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Some advice / confirmation on leg alignment issue


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Hi All

Wanting some bike fit advice - I suspect I have found the root cause - just want some more eyes on the problem - in the event that I am wrong and need to visit a fitter.

Some background...

I fitted some new cleats very recently and stupidly over - torqued one bolt and managed to snap the cleat! This, I suspect is due to the wedge that I also have in place. I then (possibly stupidly again!) - loosened it a bit, then retightened it again. 

Completed a long ride the next day and experienced no issues.

Did an event last week and at the end, was experiencing some pain just behind my knee - on the outside of my leg (almost like a ligament - not muscular)  - this definitely out of the norm for me.

Pain subsided by Sunday and was able to do a recovery spin on trainer without issue (with other shoes) on different bike

I only use these shoes and bike when riding outside - no issues with other shoes on trainer (different bike - but I haven't changed anything on either bike in any event)

I used the shoes again yesterday for the first time since last weekend and noted the same discomfort after about 5kms into the ride - I pushed through the discomfort until it became too painful to continue and had to bail on the ride.

My question after all this is - do you reckon the drop in the cleat (where it cracked) is behind the issue? My thoughts are to replace and do a test ride to confirm - if this does not sort the issue - I will need to visit a fitment specialist to understand if something else is perhaps amiss.

Pics attached for reference

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It makes total sense to replace what you broke to get yourself back to the way it was, before you started to feel the pain.

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7 minutes ago, robbybzgo said:

It makes total sense to replace what you broke to get yourself back to the way it was, before you started to feel the pain.

That is my gut feel as well..

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From recent experience I can maybe just give some (anecdotal) advice. 
 

I moved my cleats back in my shoes 1mm. My left ITB nearly killed me for a week. I went to massages and physio. Moved the cleats back to their original position, two days of rest and I’m back to 99% efficiency. 
 

My theory is. On a 3 hour ride you roughly rotate the same joint 15000 times. That 1mm, probably not even less will feel the difference.  

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maybe your cleat position is slightly different (cleat further out ? 
but anyway, the broken one needs to be replaced

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I have found that a slight alignment left or right is the cause of knee problems . Check that alignment carefully before tightening the cleat . Some cleat makes have different knobbles ?  were they fit against the sole and could easily slip into the wrong pattern holes created by the old cleats .   

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The broken cleat has probably increased the cant/tilt of your leg by about 1mm, if not more. This change in angle of your foot is the cause of your knee pain. You already have two wedges so the angle with a fixed cleat is quite extreme already. I also run two wedges but get discomfort with 3

If you can't get a new cleat today, remove the wedges (or at least one) for now. 

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