Originally Posted by Polaris OBark (Post 22618481)

Why is the idea of using a shorter crank arm for the shorter leg frowned upon (vs a shim)?

The problem I had when I tried a shim was that the stack height really made it hard to tolerate, whereas the shorter leg only bothers me if the saddle is at the high/optimum for the longer leg. (This difference is small enough that I didn't notice it existed until my bike fitter/framebuilder mentioned it to me, but I can feel one leg can be over-extended when the other is comfortable.)

Originally Posted by GAtkins (Post 22645697)

I had a bike fit at Retul in Boulder a couple of years ago and they didn't mention that I had a discrepancy. I forget exactly how they measured it.

I got it in my head that I may have a leg length difference when I consistently noticed my left/right power imbalance. It took a concentrated pedaling effort, which felt unnatural, to even out the power balance. I put a cleat riser (not an angled shim) under my right cleat and had no change so I took it out.

I did some research and considered the posts above and came to the realization that the L/R balance doesn't matter for an amateur and that Shimano is aware, and has been for a while, about the balance issue in their crank-based, two-sided meters.

A confounding factor for me was that I have always had left, outside toe numbness and hot-foot. But never in my right toes/foot - only the left. I also have peripheral neuropathy in both lower legs, not diabetes related. I thus began a journey to see if I could fix the numbness and hot foot.

1) had the bike fit, including custom Specialized insoles (done in 2020)
2) shimmed my left cleat (done in 2020)
a) i use one glove size above my normal. for example i use extra large instead of large
b) i use one shoe size above my normal size
3) more recently shimmed my right cleat (2022)
4) tried and then removed my right cleat riser (again, not a angled shim) (2022)
5) moved both cleats to the rear as far as I could (2022)
6) just within the last week went from a 138mm saddle to a 155mm to a 165mm saddle (2022)
7) just within the last week moved my seat forward 15mm, yes I know that's a lot even though it's only about 6/10 of an inch, but I'm relatively older and don't yet have enough flexibility (2022). I've been off the bike for a year - some from laziness but almost six months due to a severe right calf injury unrelated to cycling

I may raise my saddle some to compensate for its move forward, just don't yet know how much to move it.

What clearly helped the most with outer toe numbness and hot foot in my left foot was moving the cleats completely to the rear. Second best was shimming the left cleat and the bike fit. That's where the left shim came from. The fit mostly took weight off my hands.

I did 18 miles last night with all the above in place. Problems largely resolved even though it's a sample size of one.

Next on the list of things to try if the above don't continue to work include:

https://mid-foot-cycling.com/
https://www.g8performance.com/insole...ievers-bundle/

I do not have any affiliation to any product mentioned in this post.

Glenn

Originally Posted by GhostRider62 (Post 22645787)

Thanks, I had a Retul fit in July. They did not make any measurements of my body. I suspect I have some sort of imbalance in my torso because I sit a little cockeyed on the saddle and my left hamstring will hurt on a harder effort. I don't feel like wasting more money. Thanks for your input. I do think a tru 45/55 imbalance is a problem for me but do not know the solution.

Originally Posted by Road Fan (Post 22653152)

May I ask why you moved your saddle forward? Were you stretching to reach the right part of the bars, or did you tend to "ooze" forward while on the saddle and in all this powerful pedaling?

And, do you find yourself pushing yourself back toward the rear of the saddle?

Originally Posted by Road Fan (Post 22653351)

By "negative 2 degrees" do you mean that the nose is up or down?

In the current saddle position, are you tending to slide forward as you pedal? If so I would gradually move the saddle nose up. This is where a micro-adjusting seat post with two bolts, not just a single clamp bolt with the mount rotation being limited by a ratchet, helps a lot to find the best spot.

Originally Posted by Road Fan (Post 22654440)

I would suggest you try to raise the nose of the saddle in small increments, maybe 1 mm measured against the seat tube or ½ or ¼ degree measured with a decent level. As you raise it your oozing forward will slow down and eventually you'll perch on the saddle with some stability. At that position the nose might be pointing somewhat upward, but that's ok, your body is not on the nose of the saddle, it's on the wide part. But while you sit on the wide part there might be pressure in front of the sitbones, on the perineum. This could cause abrasion if your saddle is too high, and numbness if the pressure is on the perineum If you have these you need to gradually lower the nose down, noticing how the pressure points change.

In effective saddle height, this all tends to reduce actual saddle height as measured to the sit-bone contact point, as well as how it all feels, your term, "effective saddle height."

Originally Posted by GAtkins (Post 22654444)

I think that's a good plan.

Thank you.

Glenn