Cleat position in Cycling

Reviewer Hands-on, complete, and it tells you why -- exactly what a first cleat install should look like.

Moderator Entirely about cleat position from first principles through to rider-specific adjustment -- marking the 1st/5th metatarsal heads, dropping the marks to the sole, drawing the centerline, aligning the cleat notch, then why a road cyclist vs. a triathlete would move off that center point. Doesn't drift.

Reviewer Real tradeoff, real examples - more useful than a single blanket rule.

Moderator Squarely about the fore-aft cleat spectrum and the real tradeoff it represents - toward the toes for easier spin, back toward the heel for more power - with concrete discipline-specific examples.

Reviewer This is how you should actually fit new cleats -- check your natural foot angle, then verify on the bike.

Moderator Comprehensive fore-aft and rotation setup from scratch -- finding the foot landmarks, checking natural foot fall for angle, then verifying with actual pedaling video. Covers the whole practical process.

Reviewer Best one in the batch -- tells you where to put the cleat and why, plus what actually goes wrong when you get it wrong.

Moderator Dead center on the skill -- fore-aft placement relative to the metatarsal, why going too far forward causes anterior knee pain, stance width, and float options. This is the cleat position video.

Reviewer Explains the actual trade-off behind each adjustment instead of just telling you where to put the cleat -- and gives a real starting-point method (masking tape + metatarsal knuckle landmark).

Moderator Covers every axis of cleat position -- fore/aft, side-to-side, angle, release tension -- and gives a practical starting method. About as comprehensive an on-topic video as this batch has.

Reviewer Best of the bunch -- explains the why, not just the where, and doesn't dumb it down.

Moderator Entirely about where to place the cleat fore-aft -- walks through the three main reference points (ball of foot/BOPA, mid-foot between 1st/5th metatarsal, 5th metatarsal) and how to find the landmarks on the shoe. Doesn't wander.

Reviewer Explains the actual anatomy behind the position, not just a rule of thumb.

Moderator Squarely cleat fore-aft positioning - anatomical landmark (between the 1st and 5th metatarsal heads) for pedal spindle alignment, plus what goes wrong in each direction.

Reviewer Correct, professional-grade fitting method -- start here if you're setting up cleats yourself.

Moderator This is literally cleat position start to finish -- metatarsal landmarks, fore-aft placement, rotation, lateral position. Couldn't be more on target.

Reviewer Gives you the mental model, not just the answer -- this is how you actually teach it.

Moderator Squarely about cleat position -- ball of foot over pedal spindle, using the 1st/5th MTP landmarks, and crucially the 'everything is backwards' rule for how moving the cleat translates to moving the foot. No detours.

Reviewer The don't-trust-the-printed-markings bit alone is worth the watch.

Moderator Entire interview is cleat position - the wrong-starting-point problem, angle mistakes and their downstream stress on ankle/knee/hip, cleat wear, why the printed shoe markings lie, and the actual physical adjustments available. Doesn't stray.

Reviewer The heel/crank float check is a genuinely useful self-test.

Moderator Same content as this creator's other post here, just reposted under a slightly different handle - same real self-test method (crank-to-heel contact check) for knee alignment.

Reviewer The heel/crank float check is a genuinely useful self-test.

Moderator Squarely cleat position technique, including a real self-test method (crank-to-heel contact check at max float) for verifying knee alignment.

Reviewer Real starting point and real reasoning, not just an arbitrary number.

Moderator Squarely cleat-position fundamentals - a concrete starting position (all the way back and in) with real reasoning about crank clearance and pedal leverage.

Reviewer Best do-it-yourself cleat method in the batch - objective landmark, not guesswork.

Moderator Three hacks, all cleat position - fore-aft setback off the fifth metatarsal head, lateral/stance width, and rotation. Doesn't wander into anything else.

Reviewer Good practical how-to, a bit light on the why compared to the best videos in this batch.

Moderator Hands-on cleat installation on new MTB/gravel shoes -- finding the joint landmarks, marking the shoe, two methods (freehand and alignment tool) for setting fore-aft and rotation. Squarely the skill.

Reviewer Best kind of cleat advice: explains why, not just what -- go with more float unless you know better.

Moderator Float is a core part of cleat position/setup -- this is centrally about choosing and understanding float, tied directly to fixed vs floating cleats.

Reviewer Real bike-fitter logic: an oversized shoe pushes the cleat too far forward relative to your actual foot no matter where you place it on the shoe -- fix the shoe size first.

Moderator Directly about cleat position, specifically the root-cause mistake (wrong shoe size) that makes good cleat position impossible. On-topic even though the fix is technically about shoe fit rather than the cleat itself, because it's presented as the prerequisite to getting cleat position right.

Reviewer Specific numbers, not vague it-depends - appreciate that.

Moderator Whole segment is midfoot cleat position - what it does to stability, seat height, and aero position. On topic throughout.

Reviewer Gives you a way to actually diagnose your own foot pain, not just a checklist.

Moderator Fore-aft placement under the metatarsal, plus rotation and which way to twist the cleat when your toe points wrong - that's the whole video, no detours.

Reviewer Good specific diagnostic cue, though it's a short clip rather than a full explainer.

