Positioning mtb cleats further back on shoe

[arendoog]

If you have strong calves you must use them in your stroke .By moving cleats back your power is generated more by the upper legs and in mountain biking you will lose some of of your balance ,especially when you stand .It may make more sense in road cycling .I generate more power when i am in the drops and i think by moving the cleats back towards the heel ,your knee raises and has a similar effect as bending forward and lower .like oval chainrings ,it can benefit some riders

[Grease_Monkey]

If you have strong calves you must use them in your stroke .By moving cleats back your power is generated more by the upper legs and in mountain biking you will lose some of of your balance ,especially when you stand .It may make more sense in road cycling .I generate more power when i am in the drops and i think by moving the cleats back towards the heel ,your knee raises and has a similar effect as bending forward and lower

Balance is better on mtb with cleats further back - it promotes being over the centre of the pedal with the ball of your foot and goves better control when standing.

 

As for power and pedaling efficiency, I don't claim to have any scientific proof, but on my XC bike/shoes cleats are further forward because I feel like I am pedalling better and more powerfully. On my Enduro bike it's further back, more comfy and better control and less fatigue in calf muscles and feet on descents.

 

This video is semi-helpful (minus the Crankbros advertising) in explaining what I am trying to say.

 

https://youtu.be/w670PYsOKSY

[Pulse]

there is 1 company in the world that commercially makes mid sole cleat mounting shoes (marketing mostly to triathletes)...

 

all the others all the pros etc use the approved standard forward mounting method ....

 

did any of you guys shove your cleats all the way back and then go to get a bike refit ?

 

because when you fiddle with your cleats and move your saddle around (till its comfy)

99% sure you are no longer correctly and efficiently fitted to your bike anymore so long term you are now riding energy inefficiently and possibly setting up an injury longterm.

 

cycling shoes evolved from the days when they where wood undersoles and you nailed the cleats on with a hammer .. to the very high tech equipe we have today - the cleat limits are a proven system if it worked better in the middle they would fit them there .

I don’t think anyone here is talking about mid-foot placement; but MANY cyclist can do with the option of having the cleats moved a bot further back.

 

Altough I agree that the current design has evolved over a long time, there are variations between manufacturers. The current placement has been a function of maximal power production, with the cleat placed around the area of the ‘ball’ of the foot. This is however not always the aim

[Martin PJ]

I don’t think anyone here is talking about mid-foot placement; but MANY cyclist can do with the option of having the cleats moved a bot further back.

 

Altough I agree that the current design has evolved over a long time, there are variations between manufacturers. The current placement has been a function of maximal power production, with the cleat placed around the area of the ‘ball’ of the foot. This is however not always the aim

 

I was talking about mid foot placement.

[WIPEOUT 1000]

There appears to be an increasing body of anecdotal evidence which suggests that, by positioning a shoe cleat further back that has been the norm for the past 40 odd years, there are comfort and energy use improvements. I am going to give this a try. Has anybody given this a try yet?

I've twice been given the same advice and both times it caused me knee pain and I had to revert back to classic location. 

[Pulse]

I was talking about mid foot placement.

O, oky... I missed that

I’m in favour of being able to move it back a bit, bit mid foot is a bit extreme for me

[SwissVan]

There appears to be an increasing body of anecdotal evidence which suggests that, by positioning a shoe cleat further back that has been the norm for the past 40 odd years, there are comfort and energy use improvements. I am going to give this a try. Has anybody given this a try yet?

Yes, I moved my cleats +/- 12mm further back from the furtherest back position that was possible with the normal cleat slots. This entailed elongating the original cleat slots with a drill and file.

 

Shoes are Specialized sworks mtb with time atac cleats, I use the same shoes for road and mtb.

 

My reason for moving them was driven by comfort, I have “dropped metatarsals” in both feet and with traditional cleat positioning I suffer incredible toe pain on rides over 3 hours.

 

Moving the cleats further back cured this problem instantly.

 

I did this “mod” back in about 2010 and have ridden like this ever since then. Other than pain relief I can’t say I noticed any other positive or negative effects. I have noticed that my calf muscles seem to do less work.

 

The main problem imo, is that it is virtually impossible to buy shoes off the shelf that accommodate a more rear wards or mid foot cleat position. Using a mtb shoe is the easiest to modify yourself, but I would love to go back to another pedal system other than time atac.

 

Google mid foot cleat position, there is quite a lot of info on the web.

[Blokman]

Just thought I'd give report back on this.

Thread came up as I was in a fix. I got serious toe pain whenever a hard ride went over 4 hours (Dec trying to cram for Atta).

Read the advice and decided to take a chance, make a change and move my cleats right back for the race. I made no adjustment to my saddle.

Ten hours later at the back I finished ,no pain at all.

 

Edit: I always thought my cleats were furthest back whe they were in the middle. I could go back about 10 mm.

[Headshot]

Road or MTB? 

 

MTB as far back as possible for me. Way better stability especially uder braking with dropped heels. 

[Blokman]

MTB.Road I hardly ever go longer than 4 hours.

[Hairy]

Running my cleats as far back as the shoes will allow and wishing for a couple more mm that I can take it back .... may have to take the dremel to the shoes

 

Type of riding for me = trail not XCM or XCO

 

This setup gives me a more planted and controlled feel through the pedals, especially when standing.

[Grease_Monkey]

O, oky... I missed that

I’m in favour of being able to move it back a bit, bit mid foot is a bit extreme for me

Also in favour if moving it back, but I haven't yet had a pair of shoes where I have needed more space than provided or had the urge to drill holes in the shoe.

[dirtypot]

I normally ride with my cleats at the front of my foot, but have been playing with an enduro bike recently with flats - this has naturally made my feet sit further forward on the pedal (spindle further back on my foot).  One of the first things I noticed was how much easier it was to drop my heels when going downhill.  I really struggle with this when using my cleats, so now I'm thinking that I should move the cleat position on my normal bike to have this same effect. 

[arendoog]

When i bought new shoes recently i moved the cleats further back ,about 10 mm .It feels comfortable and i find that i will rather spin out a hill than grind it out like before .I think i will leave them there for now 

[Stoffel76]

I just adjusted mine back a bit... My calves were taking strain while standing coming downhill, particularly on the rougher stuff.  Haven't noticed a difference while climbing, so far so good!

[Grease_Monkey]

So I just pulled the trigger on some Spaz 2FO Cliplite shoes. First impressions:

 

- Sole much stiffer than 5.10 Maltese Falcon (not a fair comparison though - Kestrel is more like 2FO cliplite). Not as stiff as carbon XC shoes, but I don't think they will flex - that is what killed me with the Maltese Falcons on descents - my feet cramp after 5/6 mins of descending.

- Comfy to walk in, though steep hike a bikes may be an issue coz of the stiff sole - you have to compromise somewhere.

- Sizes a bit more snug than 5.10. I used size 43EU in 5.10, this is a 44 (same as my other Spaz shoes)

- Spaz has stock, just popped into the store, tried on sizes and bought. I've been phoning around for days to get my hands on Kestrels to no avail. Lost sale because I would not even have looked at the big S if I could find Kestrels.

- Actually makes contact with Shimano pedal body. The Maltese falcons did not so I could only use them with Crankbros Mallet pedals.

 

And the most relevant thing to this thread:

- It has a ton of space to move the cleats to nearly mod foot. I have them positioned way further back than any other shoes before this, and there is still another 10mm or so I can use. May be a very good option for those looking for that feature.