New post from Joe Friel about midsole cleats and pedals

[Orestes Munn]

I’m guessing mid-foot approximates my foot position when I’m not using cleats, which is half the reason I use cleats in the first place. Having spent years learning to exert force in a circle by activating calf muscles, I think I’ll stick with the old school cleat position and let the tri-geeks get their annual bike fits (seriously?). …but then I suck, so maybe I’ve got it all wrong.

[PotomacCyclist]

Some people ask about midsole cleats on the forum, every few months or so. It’s another alternative. Most probably won’t need it, but for those who have issues with bike fit, nagging injuries or something else, it’s good to know about.

[Orestes Munn]

@PotomacCyclist 99768 wrote:

Some people ask about midsole cleats on the forum, every few months or so. It’s another alternative. Most probably won’t need it, but for those who have issues with bike fit, nagging injuries or something else, it’s good to know about.

No doubt. I seem to be having Junior Member issues.

[Dickie]

Polarizing and often laughed at Steve Hogg has been preaching this for over a decade. When I spent a day doing my own fit a few years back I moved my cleat position as far back as possible… not midsole, but certainly beyond the “standard” ball of your foot stuff. This has significantly reduced knee pain and injuries for me.

[dplasters]

Myself?

I harness the centripetal gumption that can be leveraged when using special pedals called platforms that allow the diversity of both a more midsole or ball of the foot point of contact based upon my ability to synchronize pedal rotation and foot wiggle when called upon ad hoc but also in an ironic hipster way that exudes avant garde style.

[Bill Hole]

It’s very common among recumbent cyclists to move the cleat as far back as it will go. It seems to provide more comfort and stability when the feet are out in front, and, in my experience, doesn’t affect performance negatively. I use the same shoes on both my recumbent and my commuter hybrid, and I’m actually not sure I like the cleats back on the upright. But I don’t dislike the position enough to buy different shoes for each bike.

[Orestes Munn]

Checked my shoes and I do, in fact, wear my cleats just about all the way back, but that’s still ballish.

[vvill]

@Dickie 99791 wrote:

Polarizing and often laughed at Steve Hogg has been preaching this for over a decade. When I spent a day doing my own fit a few years back I moved my cleat position as far back as possible… not midsole, but certainly beyond the “standard” ball of your foot stuff. This has significantly reduced knee pain and injuries for me.

Yeah I sort of do this too. After knee pain issues from late last year through early this year, I tried flat pedals for a while and found that to be my more normal position. It also lets you have a slightly lower saddle / stable position. I still want to try another bike fit though.

I’ve read Steve Hogg’s detailed posts carefully and would love to believe all of it but I doubt I’ll ever be 100% convinced by what he writes. That said, I think there’s a lot of worthwhile ideas in there.

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