How Do I Adjust My Cleats?

Recently, I’ve been asked by multiple clients about how I figure out cleat placement. My response has been the same every time: “Oh boy…” 🧮 If you’re a fitter, you understand that cleat placement can be incredibly complicated and can include things anywhere from the ball of the foot to the pelvis and torso. This is why pre-fit movement screenings are so important. 🔑 Key things consider 🦶🏼 Ball of foot ↔️ Stance width 👣 Foot rotation ⤴️ Ankle mobility 🍑 Pelvic stability 👟 To add to the complexity, some shoes have markings for us fitters to use as landmarks and some don’t. Then there’s the fact that different brands and models will have different cleat bolt mount placements, varying both fore/aft and medically/laterally. Is your head spinning yet? 🙃 ⚖️ At the end of the day, like a lot of the other adjustments we’re making, we want to create stable foundations for the rider and not just focus on positions of power or simply take a cookie cutter approach. 👥 Like most things bike-fit, cleat placement is really difficult to do on one’s own, though not impossible. The most important piece is seeing how these adjustments look with the rider on the bike.