Recently I added a set of bike fit in-the-shoe wedges to my shoes because I was noticing that it was very hard to control the tracking of my knees (collapsing towards the top tube) when I did sustained efforts over threshold, especially at higher cadences. I regularly do strength training and glute exercises and after doing some research I figured I'd give them a shot. The very first ride I noticed how much better my pedal stroke felt and how much more solid and stable I felt on the bike. However, I began to get some pain in my knees, especially around my IT bands. Obviously I took out the shims since they were causing pain, but I lost the stability that came along with them.

Anyone have any ideas on adjustments I could make to my shoe/pedal interface that would give me the stability of the wedges that wouldn't cause me knee pain?

You're not going to like this answer, but... consider a professional bike fit. It's easier than playing guesswork that could lead to unexpected pains that take a lot of rest to overcome.

Arch support is the 1st thing.

Arches tend to collapse during hard efforts, causing the ankles to roll inward.

Fancy insoles and/or build up by taping pieces of bar tape etc. to bottom of insole.

Higher arch support than for walking/running since the feet are not flexing much in cycling shoes.

I have a shim between the right shoe and the cleat of 1 degree. I also have very high arches and have added arch support to both bike shoes. This has my knees tracking properly.

I recently installed some varus wedges under my left shimano SPD-SL cleat and had some left front knee pain. Raising my saddles 1/8" seems to have helped.

If you want to tackle bit fit yourself, and have any kind of video camera -- even a phone that can be propped up securely -- use the video camera to record yourself doing ride-bys from various directions. If the camera can record at 60 fps, even better for slo-mo studies.

The camera should also be mounted on the bike -- handlebar facing back toward you and, if possible, mounted on the back to check from behind. I'll use those tricks to record myself riding for longer recordings. If the recordings are too short I'm camera shy and semi-conscious of trying to adjust for the camera. But if I record long enough over a varied course ride I'm no longer conscious of the camera and my body position quirks become apparent. So I'll record at hip level for awhile, then downward checking the legs and feet for awhile, or do those on different rides/days.

My own video recordings have helped me eliminate stuff like hip/lower back pain from hip rocking because the saddle was a bit too high; knee tracking; and realizing it's okay that my right foot is somewhat pigeon toed compared with the left when clipped in so I don't need to fight it.

Check the bike fit advisor channel on YouTube. Plan on watching a lot of videos. The videos aren't just 2-5 minute quickies. He doesn't ramble and they are edited, but aren't as succinct as, say, the typical GCN video tutorial. But fit is a complicated topic and probably can't be summarized too much.

I've had the usual pesky lower limb problems my whole life, since childhood -- high arches that cramp a lot, skinny feet (hard to fit), shin splints from running (which I don't do anymore), hip and lower back pain from an old car wreck injury, but pretty good knees despite the accidents, although some occasion knee twinges.

On the road bike I found it helped to minimize the stuff that squishes around and makes for imprecise meat-to-bike interface, so this year I switched to a firmer, minimally padded saddle, and clipless with rigid soles.

At this point I can feel minor changes of 1/8" to 1/4" in seat post height, saddle fore/aft position, thicker vs thinner faux-chamois padding in the shorts, even orthotic shoe inserts and thicker socks. Not quite to the princess and the pea level of oh-so-delicate discomfort. Just minor stuff, like knee twinges that nudge me toward a minor adjustment.

But rather than flailing around chasing my tail with guesses at adjustments, I'll check some bike fit video tutorials, and adopt whatever seems appropriate to my own minor adjustments.

I won't claim it's a substitute for a proper bike fit, but so far it's worked for me. My major physical challenges remain conditioning (due to age, asthma, thyroid disease, etc.), not bike fit.

For probably around $60 you can get a pedal fit at a fair number of speedplay dealers. They can play with the insoles in your shoes, your Q factor, cleat positioning etc.. Speedplay provides certain dealers with a comprehensive set of pedals that have varying Q factors so that it's super easy to experiment. The Q factor adjustment also cover a much much wider range than with other pedals. So it should be easy to get it right.

You pedal on a trainer while the fitter watches. It's a lot cheaper and a lot faster to get to the right answer than trying to do it yourself. Pretty hard to watch yourself pedal.

J.