Home Chat General Chat

cleat set up narrow pedals ????

hey ive recently made the change to clippy shoes i have some lovely exustar 9000 shoes which are soooooo comfy but i am really struggling with getting the cleats in the right place spent all day sunday riding around constantly on off bike with allen key 30 k later and my left foot still feels all wrong never had any trouble with mtb clips.



anyone have a sure fire way of setting them up ? it feels like my pedals are too narrow

Comments

  • First timerFirst timer Posts: 139
    If your struggling that much it may be worth popping down to your local dealer and i am sure they will be happy to help.

    Also its much easir that way cos you can sit on your bike while they adjust around you,[:)]
  • aero blobaero blob Posts: 29
    There's a surprising amount of things that need attending to when setting up your cleats in relation to shoes and pedals - especially when you change systems. My feeling has always been that the info supplied by the pedal makers is sketchy at best (though Look have made more effort in recent times so do read the little book that comes with the pedals if you have Look's and the leaflets if other pedals such as shimano.)



    First of all you need to be sure you've got your saddle height correct. Don't forget that your new Exustars will most likely have much thinner soles than MTB shoes and if so you'll need to drop your saddle by a bit to compensate for the lower stack height (measuring this is tricky of course.)



    Cleat allignment in the horizontal plane is the next bit (fore and aft, side-to-side and toe-in and out). You want broadly to ensure that the ball of your foot is over the cleat (easier said than done), you want to avoid any rubbing between shoes and cranks and also need to ensure that the toe-in or toe-out does not lead to any twisting motions when pedalling. (Most people stand and walk in either a slightly toes-in or toes-out way and you wnat to support this onthe bike -not forcing your feet to be parallell just because that looks like the best postion visually!) Check also to see if your legs are moving up and down like pistons when pedalling when seen from the front by someone else. Best done on the turbo-trainer. Any lateral motion of the leg (or "tracking") could indicate problems with setup. Look at your knee in relation to the top tube as you pedal. Is it the same distance away from the tube as your leg rotates or does your knee nearly hit the top tube at some point or dramatically lurch away at others? these are the sorts of things to check.



    It seems to be one of those areas where trial and error helps up to a point - getting off the bike - cleat back a bit - getting on again and so on can work but can be really frustrating - especially if you're not quite sure what you're aiming for.



    This is the bit where I come clean and say I run Kinetic-One bike fitting service http://www.shop.kinetic-one.co.uk/professional-bike-fitting-service-44-c.asp and we work with people of all levels in areas including cleat setup and we apply solid and definite principles in the setup process. Not everyone needs this type of fitting but many people do benefit from it in both comfort and performance terms - especially when the "left-a-bit-back-a-bit" approach hasn't helped.



    I think its also fair to say that there are some areas where the pedal manufactuers offer no help at all too - If you pronate in running you can get special shoes and insoles and whats more your feet are free to move as they strike the ground. If your feet have the cycling equivalent of pronation or supination then pedal systems on the whole don't help. Most of them force your foot flat onto the pedal surface and lock your feet in. For many people this is an incredibly unatural position. We spend lots of time measuring peoples foot angles and introducing wedges to angle the pedal cleat system to more comfortably support peoples feet and aid with leg motion.



    Andy

  • starcherstarcher Posts: 126
    Cheer guys



    am getting closer , Aero the whole bike set up thing is something im really interested in being a sucker for sports science am not racing now till end of august if it fit is still not right then i may come for a session, as im gonna be starting ironman training through the off season and into next year and im gonna have to have it all sorted for the extra mileage.



    as far as kinetic one goes mate i have just just bolted on a set of your ambroiso clip on bars mate and they are a very nice bit of kit amazing value and very light for non carbon.



    cheera again



    mat

  • aero blobaero blob Posts: 29
    Pleased to here it Mat. They are nice aren't they - We've sold out of em' now which is a bummer but should have more in in a few weeks!



    Our TT Tri frames are in though - unashamed plug follows [:)] : http://www.shop.kinetic-one.co.uk/aero-time-trial--triathlon-bikes---speed-40-c.asp



    andy
  • TommiTriTommiTri Posts: 879
    Aero blob, on your website it says that your TT/Tri bikes are for shorter distance tris, how short do you mean? I am currently doing olys and sprints but i do plan on one day in the near future stepping up to 70.3 or maybe even ironman.



    Tom
  • aero blobaero blob Posts: 29
    Hi Tom



    Fair comment - we would suggest this type of bike for less than ironman distances for most people .



    On the whole its about ensuring that the trade-off between efficiency and aero resistance factors works in your favour at all times. For full-on Sprints aero factors are king of course (excepting tight technical courses perhaps).



    When it comes to really long rides other factors become more significant as we all know - bike weight, pedalling efficiency etc. This is especially the case on hilly courses where you'd spend comparatively little time on the tribars and you'd arguably be much better off on a road bike which would prove a bit lighter and with friendlier seat angles for climbing.



    Hope this helps - I've just gone and changed the wording on our site too - so thanks for pointing this out as you've got us explaining ourselves better I hope! http://www.shop.kinetic-one.co.uk/aero-time-trial--triathlon-bikes-40-c.asp



    Andy
  • legalbeaglelegalbeagle Posts: 208
    Andy,



    thanks for all the info in your post! I have been having knee trouble for ages and been back and forward to the Doc and sports Physio. Interestingly, I have been OK for a few weeks then, last week I was out on the bike and have been in agony ever since. I had thought that maybe it was the bike set up that was causing the trouble and the deatils in your post have really helped me to understand what set up I should have - I'll be rigging up the turbo later and getting Mr LB to check my knees - here's hoping that I can sort it out cos life will be a lot easier if it's a bike problem and not my didgy knees!!



    Thanks again!!

    Kim

  • aero blobaero blob Posts: 29
    How did it go kim?



    All the best



    Andy

Sign In or Register to comment.