laugh it up but when talking cleat position, how do rotate them to account for toes pointed out or in naturally?

I have SPD cleats on shimano shoes and another spd set on a set of bontragers.

I have 3 sets of holes going forward and back......and the 2 allen bolts going in sure dont allow you to rotate the cleats that i can see.

Is this a problem with SPD? i often hear you need adjust your cleats so your knees track normally as if you were walking allowing your kneed to fall into a natural position.


How is that done if you cant turn the cleats?

I don't know about your shoes in particular, but mine allow for some slight rotation of the cleats.

EDIT: I'm talking about my mountain bike shoes with SPD cleats.

ah.....yes....i think i see now.

i just loosend them up and was able to move the slightly.....

thanks for the quick reply. Ive got some wicked feet pointing outward issues naturally from the looks of things. IM going to try turning the cleats in so my feet track out a bit and see if things in my knees get better. It doesnt feel unnatural the way it is now and im pedaling but im ending up with sore knees for days after a ride of about 24 miles. Maybe it is just spring legs but i pounded out 24 miles or so last monday.....it is now 8 days later and i can still feel it in my knees.

The whole time nothing felt out of place but i suppose when your doing the same motion 15000 times over the course of a ride your legs dont let you know right away.

I have SPD cleats on Shimano shoes, and you can rotate them a fair bit. The long slots in the sole (through which the cleat, on the outside, is bolted to a tapped metal plate, on the inside) allow some rotation, because they're wider than the Allen bolts. If you rotate the cleat (and metal plate) a little bit, the bolts just skooch all the way to the inside of the slots.

Plus, there's a little play when the cleat is in the pedal too. If you're duckfooted (heels in), the limiting factor isn't the cleat, but your heel hitting the chainring. Anyway, I can bit the chainring with my right heel if I'm so inclined.

See if you can find a pro fitter or sports physician with bike knowledge (assuming you haven't already).

One option to put on the back burner would be to change from Shimano SPD to Crank Brothers. The reason I'm mentioning them is that their cleats aren't symmetrical -- that is, each cleat's flanges (not the right term) are angled inwards and outwards.

Their purpose is so that you can choose from a bigger or smaller release angle. Say, for your right foot, if the rightward-angled cleat is used, you'd have to turn your foot outward more to get it to release. Install the other cleat instead, and you wouldn't have to turn your foot as much. Check their pic:
https://www.crankbrothers.com/accesso...mium_cleat.php

Hold up your right hand in front of each cleat and imagine turning outward to disengage. The cleat on the left will disengage earlier, and the cleat on the right will actually go "straight" for a few degrees before turning far enough to disengage.

I don't think this directly addresses your duck-footedness, but I started thinking of angled cleats, and these are the first that popped to mind. I also haven't felt any knee pain due to foot rotation on my CB pedals.

I'm at the max float allowed by my Look pedals (determined by the cleat, not the pedal), and I also am naturally duck-footed, so I have my cleats turned to compensate for this. Also, I had to add 3mm of spacers to the left pedal spindle to get my knee over my foot. After months of pain, I am finally getting to ride (and climb) without pain during or after the ride. It took going to a chiro who is an ultradistance cyclist fitting me to figure this all out.

yup.....clearly time to find a fitter. There are some really good ones locally so im told. They will fit me to 1 bike for about 200 bucks. This isnt bad at all considering i could ride forever after i have this sorted out.

I played with the cleat adjustment tonight and cranked them in to allow my foot to point out more. This was close to scraping the insides of my cranks with my heels. I rode a bit but it didnt seem natural. My feet feel the most powerful / natural when they are pointed forward.

I farted around with saddle height forever....and not matter what i do....same issues.

Looking at my knees it would seem the knee caps point outward vs straight forward. I have more muscle on the inner part of my knee toward the top and outside i have much less. I guess i dont know what a normal knee looks like. Maybe im some sort of freak mutant. All things a fitter would be able to tell me im sure.

I think i have a case of spring knees / slight knee rotation / pushing too hard of a gear too early. Thats my guess.

Ill report back if i end up in front of a bike fitter any time soon.

THanks for the replies!