Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 44,303
Likes: 6,561
From: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem
[MENTION=20650]T-Mar[/MENTION], ball of foot over pedal spindle is optimal for power and stability, but it can cause injuries. My feet are injured, and now I pedal with my cleats all the way back. It might look amateurish, but at this point, I consider pedal over spindle to be analogous to pedaling high gears. It's more efficient in the beginning, until you're damaged.
And I used toe clips for a long time without cleats. I pushed really hard against the toe clips and got horrendous ingrown toenails.