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advice sought - clipless solution allowing midfoot cleat position

by HurdyGurdy
Sun, Aug 06, 2017 23:48
10

Background : due to muscle wasting condition, no longer have fully functioning foot and calf muscles. This effectively means that even with SPD-SL cleats as far back as possible, I am no longer able to stand up on the pedals as there is no ability to support feet when all pressure comes from front ( imagine standing on a ledge with front part of foot and not be able to hold foot level, i.e. heels drop down).

So that out of the way - is anyone aware of any clipless solution that allows the locking mechanism to be midfoot ? I tried using flats (DMR Vault) but due to their width they scrape the floor in corners and really didn't feel nice not being clipped in.

Given all shoe manufacturers assume you want the cleat near front, not found any shoes that have long enough tracks to move cleat far enough back.

This might be mission impossible, but just trying my luck in this community 

Thanks 

Hurdy

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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10 comments

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HurdyGurdy | 6 years ago
1 like

Thanks for the suggestions again

going to go DIY route first ( spare shoes gathering dust so may as well give it a go ). Looks like it will have to be SPD rather than SL given given most road shoes are too narrow to support two back SL bolts when moving them mover to the back.

Might give the Speedplay's a go as well 

 

 

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Paul__M | 6 years ago
1 like

Sounds like Luck shoes could be worth contacting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ-ssX4QjSchttps://www.youtube.com/watch...

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Drinfinity | 6 years ago
0 likes

Apologies, I was meaning MTB spuds too. 

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beigemaster | 6 years ago
0 likes

I had a similar issue, but more simply because I felt much more comfortable and controlled with my foot further forward on the pedal than any SPD-SL would allow.

I found simply moving to mountain bike style SPDs helped me get into the best position. Not sure if it's either due to the nature of mountain biking (where a good trail position means you dip your heels and push more on the arch of your foot) or simply because the cleats are smaller and therefore there's more room to move them back but I can get the cleats much further back than on my road shoes. 

Double sided clipping in is also a welcome bonus. 

 

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Drinfinity | 6 years ago
0 likes

I'd go for SPDs, and drill your own holes. Cut the shoe insole for the cleat, and the orthopaedic  insole goes over the top. 

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HurdyGurdy | 6 years ago
0 likes

Thanks all for the various suggestions -  lots of ideas to explore now!

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barongreenback | 6 years ago
1 like

Speedplay with the fore/aft extender plates might be a good shout. I use them as my middle toe is longer than my big toe so my shoes are a bit too big for normal cleat placement iyswim.   If they don't go quite far back enough I reckon you could probably get some custom made as the engineering looks pretty simple. 

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nniff | 6 years ago
1 like

You might get some help from British Cycling - they have regional hubs for para cycling which may be a good source of advoce for you:

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/disabilityhubs?c=EN

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davel | 6 years ago
1 like

I've been interested in this for a while, but because of the Joe Friel/triathlon link. I've found the argument for sparing your calves the effort of rotating the ball of your foot, particularly prior to a run, fairly convincing, and have come across triathletes who use mid-foot cleats over the years - though IIRC they had custom/modified shoes and don't know of any off-the-shelf midfoot shoes (doesn't mean they don't exist).

It's something I've intended to try out but have never got round to...

Have a look at what Joe Friel and Steve Hogg have to say... I think you can probably swing there via the page that Smeds has linked to, but here are links:

http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2007/01/cleat-position.html

https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/outcome/midfoot-cleat-position/

I remember the topic being discussed pretty extensively, dicussing shoe modification etc, on one of the tri forums, a few years back. I think it was slowtwitch, but a search for 'midfoot/midfoot cleat' on there just got drowned out by results related to running (midfoot striking). A determined googling should turn something up.

 

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ClubSmed | 6 years ago
1 like

You may find this old thread on the subject useful:

http://road.cc/content/forum/114009-mid-foot-cleat-position

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