Cleat Position Matters - A LOT - I Explain Why: Getting Nerdy with Clipless Pedal Cleats

Clipless pedal cleats aren't the most exciting topic in the world, but cleat setup and positioning make a big difference on how your bike rides. In today's video we take a nerdy deep dive into what these different adjustments do and check out crank brothers' new cleat position tool. Here's a link to their tool vid: • How To: The Crankbroth... Did you learn something new? Say thanks and support this channel: www.buymeacoffee.com/bigbrain...
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[@Deadgoat865]

I started riding 16 years ago.I watched this video today. I moved my cleats back, then went and rode. I should've moved em back years ago. Thanks.

[@jordanr8312]

I would have never thought cleat placement could impact the traction on the front end of your bike. It totally makes sense after you explain it. Thanks Steve!

[@loomspace]

It’s quite a claim, I’d like to see evidence or even a mechanical argument substantiating it.

[@Wade970]

I went back to flats and started riding Pedaling Innovations Catalyst’s about 2018. That changed my riding style and brought the spindle under my arch/mid foot. Went back to clipless last summer and I wish I move the cleat back farther. There are pros and cons to each, but definitely like clips for endurance, gravel, & SS MTB.

[@machine7767]

I tried setting up my cleats like a bike fitter does based on the bone protrusions on the sides of my feet. Cleats ended up towards the back and i didnt like it for sprinting. Moved cleats to the middle and now i am happy. Awesome info. Keep the nerdy stuff coming.

[@davidgordon9048]

Made some adjustments today and to my surprise (and satisfaction) I noticed improved comfort. Gonna keep testing positions to find my ideal position. Great video! Thanks.

[@chrislonsberry1974]

That tool would be so helpful! Thanks for bringing it to our attention!

[@lostman65]

this is great! i have those same crank brothers pedals and shoes. i basically rode with them as came. that didn’t work out. i ended up using the thicker plastic spacers on the pedals and i moved the cleats all the way into the “race zone” i really like them now.

[@iCamp26]

Thank you for this video! I just ordered shoes and pedals from crank brothers and they included a free cleat tool! I am so glad you showed how to use it 😅! I’m returning to clip ins and really want it to work.

[@anthonynazzal1958]

Omg, I learned a lot about foot placement and how it can affect balance etc! I learned more in the first half of this video than any other instruction since I began riding 1.5 years ago. Thank you! I’ve been riding with the ball of my foot because “everyone says to” but I always felt more comfortable and controlled balancing with the pedal more in the middle, toes forward more. Now I can see why it feels differently and how it can affect bike balance and control. I don’t ride clips , only flats, and I still gained a ton of useful info Very much thank you!

[@BigBrainParty]

Im glad to hear it! Ive got an upcoming video youre going to love

[@NicDade]

Thank you for this video. Like you mention doing, I've cut out the channels and sole material in a shoe to move cleats back a little further, but I didn't understand why it felt better.

[@stephenkohler3472]

Definitely getting that tool.

[@iirosuomalainen]

Thanks for a great video, Steve! Mid foot cleat position has been a thing among triathletes for a while now and even some roadies have been experimenting with it now, so I guess there's a performance gains available on steady power efforts on road as well as MTBing. I myself have ditched clipless pedals for flats on all of my bikes (road, gravel, mtb) because of leg length difference and I have been riding painless pretty much ever since. Of course it took some getting used to, especially on bikes that have handlebars below saddle height, but now I'm going faster on all of my bikes. I use plenty large pedals to get proper support for my feet and I can even pedal pretty decently with bare foot shoes - it's pretty good excercise for the muscles of the foot, I think.

[@mathieumalo3488]

Leatt shoes has longer channel so gou can get your cleats further back! 😊 Great video!

[@ericpmoss]

Best tutorial ever - most just assume the “happy path” to success, where nothing is out of the ordinary.

[@TooMuchBike]

How Timely! I just switched BACK to clipless after about 5 years on flats.

