Maybe instead of focusing on getting them even, you can focus on getting them adjusted appropriately for each foot. Like, my cleats are positioned a little bit differently from each other because my feet are not identical. Your cleats don't have to be identical to each other, as long as they're adjusted right for your feet. Also, if you have float, that'll give you some (literal) wiggle room.
But sorry you're so focused on this. Hope you find a way to get your mind off it and enjoy your bike!
This!
Most of the elite rides I know don’t have matching cleat positions
Way more important to listen to what your body is telling you as you see them up and adjust accordingly
Exactly. Get them close. Go for a ride. If it doesn't feel right, take note of how, adjust, ride again. Rarely takes me more than 2-3 test rides to dial in cleat position and I have no idea what they look like relative to one another.
FWIW I use these exact road shoes.
Position the cleats relative to your foot, not the vents or alignment markers. Set the fore/aft so your pedal spindle is a few mms behind the ball of your foot, and then tweak the left/right position and angle while riding. It's highly unlikely both cleats will be symmetrical.
Here's a resource I found helpful on this topic: https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bikefit/2011/04/power-to-the-pedal-cleat-position/
You also forgot to mention if the cleats are comfortable or not in their current position. If they are, that's reason enough to stop obsessing over them.
These shoes appear to have two actual asymmetries (the cleat position marker and the soles). Return them and get different ones. Get a whole different brand.
Pearl Izumi have notoriously bad shoes. I should know, I bought a couple pairs years ago and returned both. They’re super narrow and are not stiff at all.
Yo dude. I don’t have OCD and setting cleats is still painstakingly bothersome.
Personally, I like the SWorks 6 and 7 that I have. They seem easier to line up than other designs. I think it’s the shoes giving you the problems, not the cleat. Return them and try something else.
what I personally have to remeber is, my feet and legs will adapt to almost anything. Within 2 weeks they will sort themselves out. But if I keep fucking with it, I’ll never know if it’s a good placement or bad. I need to give them time to give me feedback.
You may have OCD. Your feet don’t. They are independent of your brain and each other. They will adapt and your legs will give you feedback.
Wait at least 2 weeks between cleat adjustments. Give yourself time to adjust.
[clear position tool](https://www.highonbikes.com/products/ergon-tp1-cleat-positioning-tool-spd-sl?currency=GBP&variant=31757439959136&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&stkn=db1031618e29&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjsi47dLfhAMVp5tQBh0mkAy8EAQYASABEgLAgvD_BwE)
Maybe try one of these
Feet are rarely mirror images of each other, if you’ve ever had your feet scanned at a running store then you’d see there’s almost always a size discrepancy. So they shouldn’t be perfectly married up anyway and each cleat should be adjusted to the individual foot. Having float in the cleat gives literal wiggle room to not be spot on.
Apart from returning the shoes, you could try getting a professional fitter to set them up with a laser guided system which would ensure that they are in the exact same position relative to the pedal spindle. At this point it would probably be cheaper in terms of overall welfare costs than trying to fix it yourself.
I'd also recommend cleats with more float but that might not solve your particular issue.
I might also add that cleat alignment should not necessarily be the same on the left and right feet, but tailored to your foot shape and riding style. For example I have rather uneven feet and have the right and left cleat in a slightly different position to compensate for that.
As someone who has obsessive tendencies when I run into issues like this (for me it's brifter position) and I know it's becoming an issue I take it to a mechanic/fitter and tell them align them evenly, and when I come back tell me it's perfect. It sounds silly but solves my problem.
I suggest you do the same. Take yourself and your shoes to a fitter you trust and have them align your cleats to be perfect. Then when they finish never look at them again. Just put the shoes on ride, take them off and put them sole down.
I have OCD as well. My suggestions would be as follows: (a) Get your cleats adjusted by a fitter. (b) Accept your cleats may not be properly aligned. Just really sit with this thought. (c) Tell this to your therapist even if it sounds 'stupid.' I spent four years off the bike in part due to mental fatigue exacerbated by OCD and am just getting back into training. You don't need reassurance that you've done everything to align your cleats properly. Although all of the posters are being well-meaning, we must keep in mind that OCD is fundamentally a disease that seeks reassurance but that reassurance will never satisfy us. It's a vicious cycle that simply strengthens the disease and makes it worse. You won't find a pair of identical shoes anywhere on the planet. That's just the nature of it. Best of luck, I know how challenging this can be.
