HOW TO: set up your road bike cleats 

Glad you enjoyed it!

Glad it was helpful!

This! Listen to this man. He speaks the Truth.

Best to put your cleat on the heal

You are correct. I watched a video about a year ago, I forget who posted it but he talked and made sense about moving the cleat back. I now adjust my cleats as far back as they can go on two pairs of shoes I use. It's still doesn't go back as far as the recommendation but its all I get. It does feel so much better and position on the bike seems better too. This Cleat Key is just an invention they are hoping to get rich selling to those who will drink the Koolaid.

The Cleat Key evolved because we needed a practical way to quantify cleat rotation, and we thought it might be useful to others. Cleat rotation is one of five cleat degrees of freedom that we discuss in our FAQ at www.cleat-key.com. We think it's the most important aspect of cleat fitting, and it is something that is otherwise not easy to quantify. In the video, we show one way to set the cleat fore-aft based on a mid-metarsal line. You can choose to set it where you like, and there is certainly a trend towards further aft positions. There are a few disadvantages to a full-aft position for some riders, namely more toe-wheel overlap, which may be an issue for small cyclists, and a biomechanical disadvantage in hard out-of-the-saddle sprints or climbing. For steady-state athletes like time trialists and triathletes, there is a lot of evidence that a more aft position is beneficial. It really depends on the athlete. We can agree that the old "spindle under the ball of the foot" is essentially obsolete. Keep in mind also that some shoes have cleat anchor bolt holes mounted much more forward than others. Italian shoes like Sidi and Fizik have cleat holes much more forward than those on say Shimano and Specialized shoes.

@@cleat-key I appreciate you taking so much time to try to explain you view but another truth is this thing is just way to expensive. How often is someone even going to use it, once every couple of years maybe. I probably wouldn't even remember where I stored it when I would need to use it again. I like to adjust my angle so the heel comes within a range of about 1cm from the stays. That is what works for me.

Really depends on riding style. We set up a lot of triathletes with the cleats as far back as possible. However, road cyclists who like to sprint or climb out of the saddle might find they're at a biomechanical disadvantage with this. In the video, we used the mid-met position as a compromise that will work for most people, but feel free to experiment. Also, keep in mind that different brands arbitrarily have cleat holes that are much more forward or aft than average. We've found that Italian brands for example, have cleat bolt holes a lot further forward on the shoe than do Shimano and US brands, for equivalent sizes. One thing is for sure, the old "spindle over the ball of the foot" or 1st met concept for everyone, is obsolete.

They are still using this old theory that came from walking. In cycling the foot has to be considered as a lever, the cleats have to go far back.

Yes I’ve been seeing a lot of new info recommending just pushing the cleat as far back as possible especially for endurance riders. No need to be on the metatarsals anymore with our new stiffer shoes. It’s been a game changer for me.

It really depends. With the digital motion capture system we use for fittings, we can quantify how much people actually float when unrestricted, and that is typically around 4-6 degrees (we've observed that in around 95% of the population, or 2 standard deviations). For people who naturally float more than that, an 8-9 deg float cleat (like the Look red cleat) may make sense.

Great question! In the fitting studio we use motion capture to observe knee motion, but the idea is simply to get the knee laterally over the pedal. Generally people with a wider hip structure will want to set the cleats inboard for a wider stance, and people with narrow hips will want to set the cleats outboard for a more narrow stance. However, keep in mind that Shimano and Look cleats only allow for a tiny amount of lateral adjustment, just a few mm! A better way for a wide-hip rider to get the knee under their pedals might be to center the cleat laterally and use a longer pedal spindle, like the Shimano +4mm pedals, or Favero powermeter pedals. More on this at our FAQ at www.cleat-key.com.

@@cleat-key thanks! I was hoping for some other method 😀

Thank you for your feedback! You have a great point. You have 2 options: (1) limit the toe out angle to around 4-5° and see how it works for you over time, or perhaps better, (2) use spacers or a crank system that gives you a better Q-factor (that is, more distance between the pedals). We discuss this in our FAQ at www.cleat-key.com. En español: ¡Gracias por sus comentarios! Haces un buen punto. Tiene 2 opciones: (1) limitar el ángulo de convergencia a alrededor de 4-5° y ver cómo funciona con el tiempo, o quizás mejor, (2) usar espaciadores o un sistema de manivela que le brinde un mejor factor Q (es decir, más distancia entre los pedales). Discutimos esto en nuestras preguntas frecuentes en www.cleat-key.com.

