By Morten Schmidt,  Team Braun’s Rider

Just saw this. Is he mad?
http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2007/01/cleat-position.html

Mad or not, he’s Joe Friel, author of the Bible (The cyclist’s Training Bible)

Incidentally, when Winston at Brauns in Cambridge did my bike fitting last month, he moved my Keo and Eggbeater cleats from pretty much the front most position (under ball of my foot) to as far back as they would go, both MTB and road shoes. Although not as radical as a mid-foot position, it’s going in the same direction, and this change is working out great so far with the road-bike on it’s trainer as well as the cross-bike out on the roads.

I’m not sure I will want to go all the way to mid-foot myself, as I want a similar setup on all my bikes, and I’m pretty sure I won’t like the wheel-toe overlap on the MTB – but I can’t help but be intrigued by this and wonder why we don’t see mid-foot cleat products starting to pop up in the mainstream.

Joe’s article is close to 5 years old now, has received many praises in the comments, and intuitively it does make sense to use your largest muscles to do most of the pedaling.

On the topic of bike fitting – to anyone who hasn’t had a real bike fitting, I recommend going to see Winston at Brauns in Cambridge. Go even if  you don’t have a specific problem like the knee injury I’ve been battling since October. Winston is a walking encyclopedia of cycling know-how, and the methodology he uses is solid and thorough. I brought in 3 of my bikes (Road, Cross and MTB), put them on a stationary trainer, and Winston observed and adjusted as I was working out. Knee alignment was checked with a laser.
Although I pretty much had my seat height and angle nailed, Winston worked with everything from handle-bar position to shoe insole wedges, and the result is a significant change to my existing position.

Prompted by the wedge adjustment Winston did and the initial improvements from this, I chose to also go see Pedorthist Mike Foregrave at Foot By Foot in Kitchener – and now have a set of custom orthotics that address my lack of any foot arch whatsoever – Mike is a cyclist himself and I’d like to recommend his work as well, for those who need it and can afford it (or have benefits coverage). But start with a bike fit first.

All in all, I now have a position on the bike that has my knees moving straight up/down, more open chest, and pelvis in a better position for utilizing the glutes (largest muscles in the body), and a cleat position that minimizes the angle of knee flexing (With foot down, angle is the same no matter where cleat is placed, but with foot up, knee angle is smaller with the cleat further back).

The pelvis position is similar to what is described in this Joe Friel blog: http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2007/09/road-bike-posture.html

I won’t say it’s easy to get used to. Definitely requires an investment in “getting used to” (strengthening of the lower back, and increasing glute flexibility). I’m glad I’m not riding the Centurion next week with this position, but I’m making progress already and confident I’ll get used to it before season start.

This knee problem has been stubborn, but It looks like it’s finally starting to wear off with the new bike fit, and I am one happy camper.