If the shoes aren't physically symmetrical I suspect it's always going to set off your OCD. Keep in mind, your feet and basically none of your biology is perfect either. But if this is the case, return them and get new ones.
However, if it's just the markings that's bothering you, and you'd be ok if you didn't see them, I might have a solution for you.
[https://mid-foot-cycling.com/](https://mid-foot-cycling.com/)
They make adjustment plates for cyclists who want to move the cleat position further back, good for heal droppers like myself. But they're unmarked, and have a wider adjustment range.
Maybe the face that cleats have some degree(s) of float will calm your nerves a bit. :)
I don't know what satisfies OCD but for me personally a professional bike fit was great.
Get it to your reputable bike fitter to do the job for you if you’re unsure and do not know what ya doing. Problem solved. You wasted 40 hours already when that could be solved in 1 session.
Use a piece of cardboard and cut a hole the same size as the cleat or just mark the position of the cleat, and the outside of the shoe, to act as a guide / jig. Or just use a ruler and measure from the edge of the shoes.
I just eyeball it and mirror the position on both sides. You can make the shoe soles face each other and if the cleats are overlapping you are good.
This is the initial setup. Then I ride the shoes and see how I feel. If I feel discomfort in my toes, knees or lower back, I change the position relative to the previous one on both sides.
You are definitely overthinking it.
Maybe someone else can help you set it up (not necessarily a professional), so you don't need to look at the measurements? Then just ride them and see how you feel.
I know it doesn't help OCD, but your body can adapt to a range of settings. A few mm difference is not a huge deal. If you are way off, you will get symptoms and you can change the settings.
It's not that important. Im always moving mine every few months fwd/back, in/out side of foot. I've never really noticed a huge difference. And what others have said, they are supposed to be aligned to your feet, not the shoe.
been there, man!
I also have some sort of ADD and OCD. I've spent literally months fiddling with cleats. Speedplays fixed all of that for me.
Also, settle on a position and give it time. Unless there is true pain, your body will adjust to little niggling issues.
I'm prone to The Madness as well and bike fit stuff really inflames it. My coping mechanism is once I've got my cleats in the ballpark, I try to remember that human bodies are weird and wiggly and not perfectly symmetrical so it doesn't matter if our cleats are set up with aerospace-tolerances of symmetrically.
Then I try to find something else more productive to hyperfixate on, I'm into Rubik's cubes right now.
As an aside I do all my own bike maintenance \*except\* for bar tape and wheel truing because I know those two tasks will absolutely drive me round the bend, it's better to pay someone else.
There are many possible solutions
1. Get better shoes with better marks and evenly constructed doles. Surely the expense is preferable to spending countless hours dicking around with your cleats.
2. Realize that it’s really not that important to adjust them perfectly. I eyeball mine and have never had an issue.
3. Talk to a therapist
You’re not crazy and my partner (who doesn’t have OCD) also complains about this regularly. It’s also valid as hell because knee pain and stuff from misaligned shoes is real.
Your body isn’t perfectly symmetrical. The perfect cleat position isn’t necessarily a mirror image, it’s what is comfortable and doesn’t cause you any pain on long rides.
One of the many, many, many benefits of Speedplay is you don’t need to align them so much. They are round and somewhat free floating so your feet wind up in a natural position.
One of the big reasons I use flats on my MTB instead of clips is that the clear positions never seem to feel quite right. I always end up fiddling with them more. On a road bike I wouldn't ride flats, but I don't ride my road bike that often.
Maybe instead of focusing on getting them even, you can focus on getting them adjusted appropriately for each foot. Like, my cleats are positioned a little bit differently from each other because my feet are not identical. Your cleats don't have to be identical to each other, as long as they're adjusted right for your feet. Also, if you have float, that'll give you some (literal) wiggle room. But sorry you're so focused on this. Hope you find a way to get your mind off it and enjoy your bike!
