post
My heels hit the cranks when I pedal. Has anyone had this problem, and if so what was your solution?

I have Speedplay X-2 cleats.

My feet are naturally toe-out, heel-in, and the right foot points out at more of an angle than the left due to ankle/tendon surgery that I had 20 years ago. I've had pain from a patella tracking problem in the right knee in the past, though it has not bothered me lately.

The first attempt to solve the problem of the heels hitting the cranks was to move the cleats slightly. After that adjustment, I focused on pedaling with my heels out a bit so that they wouldn't hit the cranks. The result was a resurgence of the patella-tracking pain. I've been able to minimize that pain by going back to hitting my heels, though it still hurts a bit going uphill.

I'm talking to the fitter at the LBS about getting longer spindles on the pedals, to move my feet away from the bike more. Unfortunately X-2 pedals don't have that option, so I'll have to buy X-5s which I gather are not cheap. But that won't happen for more than a week, because the fitter will be out of town at a training course.

I realize that longer spindles might solve the heel-strike problem but also cause different alignment problems. So while I'm waiting, I thought I'd ask here to see if anyone has any experience with this issue.

Thanks!!
I have the same problem - my right foot is extremely toed-out and the right knee has problems (multiple surgeries have rendered it prone to patella pain).

My solution was to rotate my hips. I turned the saddle slightly to the left so that my right foot, in its natural position relative to my hip, was more parallel to the crank. This might not work for you if your knee also has a problem.