nz6666

I have been suspecting my left leg longer for long time. Always feel my left leg cramped. I feel this with clipless. I tried move the cleat on the left all the way down. This helps but not enough. Recently I have been back to flat pedals because I can move my my left foot further ahead on the pedal. You know what I found I can use the heel to strike the pedal and that's super comfortable for me. Shocking I know. Today I can confirm it's about 2 to 2.5 cm longer on the left. So what's my options? I am thinking to put a short left crank arm on the left. Current one is 170 mm both sides. Will that work?

Igualmente

I'm sure you'll get more info, but you could try reading post #9 here: https://www.bikeforums.net/fitting-yo...asymmetry.html. There are probably other threads to look up too.

I assume (without really knowing) that a shorter crank does not work because the pedal ends up closer at the bottom of the pedal circle?

nz6666

Yeah should be longer. Will give it a read thanks.

haroldz123

I could similar condition.
right footed dominant

45 minutes into, my left thigh would felt more burn and my right calf start to feel tight

today i tried to pedal flat (before this was toe down), drink more often (normal water with a pinch of salt)
no cramp yet

Ali89

You could try moving the cleat back on the longer leg.

Leisesturm

Asymmetry is the human condition. I would think it has more impact (literally) on a runner than a cyclist. You pedal a bicycle with your toes, not your heels. Ankle flexion should take care of all but the grosses of asymmetries in leg length, I suspect.

LGHT

try putting a shim between the cleat and the shoe. Although my foot isn't that bad, my fitter put a small shim that seemed to help a little.

ThermionicScott 

I'm a little late to this thread, but using a shorter crank for the left or adding shims to that shoe would be going in the wrong direction.

If the cleat is all the way back on the left shoe (and you're not interested in busting out the Dremel or drill to get more rearward movement ) then I would adjust your fit around the left leg (probably moving the saddle up and back a little), and then start compensating with the right by shifting the cleat forward a little and/or adding shims between the cleat and shoe. It may not take much to get things balanced out. I deal with this, too. Good luck!

orthoticsvic

nz6666, In my experience, typically a shim (under your right foot/the shorter limb) is better than adjusting the length of the crank arm. Using a shorter crank arm on the left will utilise less of your limb range of motion and could result in a possible decrease in power.

If possible, try and accurately measure the LLD (limb length discrepancy) with a physiotherapist or orthotist that specialises in bike fittings.

Luke

nz6666

Thanks all for the replies. It's been while and I have put on a 175 mm crank arm on left (right is 170 mm). And to be honest I don't feel a difference (maybe a little, but it could be just hypothetical). Now I uses a flat pedal with a half clip (a traditional toe clip without the strap) on right, and pure flat on left. This way, my left foot can put in mid-foot position, while right foot is secured. Not the best solution, but it feels better.

And after observation, I also found my left knee tend to point out naturally. A simple experiment, when sitting down on a chair naturally, knee bending in 90 degree, I can see my right foot and right knee naturally in line, but left knee is pointing outside of the left foot. So I am also thinking get one of the pedal extender to the left to move left pedal outside a bit.

Doc V

It is not recommended that you run two different crank lengths. Instead a good guide for finding the optimal foot correction can be found at https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com...-arch-support/. Steve has a good step wise method for determining foot correction. Alternatively you could go have a bike fitting by a professional.

fietsbob

Shoe sole build up makes for a little different function than the crank arm length .
French TA has long made multiple crank arm lengths ...

NB 172.5 is in between 170 and 175..

By Who? Name your expert references, .. are they an MD with a sports Orthopedics Specialty practice

Road Fan

The fitting instructions for the Selle Anatomica saddle suggest to rotate the nose of the saddle away from the longer side, in very small increments until the comfort is maximized.

Back when I first tried this it was on a B17. It helped, so I think it's worth a try.