Today I decided it was time to put my new cleats on my shoe and faced a dilemma. How do you guys get your cleats aligned correctly? Professional fit is not an option.

With great difficulty.

If it is the first time ... lots of trial and error.

If you've done it before ... lots of focus on the previous shoe, trying to match what you did on the previous shoe ... and then lots of trial and error.

Thanks, I can see the marks from my old cleats, but then again, I am the one who installed those as well, so even though they feel correct, I am not 100%.

Well, line them up to the marks from the old cleats ... go for a ride ... see how they feel. If one or both feel "off" in some way, make a very, very, very slight adjustment. And repeat.

Darn, I clicked on this thread hoping for enlightenment. Machka's response describes my past experience.

By the time I get my cleats just right its already about time for some more

Machka is correct, it is usually trial and error. There are people who will do a professional alignment using special equipment, but they are few and far between.

First step, get a friend. Got any? Sweet.
Get on your bike with cleats installed.
Lean against a wall or use a trainer and have your friend put the crank at "3:00." So as your friend is looking at your foot, the crank is at 3:00.
Lift the heel slightly.
There's a bone that sticks out to the side behind your big toe.
You want that bone to be over the pedal spindle.
Good place to start anyways.

Shoe dyslexia plays a part in this too. Make sure you're moving the cleat the right way. Once you turn over a shoe to adjust your cleat, your brain might malfunction and you move the cleat the wrong way. Happens to the best.

This cost me $35:

You need a friend.
Stand flat footed with shoes, no cleats.
Have your friend put a small piece of tape at the spot that the bone sticks out behind the big toe.
Repeat on the side behind the small toe.
Repeat on other shoe.
Take off shoes.
Draw a line between the two pieces of tape.
Your cleats should be centered on that line.
Done. Make minor adjustments if necessary from that location.

That works too.

sharpie the outline of the old cleats on the sole first, but even so, anytime i switch em there's always a little fine tuning on the first ride.

Great method but where was the $35 incurred?

he doesn't have any friends so he had to pay a hooker for a full hours service

How much do friends cost where you are?

The suggestions describing how to find the ball of the foot, using a line between metatarsal joints is sound, but the guys at D2 shoes say to go one step further and place the cleat at 95% of the heel to ball distance, which is quite a bit further back, perhaps a full centimeter. Some shoes may not even permit the cleat to go that far back, particularly with speedplays. D2 move the 3-hole bolt pattern 4-5mm further back if speedplay cleats useage is specified for new pair of custom shoes.

Google metatarsul to get more info.

https://www.d2shoe.com/index.php?opti...d=39&Itemid=66

I have my cleats positioned 5mm behind the first metatarsal and I feel that this position recruits the large muscles (glutes and hams) more effectively than a cleat which is positioned ahead of the metatarsal.

Get a fitting with cleat adjustment, outline cleats with X-Acto knife (it will not hurt your shoes to put a single shallow line in the bottom). Put new cleats in outline when needed.

Just replaced mine Saturday, took ten minutes and they were just right when I got them on.

As for cleats "feeling right," that can be really hard to tell on a test ride. It is good to have an observation of your knees when pedaling. If you are doing this yourself, you can better observe your own pedaling if you are on a trainer.

1st step.....sit on a tall chair or counter and let your lower legs hang naturally. Do your feet point straight or are they angled? You want your feet to replicate that position when you ride the bike so you want to angle your cleats to allow the shoe to do this. You DO NOT want your cleats to force your feet to point in a un-natural position.
The latest thinking concerning where the spindle position is this. The spindle should lie between your 1st and 5th metatarsal. This is normally about 2.5mm behind the ball of your foot. With your foot in your shoe you should be able to squeeze the sides enough to feel where the boney protrusion is that will mark the ball.

+ 1. Everyone wrote about fore - aft cleat position but not angular position.
Also, if in doubt, err by putting the cleat too far back and not too far front. It's less dangerous.

It was a "professional" cleat fitting from an LBS about 4 years ago when I made the switch from mousetrap pedals to clipless.

Like the OP, I didn't have a clue as to how to align them properly. That is what they charged me along with $95 for a bike fitting.

Sorry, no hookers were involved in the alignment process

BINGO!

This photo is from Andy Pruitt's book, and he recommends you not look down while a friend measures the angle of your natural foot position relative to fore-and-aft. The easiest way to do this is using a goniometer. Attach the cleats to your shoes at the same angle your feet naturally assume with your legs dangling off the table top.



Goniometers are cheap ($5 to $10) and available at medical supply stores.

Thanks for the replies. I'll try a couple of those methods when I get home from school.

i don't believe in the "sit on a counter and replicate the position" method (whatever you want to call it). Feet hang in all kinds of weird positions but when walking or going through a range of motion that completely changes. for instance my right foot turns severly inward when sitting/hanging free and I certainly don't walk that way. I doubt I could even get my cleat into such a canted position and I certainly don't pedal like that.
Garysol, I still think you've got my favorite BF bike of the year so far though...

Those of us who use speedplay X type pedals don't have to worry about rotational alignment, just fore/aft and side to side.

Another problem that many riders don't realize they have is an angular misalignment that require cleat shims or insoles with varus/valgus correction. I see a lot of riders with knees swinging far out or far in at the top of the stroke.

Yes, I needed shims to get my knees straight.

So, do the speedplays have unlimited rotational float? Just curious. I use Keos and have them dialed in really well.