Cleat position on shoes? where and why?

[Medic6666]

just wondering is there any reason other than comfort why you would put the cleat towards the toe rather than the heal of the shoe.

I have tried both and neither seems uncomfortable so this is really just curiosity.

ta

 

[betty swollocks]

Generally speaking, the cleat should go under the ball of the foot.
You will then, usually by trial and error, be able to decide upon your correct saddle height.
This in turn will increase your cycling comfort and pedalling efficiency.

Cleat positioning.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

IMHE, fitting cleats too far forward results in numb toes and pain in the foot.

 

[gavintc]

I have played around with lots of options and have them to allow the ball to be on the axle. I know it is the norm, but I wanted to see what would happen if I played with the parameters (fore and aft).

 

[Medic6666]

thanks all...it seems i had mine slightly off..will test tomorrow and fingers crossed I have it right this time. ;0)

 

[Randochap]

The common convention has been to position the metatarsal over the pedal axle.

Recently, the trend has been to move cleats further back to put the foot more forward on the pedal. This relieves stress on the Achilles and arguably produces more power on the downstroke.

See here and this Steve Hogg article (PDF).