[@bluevoodooiv7072]

Very valuable video, I wish I knew those things when I first started riding Shimano SPDs. I would skip them altogether for the Mallet E pedals. The cleat tool however seems less objective than the Ergon one, where the Q-factor can be adjusted precisely and with established methodology. Before that I didn't even know what Q-factor is, and it turned out to be hugely important for clipless riding.

[@dsb1829]

Really a well done video.

[@B1KER]

Interesting. I’ve never used a shim. I also used to run my cleats closer to the ball of my foot, but after riding flats again for awhile I’ve definitely moved mine all the way back. I also used 2mm pedal washers to push my pedals out a bit to give a little more room.

[@leokuo7127]

Great video! I've been running my cleats on the ball of the foot and never knew to run them back. I'll try it and see how it is.

[@BigBrainParty]

Im curious to hear what you learn. It'll make the rear end feel longer and the front end feel shorter

[@scottaw]

Wow - A great video! I’ve been running SPD cleats for 15 years and still found this a very informative video. I’m going to try shifting my cleat back to see how it feels, you are right, I’ve always placed the cleat for the ball of my foot from road riding advice…. Now I’m curious to try this out! Would love any suggestions on the extended pedals too, as I do have a slight duck foot and on some bikes rub my heel on the chain stays.

[@BigBrainParty]

I know crank bros and sq labs make pedals with extended spindles

[@martinschwartz7342]

I agree that shoe manufacturers should design these shoes with longer channels. I keep my cleats all the way back but never feel they are back far enough. I use Hustle Magnetic pedals that allow for a little differential in foot placement. That is helpful.

[@LaurentiusTriarius]

The cleat bolt carrier could move in the rail with a quick release ideally, that would be a nice invention, not sure about adding more moving parts but that could be beneficial

[@porschephiliac4356]

I’ve recently been thinking about going clueless. I wanted to pick your brain about it - you know how sloppy I ride 🤣 This mechanical “nerdy” stuff is fascinating.

[@galenanderson6006]

I use PatroCleats cleat adapters to position my SPD-SL cleats more mid foot. They have adapters for many pedal systems.

[@ec63580]

I’m newer to MTB and running flats right now, and I hadn’t thought about how foot position changes weighting and what muscles you use. I’ve mostly been riding more on the forefoot carried over from road, but now I’m curious to compare with midfoot and see what I think. Thanks!

[@troymortimer3487]

I have moved from all the way back to more forward recently. When it’s slammed back it definitely feels better when jumping, or moving through rock gardens. however on steep sections when trying to balance and break, it’s so much better more forward. You made comment around EDR racers slamming it back, would you be able to elaborate which riders as some videos I have seen, they were all over the place

[@BigBrainParty]

I wonder if you prefer being able to dup your heels more. Having the cleat on your eyes allows more heel drop.

[@russelrivera5044]

I used to use the crank brothers shims before I transitioned to flats. I used to bevel the edge of the shims because I could feel the bars catching on the edge of the shim before engaging the cleat. Because of reduced friction from the shims, while on Candy’s or egg beaters it felt like like my feet were pivoting in ball bearings. Float felt much more fluid than my SPD’s which were either on or off. Currently riding catalyst pedals with a mid-foot stance, and haven’t really looked back. My calves feel better on long descents, and I can feel my glutes engaging more than my quads while climbing. Saddle position is important, and I can’t find a fitter that has a lot of experience with mid foot pedaling, which gives me some pause. I do wonder if clipless is better for single speed.

[@William.N]

I only use flats but this was still a good watch!

[@truepaulesko]

I come from road riding and at the beginning doing mountain bike I put them at the front of my shoes but as time passed I moved them to the rear. Specially if I'm going to the bike park I place them at the back part of my shoes.

[@andreschilling5023]

Danke!

[@BigBrainParty]

Thank you so much!

[@usurpedliberty9096]

Hey Steve, if what I’ve heard is correct the reason that they cannot shift the channel further towards the middle of the shoe is for strength of the shoe and it will compromise the shank and the shoe will break under load.

[@BigBrainParty]

I could see that. I have a feeling there are ways they could engineer around this, but admittedly, I'm not an engineer myself.

