Cleat wedges

[Peter Salt]

Hia,

I was going about my bike fit yesterday and noticed that after a few minutes of semi-intense pedalling the outside of my right foot started aching, the left followed suit a short while after. Thought I'm doing something wrong but after a bit of searching found out that it's probably just my natural foot alignment and you can eliminate the pain by putting wedges between your cleat and cycling shoe. I have a few questions in regards to that:

1. I found a six-pack of these from some 'no name' brand on Amazon for about £9 as well as an eight-pack from 'BIKEFIT' for around £29. All are 1 deg. and you can stack them. Does anyone have any experiences with using the cheap Amazon options as well as the branded ones? Anywhere else that I can buy them? Not gonna lie, paying almost 30 quid for 8 thin pieces of plastic seems unreasonable.

2. Any DIY alternatives? I was thinking about using washers.

3. If I end up using a few of these on one side, should I consider longer cranks to offset the difference?

Cheers,
/P

 

[cyberknight]

https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/fitness-and-training/cycling-knee-pain-the-problem-areas/

 

[figbat]

You won’t need longer cranks, but you may need to raise the saddle a touch.

 

[T4tomo]

My OH has a wedge under one cleat, cleared up some knee pain issues in a flash

I'm assuming from this:

I was going about my bike fit yesterday

Not gonna lie, paying almost 30 quid for 8 thin pieces of plastic seems unreasonable

Any DIY alternatives? I was thinking about using washers.

....its a DIY bike fit. With cleats and stuff, and given you are having foot pain, I'd seriously consider getting someone who knows what they are doing looking at it. you can get a a cleat / pedal fit, without having to fork out for a full fit.

You are as likely to make it worse as better randomly banging wedges under your cleats. It could be something as simple as an insole will sort it out, but you won't find the right answer on random internet responses.

 

[fossyant]

Is this the first time you've gone clipless ? If it's this, or indeed new shoes, double check the cleat position. You may need some test rides with tiny adjustments, so don't suddenly jump on the wedge idea.

What have you changed on the set up. Anything more than moving a few mm or so can cause pain.

 

[Peter Salt]

Thanks for the replies.

https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/fitness-and-training/cycling-knee-pain-the-problem-areas/

Just to clarify: My knees are absolutely fine. It's the outside of the actual foot that's the problem area. This is the article that I found: https://blog.bikefit.com/tag/cycling-foot-pain/. The way they describe it is spot on - a burning sensation in the soft tissue.

You won’t need longer cranks, but you may need to raise the saddle a touch.

Of course, makes sense. Thank you.

My OH has a wedge under one cleat, cleared up some knee pain issues in a flash

Where did you get the wedge, if I may ask? Went with the cheap stuff or branded?

I'm assuming from this:

....its a DIY bike fit. With cleats and stuff, and given you are having foot pain, I'd seriously consider getting someone who knows what they are doing looking at it. you can get a a cleat / pedal fit, without having to fork out for a full fit.

Is this the first time you've gone clipless ? If it's this, or indeed new shoes, double check the cleat position. You may need some test rides with tiny adjustments, so don't suddenly jump on the wedge idea.

What have you changed on the set up. Anything more than moving a few mm or so can cause pain.

This is the first time I went clipless and also my first ever bike fit. Yes, it's a DIY fit on an exercise bike. I'm a complete beginner to road cycling. Watched a bunch of bike fit videos and am trying to do it myself. I'll at least give it a go before paying for a fit. Shoes, cleats - brand new. Pedals - used but in v. good condition. I've already adjusted the cleats in all other ways - initially had knee issues because I've set them up completely straight, now the heel is pointing inwards and it's much, much better.

You are as likely to make it worse as better randomly banging wedges under your cleats. It could be something as simple as an insole will sort it out, but you won't find the right answer on random internet responses.

It's all indoors so I think it should be fine. I'm doing 20 minutes max while fiddling with the fit so I think that the risk of injury is fairly low.

 

[newts]

You may be better with supportive insole/wedge in your shoe rather than on the cleat.

 

[cyberknight]

Thanks for the replies.


Just to clarify: My knees are absolutely fine. It's the outside of the actual foot that's the problem area. This is the article that I found: https://blog.bikefit.com/tag/cycling-foot-pain/. The way they describe it is spot on - a burning sensation in the soft tissue.


Of course, makes sense. Thank you.


Where did you get the wedge, if I may ask? Went with the cheap stuff or branded?




This is the first time I went clipless and also my first ever bike fit. Yes, it's a DIY fit on an exercise bike. I'm a complete beginner to road cycling. Watched a bunch of bike fit videos and am trying to do it myself. I'll at least give it a go before paying for a fit. Shoes, cleats - brand new. Pedals - used but in v. good condition. I've already adjusted the cleats in all other ways - initially had knee issues because I've set them up completely straight, now the heel is pointing inwards and it's much, much better.


It's all indoors so I think it should be fine. I'm doing 20 minutes max while fiddling with the fit so I think that the risk of injury is fairly low.

The article I Linked to also mentions foot pain

 

[Peter Salt]

Well... I did this:



I started off with fitting a 0.5 mm washer in the middle and a 1.25 mm on the inside and noticed an improvement - still a bit of foot pain but way less. Then I went with a 1.25 mm in the middle and 2x1.25 mm on the inside and... Oh my. It felt amazing! Way, way, way better. No paint at all.

Did some searching and found these on Tredz. Will give them a try.

 

[HLaB]

Well... I did this:

View attachment 614699 View attachment 614695 View attachment 614692

I started off with fitting a 0.5 mm washer in the middle and a 1.25 mm on the inside and noticed an improvement - still a bit of foot pain but way less. Then I went with a 1.25 mm in the middle and 2x1.25 mm on the inside and... Oh my. It felt amazing! Way, way, way better. No paint at all.

Did some searching and found these on Tredz. Will give them a try.

Those Specialized one are what I use but primarily to address a leg length discrepancy. I subsequently changed the angle as I was always wearing out cleats on one-side. They 'do what they say on the tin'; I'd be wary of the DIY washers long term damaging your shoes/ cleats and possibly moving. But its a good short term solution to experiment