spinner1

ok, so i got a pair of cycling shoes for spin class. they are spd's. my road shoe cleats are Look's.
i attached the cleats as best i knew how after reading a little in "Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance." i brought my allen wrench to class so i could adjust as i went. i rode for a while and experienced discomfort in my right IT band. does this mean i need to move the nose of the cleat out or in? i have the "ball of the foot" thing correct. i am directly over the spindle. i wear custom orthotics to combat pronation problems, but with the new cleats, it feels like i am not wearing them.

second question: medial left knee was also uncomfortable. what do i do?

i know what you are thinking, and no, my fore aft position is the best i can get it on a spin bike.

sorry i am long winded, but i need help. i am tired of using the foot cages. i want more power and efficiency in my stroke.

any advice would be greatly appreciated

thanks

orguasch

all those thing you were saying are greek to me, a simple test on the cleats should be, the toes on the left and on the right feet should go a little "toe in" toward the frame, on both feet, you'll have a very comfortable ride, and a very powerful pedalling ....

1oldRoadie

sit on something that allows your feet to hang free. Look at your feet.

That is what you want your feet to look like when they are clipped in.

roadbuzz

The SPDs allow some float, don't they? If so, toe in/toe out probably isn't the problem. If not, it's gonna be harder. First, spinning really fast w/little resistance can cause knee discomfort... is that a possibility?

I don't know if Zinn covers it. With a small platform like a SPD, side-to-side position of the cleat can be a factor. It sounds to me like that might be the issue. I don't know how much adjustment your SPDs/shoes allow, but I'd guess that you want to get your shoe inward, as close to the crank, as heel clearance will allow... A tendency to pronate could be exacerbated by having the cleats positioned near the inside edges of your feet, encouraging your foot to "roll-over."

As far as the medial left knee... this description and my ignorance don't help, so I won't try. But don't neglect the other stuff. Is your knee-over-pedal position right? How much knee bend do you have at the bottom of the stroke. How about the top? Saddle position and height can be as much a factor as cleat placement when it comes to knee issues.

Good Luck!

spinner1

thank you roadbuzz. changing my distance toward the crankset was my next endeavor. this step of changing and lining up cleats is extremely frustrating.

thank you.

spinner1

thank you to all of you who gave me advice on cleat positioning. the right cleat is now perfect. i am still having trouble with the left. the inside of my knee still bugs me. even a couple days later. i know roadbuzz said that seat height has as much to do with knee problems as other things. how about the ball of my foot being too far forward or too far backward?

when i went to go buy the cleats i asked what "multi release" meant and the gal at the lbs told me it meant that you can release more than one way out of the cleat. i was later told by a friend that she was totally wrong. that really what it means is more "float" on an SPD.

i want to take the shoes to the lbs to have them look at the left and see if they can fix and adjust it. but i don't know if i feel confident about that considering the poor advice i was given. i am quite ***** picky when it comes to my comfort on the bike.

after my longwinded post here is my question:

am i making this more hard than it has to be? :confused:

spinner1

hey road buzz, i know this sounds like a stupid question, but what do you mean by "knee over pedal" position?

RollingGeek

Spinner1

I dont know how adjustable the seat is, but I noticed when I moved my seat back some (probably less than 1/2 inch), I crossed some magic line where suddenly my right knee (the one with a bad ACL and previously ripped MCL) started to hurt.

Moving the seat back forward made the pain go away immediately.

Since the pedals dont move their position, if you slide the seat forward or back, you are changing the position of your knee with respect to the pedal, either moving knee more over or in front of the pedal or back behind it.

Perhaps that may have something to do with it ?

roadbuzz

It's a common element of bike setup. With the bike on a horizontal surface, or perfectly level in a trainer, rotate the pedals so that they're parallel to the ground. Then drop a plumb line from the bump just below your knee cap above the foot on the forward pedal. The point of the plumb line should line up with the center of the pedal. There's a good description of the procedure on the Colorado Cyclist Bike Fit page. (Scroll down to item D.)

This position is a starting point, and one least likely to cause knee discomfort or problems... with experience some like to adjust their position a little forward (for sprinting) or behind (long road miles).

BTW, when you ride, where are your knees? "In," near the top tube, or do you ride with your knees akimbo (i.e. bow-legged)? The latter is inefficient, and puts stress on the inside (meaning the side facing the other leg) of the knee joint. Just a thought.

By the way, I agree with the person in the bike shop. Multi-release is multi-release, not more float.

spinner1

thanks for all the great advice. especially about the "multi release" thing. i do ride a little "boe legged" i guess you call it. when i was fitted to my own road bike, they did use a plumb line. so i am familiar with the procedure. but nevertheless, thank you for the link so i can try it again.

i take all your advice to heart, thanks again

MikeOK

I know nobody will agree with me here, but I've used Time and SPD, plus several clones of SPD. Clipless is best on road bikes in my opinion. You can dial them in pretty well on a mountain bike on flat level ground, but when you get into mud everything changes, even with the best clipless pedals out there. Then add a technical section and these problems magnify. When I'm just riding for fun I prefer straps. There is a loss of power, but straps are just plain more fun to me. I know this is of no help, but I did a particularly muddy ride today and my WTB clipless almost caused me to crack my head on more than one occasion, both getting in them and getting out...

edit: duh- I just read the post, didn't see the spin class thing the first time so disregard all my ranting.

spinner1

i still appreciate the ranting. no sweat.