We just concluded a Kickstarter campaign. You can't get it there anymore, but it'll be available directly from our website in a few days. www.cleat-key.com

Don't forget to divide you foot splay angle by 3 to determine your cleat angle! If after doing this, your heel still hits the rear stay, you many need to bias the cleat position a bit. The Cleat Key can help you fine tune that. We discuss exactly that in our FAQ here: www.cleat-key.com

www.cleat-key.com

We'd still recommend starting with the jump test and setting the cleat from that. If you float a few degrees toe-inwards, which is common when pedalling at higher power outputs, that's what the float is for. If you still feel that you want to tweak the heel rotation a bit, the Cleat Key can help you quantify that so you know exactly how much of an adjustment works for you. Your own preferred cleat angle is useful number to know if setting up the cleats on another shoe, or if you change the cleats. We touch on some other aspects of this on our detailed FAQ. www.cleat-key.com/pages/faq

@@cleat-key Thanks for the vid and your reply, the explanations given by you have been great.

Yes absolutely. Made for Look Keo or Shimano SPD-SL road cleats and pedals, and compatible ones.

Hi Brads, we just finished a succesful Kickstarter campaign. In a few days (early June 2022) you'll be able to purchase it directly from the Cleat Key website www.cleat-key.com

Available now online, ships worldwide. www.cleat-key.com

Available worldwide. Have a look at www.cleat-key.com. Thanks!

Have a look at our FAQ at www.cleat-key.com

Great question. The human body has an amazing way of straightening itself out when a load is applied. The “divide by 3” factor was determined by observing and measuring hundreds of riders at all levels to determine a correlation between the angle of the foot in a simple jump test, and the neutral position of the foot on a bike when power is applied around the pedal stroke (we measured using both a goniometer and digital motion capture). The method has been tested on hundreds of customers, from beginner to elite. The reason we didn't pre-correct the angle readings on the tool is because we realize some cyclists might want to know the actual, uncorrected angle their cleat is set at, or they may want to try a different correction factor. That said, the "divide by 3" factor will work for nearly everyone.

Cleat float and cleat rotation are two different things. If your neutral foot stance (while pedalling) is not centred on your cleat, you may not be getting the full float provided by your cleat. The Cleat Key is used to quantify your cleat rotation angle.

@@cleat-key im sorry ive only been ridding for now 20 years guess I still need to learn

Yes, Look and Shimano only at this point. We're working on a version that is specific to Time, which has a larger, different cleat design.

@@cleat-key not to be rude...but i have always wondered why time and campagnolo. have always left to last..on the back burner// has shimano bought out everyone? sort of ole payola..in the music industry..of years ago..time has been around as long or a little longer than shimano pedals..i worked in a shop back then.. look was first out the door... then time shortly after..

@@randellgribben9772 First mover advantage I guess. I got my first pair of clipless pedals in 1986. The Look system first appeared in 1984. Rightly or wrongly, it has stood the test of time and Look/Shimano are by far the market leaders for road pedals today. That's not necessary a bad thing as it has forced road shoe companies to make (nearly) all their shoes compatible with the Look/Shimano 3-bolt cleat pattern. We sell all 3 brands at the Bike Energy Lab, they're all good, but Time just hasn't got the same level of market adoption at this point.

We totally agree. Our video shows one way to install your cleats. That said, the Cleat Key is a useful tool, for both a new cyclist, or an experienced bike fitter, to quantify the cleat rotation angle, regardless of what method of installation is used.

Oh my @Ken. Cyclists wear socks for a reason! Rule 27. If you want to see bare feet go to a swimming meet. 🏊😄

We're very sure you wouldn't learn much about nuclear physics in 4 minutes, which is the amount of time you need to watch the video to figure out how to set up your cleats properly 😆