Putting Your Cleats in the Right Place

By Duston Morris, Ph.D., ABD, M.S., ACE, USAT

 
The info is out there, but many cyclists just don’t follow it, and if you do you already know that cleat placement makes a difference in your cycling performance. Goetz Heine, a past pro cyclist (and shoe designer) has know about this for years and he would push the cleats as far back as he could on the sole of his cycling shoes. Joe Friel (popular multisport coach & author) followed this advice and was able to increase his cycling performance (i.e. power to heart-rate ratio) by an incredible 9 percent! Now this kind of improvement won’t happen for everyone, but by placing your cleats in the right position (for the right kind of riding) you can definitely see improvement. So here is some basic advice on how to place your cleats and get the most out of your shoes and cleat placement.

Most cycling shoes will allow you to either move your cleat forward (fore) or backward (aft) on the sole of your shoes. Depending on the type of cleat (e.g. Speed Play, Look, SPD, SPD-R) you use, the way in which you move the cleat will vary. For example, with many SPD cleats, you usually have 3 sets of holes where you can move the cleat either forward or backward on the shoe sole. On Speed Play, you don’t have 3 separate hole sets, but rather you attach the cleat and then slide the cleat platform either forward or backward. I think SPD-R and Look pedals use a similar format. So how do you determine where to place your cleats…well read on!

1. If you are more of a sprinter – if you are on a cycling team and do the majority of the sprinting for your team or if you are a track cyclist you will want to place your cleat as far forward on your shoe as possible. By doing so, you place a large majority of work on the calf…and since calf fatigue is not as big of an issue for these types of cyclists move it forward.
2. If you are a road racer or do a lot of day races – if you are a middle of the pack racer, help your team pull or do day long rides, tours, or racing then you best bet is to place your cleat in the middle of your forefoot. Hear the pedal axle will sit slightly behind the ball of your foot. This middle or middle rear position allow more of your bigger leg muscles to come into play and does a better job at reducing the overall fatigue on your calf muscles.
3. If you are a real distance rider, recreational rider, or TT specialist – if this is your cycling preference, you will want to place the cleat as far back as possible. This is the case because for the most part you have very little need for sudden acceleration (like in sprinting). An added benefit/s to this position is that it can help eliminate “hot spot” syndrome and can reduce calf cramping.

Also remember to check the cleat angle as well. Mount your cleats so there is approximately a finger’s width between your shoe and the crank arm. Ultimately I encourage athletes to play around with cleat position. I typically use different cleat positions for different bikes (MTB, Road, & TT). But as always, go with what feels good, gives you the best results, without sacrificing form and efficiency. If you don’t know how to change your move your cleats, take your shoes to a specialist and get them to show you. Your feet will thank you and more than likely you will see a little bit of improvement.