People that are new to cycling
often buy cycling shoes that are a size too big as they are used to having more
room in their training shoes. I have also seen people that have wide feet, but
like the look of narrow Italian shoes, go for a size bigger. This can lead to
issues with correctly positioning the cleat on the shoe.
Cleat placement fore/aft is very
important because it effects which part of the foot is loaded during the power
stroke. If the cleat is too far forward, you will load the toes which can often
lead to reduced power production and increased strain to lower leg muscles. To
gain maximum leverage without loading the toes, I position cleats so that the
pedal axle lies under the first and second metatarsals (balls of the foot).
This is the same part of the foot you would load during a hop.
I am looking for the forces to
run a straight through down through the foot and create a straight line of
force that could be drawn through the middle of the knee, middle of the ankle and
2nd metatarsal (base of the second toe). Concentrating on pushing through the
second ball of the foot and relaxing your toes helps this process. Pushing
through the first ball of the foot causes the line of force to track towards
the inside and can cause pronation (dropping of the arch of the foot).
When shoe manufacturers design
shoes, they drill the cleat holes roughly where the balls of the feet should be
for that size of foot. If you use a pair of shoes that are a size big, the
cleat holes will be further forward, which often makes it harder to correctly
position the cleat.
In the same way that people have
different distribution of length between the legs and the body, people have
differently proportioned feet (long toes and short mets vs. short toes and long
mets). It is especially important for people with long toes and short metatarsals
to not use shoes that are too big as the balls of the feet are already further
back.
Cycling shoes should be snug.
When trying shoes on in the shop, you don’t want to have your toes against the
end of the shoes or the sides uncomfortably squeezing the feet. But visa versa,
you don’t want the shoes to feel roomy. Hold the back of the shoe and check
that your heel doesn't move when you pull up. If you know that you have wide
feet, try something like a Northwave, while Sidi will suit a narrower foot.
Sometimes it’s impossible to
perfectly position the cleat fore and aft due to abnormal distribution of foot
length or strange placement of the cleat holes. If the cleat is within 5mm of
optimal, I would normally leave it where it is. More than this, I’d be looking
to use an adapter plate or drill new cleat bolt holes.
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