reishi

I've been trying out a good variety of makes models and sizes of 3bolt road shoes lately and find the vast majority of them, even models with moveable screw hole plates don't allow the cleat to be postioned back anywhere near far enough for me.. The rear most set back I can get still has it in front of ball of foot. I couldn't image using any of these shoes with a neutral position would be like cycling on my tip toes. What say you? May be my feet abnormal? Is a toe over spindle position better for most cyclists? I been cycling wrong all this time? Do I need to switch to mountain bike shoes to get more setback?

Branko D

There are extenders which allow you to go further back for speedplay pedals and I'm sure I found some for Look pedals but I can't for the life of me recall where.

That said, I find that with a normally sized shoe (so not a lot of room in front) I am really comfortable somewhere, well, pretty rearward but within the adjustment range. The idea is for the pedal spindle to be roughly in the middle of the MTP joints for all around riding, maybe a touch to the rear.

berner

I use mountain bike shoes and found to get the cleats back far enough it was necessary to elongate the holes with a round file by quite a bit. If you can't modify your current shoes, then maybe mountain shoes it the path for you.

surak

I can get the cleats pretty far back on my Specialized and Scott road shoes, significantly less so on my Fiziks. So the shoe brand can make a difference. But there is also a bigger risk of toe overlap with farther back cleats, which is not a concern with MTB geometry.

Over at SlowTwitch, someone asked about https://mid-foot-cycling.com/ , but doesn't seem like they got any response when trying to contact the company.

Carbonfiberboy 

Yes, most cyclists have their cleats adjusted so that the ball of the big toe is over the pedal axle. I've had mine set that way for over 50 years with no ill effects, though I've not done a day ride longer than 18 hours. There is an argument for having the pedal axle a little further back than that, perhaps best made here: https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com...leat-position/

My advice is to try not to flex the ankle during the pedal stroke. Try to relax the ankle and pedal with the heel cup. This reduces the strain on the lower leg muscles. Being able to do that should be easy if one's saddle height is set correctly: https://www.cyclingweekly.com/fitnes...t-how-to-25379

That's only an approximation, but a very close one. To perfect saddle height, one needs to ride and feel that one is developing good power at the bottom of the pedal stroke. Hogg has an interesting way to look at that, noticing the rearward acceleration of the knee joint at the bottom of the stroke: https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com...ard-can-it-be/
Getting that right is probably what I'm feeling when I feel strong at the bottom of the stroke.

Chi_Z

avoid midfoot cleat position, you are losing out on your calf muscle engagement the further back you go

reishi

Hey thanks for the replies. I guess my cleats have been pretty far back ever since i went to clipless setup..ive been comfortable for 60+mile rides.. but my pace estimated on strava is only 16mph / 140 avg watt range on my usual rides with 1000ft of gain every15 miles.. i like the low, locked in feeling i get with the far midfoot position..but now i didnt know what i was missing with using a forward more position until this week. I settled with the lake cx241 model for a break in period.. so far i like the extra torque from a forwardmore position and the shoes fit much better than my old shoes which were probably half size to big. Acceleration and maintainoing a high cadence in a high gear seems easier all the sudden. I feel more soreness and strength in the front of my legs from the past few rides, probably from the new position, also maybe because of the tighter shoes let me get more power throughout the full stroke with minimal foot movement in the shoe. Maybe ill continue to get faster with this evolving setup! I may look into modifying these shoes anyway though so i can have the option of more range of movement.. Thanks again for y'alls thoughts about it.

PoorInRichfield

I think removing the calves from the pedal stroke is the whole point of the midfoot cleat position favored by some triathletes.

travelerman

I have the exact same problem, and have had to return more than one pair of shoes because they could not be adjusted back far enough, placing the contact point between the ball of my foot and my toes.

Giro shoes seem to work for me, but I still have to jam the cleat (Shimano SPD) all the way back on the size 45 shoes I've used successfully from them... Sidi is a no-go; I like their style options, but they won't adjust properly to my feet.

svvv

I have drilled new holes in the past, worked like a charm

Hapsmo911

Depends on what you are doing. If you are a sprinter or racing crits a more forward position is better as you engage the calf muscle more and can burst easier. A more setback pedal works well for people who prefer to breakaway or TT. It also engages more muscle groups. More rearward makes it easier to climb longer, and steeper grades. On the same climb with a more forward position the calf will tire and you will drop your heel after some time. That will causes you to lose the ability to stabilize the foot. Of course there are people out there that are fine with a more forward position. Lots of info on the web for this. Steve Hogg being one. Heres a good video for you
To answer your shoe question, Specialized shoes start with their cleat holes further back than most and have slots to move them very far back. I think Shimano S-Phyre shoes will go back 11mm.

reishi

Very good video! I watched some of that bike fitters channel last week, guy offers detailed advice. I was able to carve out the hole slots in my carbon soles back about 10mm using a sharp knife with a scandinavian grind.. I might go another 10mm, midfoot position is so juicy! The material shapes so easily too, it's like carving wood.

Dammy

Hey, I recently bought the Lake cx241-x and I was curious about you might explaining to me how exactly you carved out the cleat holes? Also, did you experience any downsides to that Action? (Loose Cleat, broken Carbon Sole?)
Thanks in advance

PeteHski

There is a current trend with shoe manufacturers providing slightly more rearward cleat mounts. Shimano, Lake and Specialized seem to offer more rearward positions than most. Fizik have also recently started moving their cleat mounts a little further back on some of their latest shoes. I find a more rearward position more comfortable for longer endurance rides and sustained climbing, as others have already mentioned. I just slam my cleats all the way back as a default setting. It's still nowhere near mid-sole though. For mountain biking I wear flats and pedal a bit closer to mid-sole.

Dammy

Unluckily i couldn't find the thread you talked about :/
but in the end it shouldn't matter too much because I am probably going to settle with the Lakes. The Speci Ares I have here offer a more rear Cleat Position, but they feel too narrow. I hoped to get an awnser reagarding carving the Lakes because I prolly need a pair of Cleat wedges aswell, so I dont really want a Cleat Position Adapter + Wedges

yashinon

I purchased a pair of Shimano XC shoes and have my SPD cleats as far back as possible. This is more of comfortable riding position for me. However, my left foot takes more effort to unclip. My right foot is fine. I have the tension far down on both pedals. What can I do to make the left foot easier to unclip?

CliffordK

I saw some Specialized shoes marked "touring" shoes with the cleat position about 1/2" or more further back than what I currently use.

I personally am used to a fairly forward cleat position.

I bought a pair of speedplay shoes that had 4 holes thinking I could use the rear two holes to mount my SPD cleats for an experiment, but alas, the hole positions were different. I may still try the experiment sometime.

If one determines exactly where one wants the cleats, it should be easy enough to simply drill new holes, although perhaps some dremel work to recess the cleat plates.

Pizzaiolo Americano 

I would make sure the recess on the shoe isn't interfering with your release. If you have your cleat way inside or way outside, I could see this possibly happening...