Will more "float" on pedals reduce side knee/ITB ?

[ASTANA]

 

Hey

 

Just want to hear your thoughts on this. Been reading a lot. Want to switch to Speedplay Zero's on Road - for more float and maby eggbeaters on MTB or Look Quarts.

 

Know cleat setup should be 100%, but for me there is a different foot position when I stand up and when I sit down - slightly, but that puts strain on my ITB / side of the knee - resulting in pain later on and after the ride.

 

Riding Shimano road and MTB pedals SPD

 

 

ASTANA2009-05-21 05:13:25

[oclv110]

It is supposed to help sore knees, but from my experience, I get sore knees from too much float. I tried the Look and Egg beaters and didn't work for me.Egg Beaters are launching a new pedal with no float, but I ride DA pedals on my road bike with red cleats and XTR's on the MTB with lots of tension and the black cleats.

[Moab]

Dude: are you still struggling? Eina!!

 

I find that on my road bike I get a bit of irritation on my ITB but those pedals have less float. Also, check your cleat setup!! I recently found out that my one pair of shoes is what likely caused my hell!! If your toes are too inward it can slowly affect the ITB. My richley pedals have a fair bit of float but not too much - just enough to allow me to adjust to a comfy position.

[Slowbee]

"education on"

 

what do you guys mean by more float?

 

 

[ASTANA]

 

"education on"

 

what do you guys mean by more float?

 

 

 

Float is the term used when you can move you foot a bit on the pedal (horisontal) while clipped in on you pedals with the cleats.

 

Some brands offer more float and some more a fixed position. This allows you to get a more natural foot position while pedaling.

 

Some peoples legs like the idea others want a more fixed correct setup.

 

[Woofie]

Poll going quite well I see

 

 

 

Just ride with pain killers.

[ASTANA]

Poll is rocking  Looks like SA election!

 

Pain killers wont work - just stuff it up more. Not muscle its tendons and nerves thats hurting

 

Thanx anyway.

 

Poll is GREAT SUCCESS - I like

 

[wheelz]

go for the look pedals. they work for me

[THE BODY CENTRE]

ASTANA  --can u explain a little more on what you meant in your first post re: different foot position in sitting/standing

[Slowbee]

so are you saying you dont want foot movement or you do want foot movement?

 

my cleats are so old and worn I have loads of movement of my foot when I am clipped in.

 

is this a bad thing

 

[ASTANA]

 

so are you saying you dont want foot movement or you do want foot movement?

 

my cleats are so old and worn I have loads of movement of my foot when I am clipped in.

 

is this a bad thing

 

 

I'm asking. More float means more movement, less float the opposite

 

[Mellow]

 

Hey

 

Just want to hear your thoughts on this. Been reading a lot. Want to switch to Speedplay Zero's on Road - for more float and maby eggbeaters on MTB or Look Quarts.

 

Know cleat setup should be 100%' date=' but for me there is a different foot position when I stand up and when I sit down - slightly, but that puts strain on my ITB / side of the knee - resulting in pain later on and after the ride.

 

Riding Shimano road and MTB pedals SPD

 

 

[/quote']

 

Personally I would not choose the Look Quarts pedals. A lot of float yes, and that you are reminded of every time you float off your bike!

 

Ive been using them for about 7months now, from when they were fairly new on the SA market. Two negatives (one major): 1. They unclip when you hit major bumps and usually this is at high speed!! Some near death experiences a number of times. 2.The polymere cage wears very quickly at the shoe contact points (yes my shimms are right).

 

Spoke to 2 others with similar problems. Aparantly they changed the design somewhat on the newer version, so maybe this has been sorted.

 

Nice and light though

 

[Overlord]

 

so are you saying you dont want foot movement or you do want foot movement?

 

my cleats are so old and worn I have loads of movement of my foot when I am clipped in.

 

is this a bad thing

 

 

He is looking for more movement to prevent his ITB from flaring up after a ride or even during a ride. A very sore ITB during a ride can be so sore that it forces you to get of the bike.

 

If the set-up or float is not correct and you do a multi stage race you will struggle to get past day 3 or 4.

 

Make no mistake a sore ITB is not something to take lightly.With some people it can take a few months before they are able to ride a bike pain free or suffer pains after a ride.

 

[Iwan Kemp]

There should a fifth option: if everything else is 100% set-up, yes. Or probably.

1st make sure your bike has been properly set-up. Saddle height, saddle for and aft, saddle angle and out of  alignment saddle can all have an influence on your knees. Fix all of that first, then worry about float.

[Bionic man]

Definitely going to change my cleat settings and give myself more float after reading this. I suffer terribly from ITB pain(only the last three months since changing shoes, pedals, bikes etc.)

 

Gonna put the old pedals , shoes, cleats back on and see what happens.

 

First time in a long time that I cried from PAIN, not nice.

[ASTANA]

 

ASTANA  --can u explain a little more on what you meant in your first post re: different foot position in sitting/standing

 

Hey Ronelle.

 

This is a wierd scenario but found that this might be the case. Like running, with pronation and underpronation , this can have a effect on cycling. All depends on the ability of your legs to adapt or not.

 

I find that my feet are slightly in a different position when standing. Becuase you are moving the whole frame under you, this is not quite the same as sitting and pedaling.

 

So if you set your fixed cleats - for example Shimano SPD's - then you set them to your natural foot position, mostly straight when seated. But if you set this to tight then you might experiance problems when you sprint or climb (standing on the pedals).

 

So with more float - your feet can go anyway they want - without the problem of being restricted to X amount of play/float ?? Right ??

 

Thats just one thing that can effect this ITB/side knee pain.

 

What further can help this on is:

 - I put most of my weight on the outside of my feet when standing/running. So in cycling with normal insloles - with the upstroke the feet wil be natural, but on the downstroke it first will be in its natural position - in my case more pressure on the outside of the foot. On the 6oClock position where the most power hits the bottom of the downstroke, this presure can cause the arch or the foot to colapse a bit (like its designed to do when running) and by doing this rolling the foot to put more presure on the inside of the foot (big toe side)

 

This all resulting in a rotaion of my left knee - from the outside/normal position to the inside/closer to the top tube. and repeting wit every upstroke and downstroke.