Be careful when there is a different foot length

As Andrew mentioned Andres certainly threw us some challenges. Here is one of the cyclists we fitted whose feet are not the same length.

With the advent of cycling shoes becoming stiffer and stiffer over the past decade addressing this issue is much easier than in the past. The stiffer sole allows us more fore/aft cleat placement range.

Standing (off the bike) leg length can be one thing but on the bike it can be another if one has one foot longer than the other. In the video below if we placed the cleats under the ball of each foot we would have effectively created a different leg length. By moving the cleat back on the longer foot and maybe even a little forward on the shorter foot we can help even leg length on the bike in this scenario.

Hope you enjoy this one as much as we all did in Fayetteville.

Arkansas' amazing experience

... once I arrived in Fayetteville at 11:00pm where the temperature was a balmy 26 degrees and dropping, it was time to rest-up for the next 2 days of training. Needless to say that watching Paul in action and his thinking process for each "outside the box" situation that was presented in each fit during the 2 days was just incredible; we saw drop shoulders, skogliosis, leg length discrepancy, strange pressure points on saddles, limited ROM in lower backs and much more.

I am now a convert to Speedplay pedals, sorry Look but our 24 year relationship is over. The simplicity to get them dialed in is just way too easy from a bike fitter's view.

As a rider I have heard in the past that people did experience "hot spots" under their feet when using Speedplay pedals, but the more I learn from fitting individuals, I can tell that those hot spots are caused not by the pedals but from improper foot/cleat/pedal interface. All of the subject being fitted suring this training required a change in the spindle length to achieve a perfect position on the bike, with 6 needing longer spindles on 1 or both pedals and 1 subject needing to go with shorter spindles.

Back to the fits ... as mentioned before every subject that was fitted presented our group with some challenges however everyone of them left a happy cyclist! The common underlying theme was too long of stems!!! If you are experiencing lower back pain or shoulder pain make sure to revisit your reach! If your hands do not gravitate to the hoods, revisit your reach! There are some great handlebars out there available in shorter reaches and shallower drops which should be considered when building up your new bike or upgrading your old bike.

Until next time ... ride in comfort!