Jim’s Tech Talk
By Jim Langley
Last week’s RBR featured a question from a roadie named Jeremy P. who wanted solutions for a heel hitting his crankarm. This is a fairly common problem. So I wanted to offer five possible mechanical ways to deal with it. And if I knew more about the issue I could maybe offer a couple of others. But these four often solve the problem in my experience fitting riders.
1. Move the cleat(s) toward the crankarm
Move the cleat(s) toward the crankarm, which will move the foot away providing more clearance. Mark the cleat(s) first so when moving it you can do it without changing its angle. That’s important because if the angle changes you could hurt your knees riding with it in that position.
2. Too much float in the pedals
Since Jeremy’s heel hit, it’s possible there’s too much float in the pedals. Float is the ability of the cleats to swing a few degrees on the pedals. It’s there to help prevent knee issues by not locking the feet in one position. The thing is some pedals have a lot more float than others. The amount of float is dependent on the cleat you choose to use on some models of pedals too. Which both mean that Jeremy might be able to stop his heel hitting by going to less float in his pedals, or swapping to less-float cleats.
3. Pedal washers between the pedals and crankarms
This will only provide millimeters more of clearance so don’t bother if that’s not enough. But Jeremy could put pedal washers between the pedals and crankarms. They’re inexpensive and you can put in two if one doesn’t do it. Here are the ones I use: https://amzn.to/3vswTy8 FYI: pedal washers help protect crankarms too.
4. Custom pedal extenders
If washers don’t provide enough clearance there are custom pedal extenders available from bike fitting guru Randy Ice at www.kneesavers.com. If my memory is correct, I believe Randy invented these, which is why I’m pointing you to his and not the knockoffs out there. Singles are available in stainless steel for $25, pairs are $45. Visit their site for all their products. They even make an adapter that lets you use 9/16ths pedals on half inch cranks; such as you might run into on an exercise bike.. (Note that the pedal shown in the photo is not included with the extender.)
5. Longer spindles
Lastly, at least two pedal companies, Speedplay and Shimano offer the option of longer spindles, which should help move the heels away from the crankarms. Speedplay is now owned by Wahoo and so far it looks like they haven’t yet turned on the ability to purchase the different lengths: https://www.wahoofitness.com/devices/pedals/speedplay/speedplay-zero-buy. Hopefully, they will soon. Here’s Shimano’s page all about their pedal spindle choices and reasons for offering them.
If the idea of longer pedal spindles catches your fancy, I came upon this interesting article on the topic: https://www.slowtwitch.com/Bike_Fit/Road_Bike_Fit/Why_We_Like_Longer_Pedal_Spindles_7901.html.
Jim Langley is RBR’s Technical Editor. A pro mechanic & cycling writer for more than 40 years, he’s the author of Your Home Bicycle Workshop in the RBR eBookstore. Tune in to Jim’s popular YouTube channel for wheel building & bike repair how-to’s. Jim’s also known for his cycling streak that ended in February 2022 with a total of 10,269 consecutive daily rides (28 years, 1 month and 11 days of never missing a ride). Click to read Jim’s full bio.
dave says
not sure if this is relevant but spd (regular, not sl) have a smaller moment of twist to get out….and can be moved back towards the ball rather than the toe.
i had two total knees done and my knee is not as ‘bendy’ as it’d like. smaller twist and further back fixed my problem. engineering is a compromise and an art’->
Jim Langley says
Yes absolutely, it is relevant Dave. Thank’s very much for the tip.
Jim
John Higgins says
All good advice. Regarding a couple of the items mentioned, I’m pretty sure Randy doesn’t supply his kneesavers anymore, although I have a couple sets of old stock of his on clearance sale. His were also solid only, so don’t work with a lot of newer pedals that don’t have pedal wrench flats. I have high quality “knock off” pedal extenders available from a reputable supplier, as well as oversized pedal washers that are 2mm thick.
Another option for Speeplay users are lateral cleat extenders which are an alternative to the longer spindles, and replace the original base plate. All available on fitkitsystems.com.
Jim Langley says
Thanks for the tips John, appreciate it!
Jim