maartendc

Hi all,

I used to ride with Shimano SPD shoes and cleats on my road bike, because my bike came with those pedals, and I thought I "should". I had problems with pain in my right leg (back of the knee).

My right leg is shorter than my left leg (don't know by how much). The reason I figured this out is that it is impossible to find a comfortable seat height when clipped in:

- When my right leg is comfortable, my left leg gets pain in the front knee, meaning my saddle is too low for my left leg.
- When my left leg is comfortable, my right leg gets pain in the back of the knee due to hyperextension, meaning my saddle is too high for my right leg.

Because this has caused nothing but trouble, I have been riding flat pedals and regular sneakers for a while, no problems. I think when my feet are not clipped in, I can instinctively change my foot position on either pedal so that I compensate for the leg length discrepancy.

Question: I have heard about cleat wedges: Look Pedal Cleat Wedges
- Should I experiment with these to compensate for leg length discrepancy?
- Should I experiment with the position of the cleats on the shoes? If so, how? Cleat further forward on the shorter leg? (I Have both cleats all the way back on both now)

I really made my peace with just riding flat pedals, but I would be more comfortable climbing out of the saddle with the SPD system.

Thanks!

Carbonfiberboy 

I have unequal leg lengths. I shimmed the short leg, which helped a lot. I used BikeFit shims, not wedges.

maartendc

Thanks for your response!

Did you also adjust the cleat position in any way? Or just add the shim?

Carbonfiberboy 

No, I didn't move my cleats. They're under the balls of my feet.

Edit: having them there means that I can compensate for some discrepancy with ankle angle.