Messed up natural foot position + clipless = ???
 

So my girlfriend wants to go clipless. I've noticed though that using her platforms, her feet go all wonky, I'm talking seriously out of whack. She pedals using the very back of her foot instead of the ball. They're also extremely angled outward.

If she went to a clipless system and got held into a position that she doesnt naturally take, would that really mess with things (ie cause injury)?

It seems to me that forcing her foot into such a position would not be good, I just need reassurance.

Does she currently have problems with her knees? How old is she? Pedaling with the very back of her foot is not a natural position, and I doubt it's conducive to getting as much power out of a stroke as possible...

East Hill

Without clipless I ride with my arches over the pedal axle.

With clipless I do fine.

Interesting.

I pedal the way I do because I have small feet, so it certainly makes physical sense for me to keep the ball of my foot on the pedal :) . I have yet to venture into the clipless thing, but it would be my natural pedal position anyway.

East Hill

If she's pedaling with her heel, her seat is way too low. Raise the seat and see if that helps with the angle.

There is likely something wrong with the fit. Seat fore/aft position and probably too low. I don't think I could ride with my heels if I tried. It would be great to get some pics. Then we could say if it is a fit issue.

After riding so long clipless, I tried riding on flat pedals. Alllll kinds of problems and knee pain.

maybe try clips+straps first...that way you can see if being in a "normal" position causes any problems wihtout investing in expensive shoes and pedals. I second all of the previous comments about getting bike fit checked as well.

Just remember a couple things .....

1) Her feet DO NOT have to point straight forward with clipless pedals. Somewhere along the line I was under the impression that was the optimum way of setting up my cleats and pedals. After some bad experiences with that, I adjusted my cleats so that my toes point out a bit, which is the natural way my feet go. Get her to stand in a relaxed and normal way in front of you and observe the way her feet naturally go. Then set the cleats up accordingly.

2) The ideal place to set up the cleats is at the BACK of the ball of the foot ... near the arch, but not quite at the arch. When the cleats are located there, she'll have less risk of getting hotfoot and achilles tendon problems.

And once you've got the cleats set up so they are comfortable, you'll have to adjust the bicycle so it fits properly. If you don't know how to do that, take her and her bicycle to a LBS and get them to have a look at her setup.

Thanks for the info machka...I get hot foot during longer rides at times, I will be moving my cleats back before I go to sleep tonight, will see how it works this weekend.

Regarding cleats in general...its always a kick to see my kids ride with out cleats seems to me that they have slime under their feet, but once they clip in its all business and we are riding. I usually start the kids off with those half spd pedals the kind with a cleat on one side and a platform on the other. With my youngest she rode with egg beaters at age 9 took about 30 seconds to figure it out.

When you move them, just move them a couple millimeters. Even a small adjustment with the cleats can make a big difference. If everything still feels OK, or better, then you might move them back a bit more. I had horrible hotfoot on all my longer rides, moved my cleats back a tiny bit ... and my hotfoot was GONE. I haven't had hotfoot in 3 years. I've talked to others who have done the same thing with the same results.

So wait, what is the proper way to pedal a bike? With the heel going down hard, or ball of foot leading? Ive heard to keep feet flat as possible, like scraping mud of the back of your shoe.

That's a whole 'nother topic for another day. What works for one doesn't work as well for another.