Heels hitting the cranks - solutions?

[Hi Ho Silver]

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.

[OakLeaf]

Work on strengthening your hip rotators, and on foot strength and flexibility so you're weighting four corners equally inside your shoes? Have you worked with a PT since your surgery?

[ny biker]

Work on strengthening your hip rotators, and on foot strength and flexibility so you're weighting four corners equally inside your shoes? Have you worked with a PT since your surgery?

I don't understand what weighting four corners means.

I worked a with a PT for many months after the surgery. I worked with another PT when the knee pain first surfaced, which was probably 5-7 years ago, I don't remember exactly. The knee rarely hurt after that, until recently when I tried to keep my heel from hitting the crank by changing the angle of my foot relative to the pedal.

[OakLeaf]

I don't understand what weighting four corners means.

The parts of your feet that are ideally the most weightbearing are the first and fifth metatarsal heads, and each side of the heel. The three arches in the foot - medial, lateral and transverse (metatarsal) are there to absorb shock and position the feet around whatever we're walking/running/standing on. A lot of times, especially when we don't spend any time barefoot on uneven surfaces, we let our feet go "splat" with nothing really supporting or aligning our bodies below the ankle. That leads to all kinds of problems further up the chain.

This is all stuff I learned the hard way. They put me in foot orthotics when I was six years old rather than try to find shoes that fit my flippers. I've come a long way in the past few years, but there's 40 years of weakness and rigidity to undo, and it's taking time. If you had bones fused during your surgery there may be a limit to how much your feet can do, and you may need to rely on orthotics to some extent, that's why I asked about PT.

[ny biker]

The parts of your feet that are ideally the most weightbearing are the first and fifth metatarsal heads, and each side of the heel. The three arches in the foot - medial, lateral and transverse (metatarsal) are there to absorb shock and position the feet around whatever we're walking/running/standing on. A lot of times, especially when we don't spend any time barefoot on uneven surfaces, we let our feet go "splat" with nothing really supporting or aligning our bodies below the ankle. That leads to all kinds of problems further up the chain.

This is all stuff I learned the hard way. They put me in foot orthotics when I was six years old rather than try to find shoes that fit my flippers. I've come a long way in the past few years, but there's 40 years of weakness and rigidity to undo, and it's taking time. If you had bones fused during your surgery there may be a limit to how much your feet can do, and you may need to rely on orthotics to some extent, that's why I asked about PT.

They cut my heel off with a battery-operated saw and moved it about 1/4 inch to take pressure off the torn tendon, thus changing the angle of my foot relative to my leg.

The original PT focused on recovery from the surgery. The second PT, prompted by the knee pain, focused on keeping my knee at the correct angle over my foot when bending my knee.

[indysteel]

They cut my heel off with a battery-operated saw and moved it about 1/4 inch to take pressure off the torn tendon, thus changing the angle of my foot relative to my leg.

Wow! That's both amazing and kind of nuts!

[OakLeaf]

Oh, yikes. Were you prescribed orthotics? It seems like you'd need something in your shoes to take the place of what they cut off your heel?