Cleat and Pedal position
05-12-05, 08:05 PM
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Do you have (1) cleat centered under ball of foot and (2) knee over pedal shaft (aka KOPS) at 3 o'clock?
I have steadily moved my cleats back and will probably settle on having them directly below the balls of my feet.
But I was reading the Greg LeMond's Complete Book of Bicycling (OCP stage 1), which recommends having the knee behind the pedal shaft. I've tried it on a few rides, but don't think its for me. I think I'm going back to KOPS.
Any thoughts on either of these issues? I tend to do mixed rides with both flats and decent hills (4 to 7 percent grade).
I have steadily moved my cleats back and will probably settle on having them directly below the balls of my feet.
But I was reading the Greg LeMond's Complete Book of Bicycling (OCP stage 1), which recommends having the knee behind the pedal shaft. I've tried it on a few rides, but don't think its for me. I think I'm going back to KOPS.
Any thoughts on either of these issues? I tend to do mixed rides with both flats and decent hills (4 to 7 percent grade).
05-12-05, 10:49 PM
#2
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Both of these are rules of thumb and since no one fit rule or formula works for everyone, you'll get a lot of different opinions. A lot of people will tell you the KOPS is garbage and a lot of people swear by it.
The best thing to do is to use those two rules as a starting point and experiment from there. A similar example would be the saddle height rule that says to have your heel flat on the pedal at the bottom of the stroke. This doesn't work for everyone, but it's a nice place to start and usually the "right" height isn't far off from there. Sounds like you've been taking the right approach- trying it out to see what works. Real experience will tell you more than any of the million opinions you'll find out there.
Personally (just one of those million opinions out there), I feel best with my knee a little bit behind the pedal shaft and with the cleat farther forward than the ball of my foot.
The best thing to do is to use those two rules as a starting point and experiment from there. A similar example would be the saddle height rule that says to have your heel flat on the pedal at the bottom of the stroke. This doesn't work for everyone, but it's a nice place to start and usually the "right" height isn't far off from there. Sounds like you've been taking the right approach- trying it out to see what works. Real experience will tell you more than any of the million opinions you'll find out there.
Personally (just one of those million opinions out there), I feel best with my knee a little bit behind the pedal shaft and with the cleat farther forward than the ball of my foot.