[@samirdahdal]

Thank you for the video! Very useful for me that I am about to switch to clipless pedals. Why do you prefer the Mallet E over the Mallet dh?

[@BigBrainParty]

I like both but the mallet 3 is a little lighter and i dont need all the pins of the regular mallet.

[@djean53]

@BigBrainParty Thinking about your other series getting on the bike with health issues wondering your thoughts on clipless vs flats as it relates to fatigue? Are clipless pedals less fatiguing or flats?

[@BigBrainParty]

Great question. Clipless are a tiny bit more efficient when pedalling, but if im clipping in and out a lot, they're more tiring. When I'm absolutely beat with zero energy I unusually run flat pedals

[@kevdad3587]

I switched back to flats in 2020. With clipless, the ball of my feet directly above the pedal would get sore, with flats I move that spot around to vary my position so I don’t feel that soreness. But I never thought much about how clear position might effect that.

[@BigBrainParty]

Good clipless shoes should evenly distribute the pressure over the whole foot, so no matter where the cleat is, it should feel like the cleat/pedal is the entire length of your foot.

[@Blackberries.86]

Flats for life.... Just saying. Greetings from the UK 👍🏼🍻🇬🇧

[@sixate]

I run clipless on my gravel and MTB. I prefer my gravel rig on the front and I run my MTB all the way back. I do wish there was more adjustment on these shoes. Would like to see side to side adjustment too.

[@BigBrainParty]

Most cleats have 10mm of side to side adjustment

[@freedomcoast]

Very informative video, you made a dull subject very interesting! The only part I wonder about is setting up cleats at an angle due to duck feet. When people walk around duck footed, they do so due to lack of hip stability. Opening up the foot is their body's way of finding that stability. Wouldn't it be detrimental to set up your bike to encourage this poor position? Doing some hip strength and mobility work and setting up with your feet in-line seems like a better path to longevity as a cyclist.

[@BigBrainParty]

Im not an ergonomist or bike fitter, but I know some people's joints allow their feel/knees to operate in a perfectly parallel plane. Fortunately bikes can be adjusted and adapted like this to match the angles of our individual bodies.

[@wheelzandgillz]

I used to ride with my cleats all the way forward and had monster calfs but I would get numb toes within 10miles into my rides, moved them all the way back no more numb toes but my calfs are gone now 😢

[@SesjaZen]

This system as it is is kinda not ideal, i have my cleats all way back for descending and still feel like its not enough back. But when i go for a trip is so unconftable to pedal uphill so i need to push it forward about 1-1.5cm shouldev been double cleats one after another and you choose in whitch one youre gonna clip into.

[@BigBrainParty]

I wonder if changing saddle position would fix your climbing issues, since cleat position changes effective seat angle.

[@rothotborski]

Don't sound exciting?...cleat position is the most exciting thing for me...every ski-athelte knows how much influence the binding has and it's the same with your bike...every mil counts!!!

[@better.better]

when I first started using SPD, I had a little pain on the inside of my right knee on rides that were over an hour long. with a little self-reflection I realized that my foot wanted to turn away from the pain to try to get relief, and I realized that my right cleat needed to turn inward. but when your foot is off the pedal and your shoe is off your foot everything gets kind of confusing about which way you need to go or how much. what I did was loosen the bolts just enough that I could turn my foot when I was clipped in but friction would hold it in place otherwise. however that meant I would lose the adjustment when I tried to unclip. what I did was balanced against a lamp post in a parking lot for the adjustment, but instead of unclipping, I took my foot out of the shoe leaving it on the pedal. it must have been the pedal that I had at the time because I haven't had access since but I was able to tighten the cleat bolts while the shoe was clipped in. I really wish pedal companies would design the system to give access to the bolts while it's clipped in, because that made it so easy to set them up. just tighten it to a friction hold, back pedal a few times to line it up with your foot motion, take your foot out so the shoe and pedal flips upside down and tighten them up so you can unclip them. I've been using Crank Brothers egg beaters for years now, but back then I think I was using a hybrid Shimano SPD that was SPD on one side and flat on the other.

[@Muppetkeeper]

Did this American just use millimetres 😮