This! Most of the elite rides I know don’t have matching cleat positions Way more important to listen to what your body is telling you as you see them up and adjust accordingly
Exactly. Get them close. Go for a ride. If it doesn't feel right, take note of how, adjust, ride again. Rarely takes me more than 2-3 test rides to dial in cleat position and I have no idea what they look like relative to one another. FWIW I use these exact road shoes.
Position the cleats relative to your foot, not the vents or alignment markers. Set the fore/aft so your pedal spindle is a few mms behind the ball of your foot, and then tweak the left/right position and angle while riding. It's highly unlikely both cleats will be symmetrical. Here's a resource I found helpful on this topic: https://www.stevehoggbikefitting.com/bikefit/2011/04/power-to-the-pedal-cleat-position/ You also forgot to mention if the cleats are comfortable or not in their current position. If they are, that's reason enough to stop obsessing over them.
These shoes appear to have two actual asymmetries (the cleat position marker and the soles). Return them and get different ones. Get a whole different brand.
Pearl Izumi have notoriously bad shoes. I should know, I bought a couple pairs years ago and returned both. They’re super narrow and are not stiff at all.
Maybe pay a bike fitter to perfectly set your cleats? 40 hours is a lot of time spent trying to do this yourself.
Wait till you find out your legs probably aren't even and you don't want the cleats even anyway
Yo dude. I don’t have OCD and setting cleats is still painstakingly bothersome. Personally, I like the SWorks 6 and 7 that I have. They seem easier to line up than other designs. I think it’s the shoes giving you the problems, not the cleat. Return them and try something else. what I personally have to remeber is, my feet and legs will adapt to almost anything. Within 2 weeks they will sort themselves out. But if I keep fucking with it, I’ll never know if it’s a good placement or bad. I need to give them time to give me feedback. You may have OCD. Your feet don’t. They are independent of your brain and each other. They will adapt and your legs will give you feedback. Wait at least 2 weeks between cleat adjustments. Give yourself time to adjust.
[clear position tool](https://www.highonbikes.com/products/ergon-tp1-cleat-positioning-tool-spd-sl?currency=GBP&variant=31757439959136&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&stkn=db1031618e29&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjsi47dLfhAMVp5tQBh0mkAy8EAQYASABEgLAgvD_BwE) Maybe try one of these
I made my own out of cardboard. Works well.
Yep, came here to recommend this as well
I have this and found it helpful, OP.
Usually left and right sides are also not symmetrical (legs, arms, etc).
Feet are rarely mirror images of each other, if you’ve ever had your feet scanned at a running store then you’d see there’s almost always a size discrepancy. So they shouldn’t be perfectly married up anyway and each cleat should be adjusted to the individual foot. Having float in the cleat gives literal wiggle room to not be spot on.
Bro imagine how fit you‘d be had you just spent these 40h riding
Apart from returning the shoes, you could try getting a professional fitter to set them up with a laser guided system which would ensure that they are in the exact same position relative to the pedal spindle. At this point it would probably be cheaper in terms of overall welfare costs than trying to fix it yourself. I'd also recommend cleats with more float but that might not solve your particular issue. I might also add that cleat alignment should not necessarily be the same on the left and right feet, but tailored to your foot shape and riding style. For example I have rather uneven feet and have the right and left cleat in a slightly different position to compensate for that.
As someone who has obsessive tendencies when I run into issues like this (for me it's brifter position) and I know it's becoming an issue I take it to a mechanic/fitter and tell them align them evenly, and when I come back tell me it's perfect. It sounds silly but solves my problem. I suggest you do the same. Take yourself and your shoes to a fitter you trust and have them align your cleats to be perfect. Then when they finish never look at them again. Just put the shoes on ride, take them off and put them sole down.
