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Bike cleats using old shoe to measure new

I have just bought a pair of shimano triathlon shoes. Previously I used a speacilized shoe. The cleat position for my speacilized was set whilst having a bike fit and I want to use it on my new shimano shoes, but the measuring systems are different. Does anyone have a solution to this? The shimano appears a little bit longer if this helps

Comments

  • Do not think about transfaring measurements from shoe to shoe, think shoe to you to shoe. The thing you are trying to get is the position of your foot over the spindle of your pedals, the shoe simply sits in the middle and the cleats fix this position.

    Wear your old shoes and mark on the inside of the leather where the outside of the bone of the ball of your foot is, get someone to do this can help. Take this mark down vertically to the outsole of the shoe and mark. On your bike then measure how far out from the crank arm this point is and where it is in relation to the spindle of the pedal.

    Wear your new shoes and again find this point on the shoe by feeling your foot structure through the shoe and mark the reference point. Using the dimensions you have noted set the cleat up.

    A final adjustment is to check for foot rotation. Get someone behind you and with your crank horizontal and forwards measure from the centre of your achilies to the outside surface of the crank arm. A piece of flat cardboard (cut of cereal box) held against the crank extends this surface well.

    I would then warm up first and switch from shoe to shoe a few time 10 minutes or so and get a feel if things are right or not, if you have a bike trainer this is ideal.

    If you need a bit more clarification around some of these ideas there is a good video clip either on the Look or Sidi website can't remember which. Spare a though back for some of us in the seventies and earlier where you had to nail your cleats onto a leather sole and you more or less only got one good go at it otherwise you would trash your sole, this is one area where kit has really improved beyond belief.

    Hope this helps once you have made the change and got throught it you will find it a lot easier next time through, my partner over the years has certainly got a lot better at helping me with my set up.
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