Quote Originally Posted by Wahine View Post
That's what the manufacturers would say and in theory I wouldn't disagree with that if the interface (transition points between parts of the shoe and pedal) was perfect. But it's not. At every interface you introduce a certain amount of play. It might be very small but it's there. The more play, the more the forces at the interface can affect contact surface etc. So speedplays have a double whammy here. The have more play at the cleat/pedal interface and they have more interfaces between the pedal and the shoe - pedal to cleat, engaging part of cleat to stabilizing part of cleat, stabilized part of cleat to triangular cleat base, triangular cleat base to shoe. My Looks go pedal to cleat (which is all one piece and has less play) cleat to cleat base in shoe. I'm sure that this is a great explanation but it is the best theory I have.

So really, I'm not positive what's going on here, I've noted the difference clinically and through my coaching experience and that's the best explanation I can come up with. All I can say for sure is that my clients with forefoot issues almost always do better with a larger cleat base/pedal, especially the ultra riders I work with.


Hope that helps.
Gotcha. That does help. I can definitely feel more pressure in the ball of my foot...but couldn't make sense of it all Thank you for all of your help with this issue.