Moderator A real, live cleat-adjustment moment from what looks like a professional fitting session - identifies the pedal axle sitting under the toes causing a 'clawing' sensation, and the fix (move the cleat back).

Reviewer Smart, specific take on going full midfoot -- just don't expect it to hold your hand through your own fit.

Moderator This is squarely about cleat fore-aft placement -- specifically the mid-foot variant. It stays on-topic for the entire clip: rationale for going further back (lever length, forefoot pressure, saddle pressure), how brands differ (Lake vs Bont vs Fizik factory placement), and the two ways to physically get there (drilling vs an extender plate). No drift into unrelated bike-fit topics.

Reviewer Credible experts, genuinely interesting, but it's more debate than how-to.

Moderator Whole video is built around one specific cleat-position question - is midfoot better than standard - and stays on that the entire time, with two credentialed fitters.

Reviewer The stair self-test for feeling ankle lock and pressure distribution is a genuinely useful diagnostic you can do without any tools.

Moderator Squarely about optimizing cleat position for power and comfort, engaging directly with the standard advice and offering a specific, sourced alternative.

Reviewer Does one job -- replicating your fit onto new shoes -- and does it properly.

Moderator This is a specific, legitimate slice of cleat position: not how to find your ideal spot from scratch, but how to carry a known-good position over to a new pair of shoes. Entirely on-task -- heel-cup measuring, squaring shoes to a wall, aligning centerlines -- no filler beyond a bit of shop banter at the top.

Reviewer If you've ever moved your cleats and then wondered why your knees started hurting, this is why.

Moderator Centers on cleat position, but the actual lesson is the knock-on effect on saddle height - so it's cleat position as the trigger for a different adjustment, not cleat position in isolation. Still squarely relevant, just one step removed.

Reviewer The countertop-edge trick for comparing cleat angle between two pairs of shoes is a nice, non-obvious method.

Moderator Specifically about matching cleat position from an old, dialed-in shoe to a new one. Narrow but squarely on-topic.

Reviewer If you're chasing the 'move your cleats back' trend, watch this first so your saddle doesn't end up wrong.

Moderator Directly about cleat position, but the emphasis is on the downstream consequence (saddle height) of a fore-aft cleat move rather than the placement decision itself. Still core to doing cleat position correctly.

Reviewer Good explanation, but heads up - this looks like a duplicate of another video in the queue.

Moderator Same conversation as the other Neil Stanbury Q-factor episode in this queue - pelvis width, fixed Q-factor, knee tracking. On-topic for lateral cleat position throughout what's shown.

Reviewer Great explanation of why it matters; doesn't get to the how in what's here.

Moderator This installment is all setup and rationale for lateral (Q-factor) cleat position - pelvis width vs fixed frame Q-factor, why mismatched width drags the knee off-plane. The actual how-to-move-the-cleat part isn't in what I've got - it's teed up for later in the video.

Reviewer Good, narrow tip - assumes you've already found your position and just don't want to lose it.

Moderator About cleat position in a real sense - specifically how to preserve your existing dialed-in position when replacing worn cleats - narrower than positioning principles themselves but still genuinely on topic.

Reviewer Good honest rundown of why and when to go mid-cleat, light on the actual how-to.

Moderator Squarely about a specific cleat position choice -- mid-foot cleat placement. Covers who uses it (triathletes, some pros), the mechanism (removes calf from the stroke), and when you'd want it. Exactly the sub-skill, just one variant of it.

Reviewer Honest about the trade-off (you lose Q-angle adjustment doing it this way) rather than oversimplifying -- but a niche mod most people won't need.

Moderator It is about cleat position, but a very narrow slice of it -- a DIY hardware hack to force a midfoot position out of Speedplay pedals that don't natively support it. Most riders asking about 'cleat position' aren't trying to do this specific mod.

Reviewer Real expertise, poorly packaged -- worth it if you have the patience to sit through the chat.

Moderator Gets to real cleat-position content -- first metatarsal landmark, the 15-20mm back-from-standard rule of thumb, why brand shoe sizing shifts the effective cleat position -- but a large chunk of the runtime is banter between the two hosts, and the back half drifts into wedges/shims for knee alignment, which is a related but distinct topic from where the cleat sits fore-aft.

Reviewer Excellent if you've got real asymmetry or foot pain -- overkill for a normal cleat setup.

Moderator Wedges sit directly under the cleat and change how the foot cants on the pedal -- still cleat setup territory, just the canting/tilt side rather than fore-aft. Adjacent to the core 'position' topic but clearly the same family.

Reviewer Gives you an actual default to start from, not just 'go ask a fitter'.

Moderator The whole post is about where to set your cleats -- squarely on-skill, nothing else going on here.

Reviewer One good trick buried in a lot of rambling -- you'll need to pan for it.

Moderator Stays on cleat position for almost the whole clip -- triathlete/TT rearward and mid-cleat setups, the ball-bearing-and-tape trick for finding the metatarsal joint through a stiff carbon sole, side-to-side and rotational adjustment for knee tracking. Wanders a little into speedplay float options and axle length near the end, which is adjacent but not strictly fore-aft position.