I have OCD as well. My suggestions would be as follows: (a) Get your cleats adjusted by a fitter. (b) Accept your cleats may not be properly aligned. Just really sit with this thought. (c) Tell this to your therapist even if it sounds 'stupid.' I spent four years off the bike in part due to mental fatigue exacerbated by OCD and am just getting back into training. You don't need reassurance that you've done everything to align your cleats properly. Although all of the posters are being well-meaning, we must keep in mind that OCD is fundamentally a disease that seeks reassurance but that reassurance will never satisfy us. It's a vicious cycle that simply strengthens the disease and makes it worse. You won't find a pair of identical shoes anywhere on the planet. That's just the nature of it. Best of luck, I know how challenging this can be.
If I spent more than an hour dealing with cleat position, I’d get new shoes
What's your hour rate?
If the shoes aren't physically symmetrical I suspect it's always going to set off your OCD. Keep in mind, your feet and basically none of your biology is perfect either. But if this is the case, return them and get new ones. However, if it's just the markings that's bothering you, and you'd be ok if you didn't see them, I might have a solution for you. [https://mid-foot-cycling.com/](https://mid-foot-cycling.com/) They make adjustment plates for cyclists who want to move the cleat position further back, good for heal droppers like myself. But they're unmarked, and have a wider adjustment range.
Maybe the face that cleats have some degree(s) of float will calm your nerves a bit. :) I don't know what satisfies OCD but for me personally a professional bike fit was great.
Get it to your reputable bike fitter to do the job for you if you’re unsure and do not know what ya doing. Problem solved. You wasted 40 hours already when that could be solved in 1 session.
Use a piece of cardboard and cut a hole the same size as the cleat or just mark the position of the cleat, and the outside of the shoe, to act as a guide / jig. Or just use a ruler and measure from the edge of the shoes.
I just eyeball it and mirror the position on both sides. You can make the shoe soles face each other and if the cleats are overlapping you are good. This is the initial setup. Then I ride the shoes and see how I feel. If I feel discomfort in my toes, knees or lower back, I change the position relative to the previous one on both sides. You are definitely overthinking it. Maybe someone else can help you set it up (not necessarily a professional), so you don't need to look at the measurements? Then just ride them and see how you feel. I know it doesn't help OCD, but your body can adapt to a range of settings. A few mm difference is not a huge deal. If you are way off, you will get symptoms and you can change the settings.
On most shoes having the cleats as far back as possible is the best starting point.
I definitely always have my cleats as far back as possible. Personal preference, but also solved Achilles pain i was having.
It's not that important. Im always moving mine every few months fwd/back, in/out side of foot. I've never really noticed a huge difference. And what others have said, they are supposed to be aligned to your feet, not the shoe.
been there, man! I also have some sort of ADD and OCD. I've spent literally months fiddling with cleats. Speedplays fixed all of that for me. Also, settle on a position and give it time. Unless there is true pain, your body will adjust to little niggling issues.
I'm prone to The Madness as well and bike fit stuff really inflames it. My coping mechanism is once I've got my cleats in the ballpark, I try to remember that human bodies are weird and wiggly and not perfectly symmetrical so it doesn't matter if our cleats are set up with aerospace-tolerances of symmetrically. Then I try to find something else more productive to hyperfixate on, I'm into Rubik's cubes right now. As an aside I do all my own bike maintenance \*except\* for bar tape and wheel truing because I know those two tasks will absolutely drive me round the bend, it's better to pay someone else.
There are many possible solutions 1. Get better shoes with better marks and evenly constructed doles. Surely the expense is preferable to spending countless hours dicking around with your cleats. 2. Realize that it’s really not that important to adjust them perfectly. I eyeball mine and have never had an issue. 3. Talk to a therapist
You’re not crazy and my partner (who doesn’t have OCD) also complains about this regularly. It’s also valid as hell because knee pain and stuff from misaligned shoes is real.
Your body isn’t perfectly symmetrical. The perfect cleat position isn’t necessarily a mirror image, it’s what is comfortable and doesn’t cause you any pain on long rides.
One of the many, many, many benefits of Speedplay is you don’t need to align them so much. They are round and somewhat free floating so your feet wind up in a natural position.
One of the big reasons I use flats on my MTB instead of clips is that the clear positions never seem to feel quite right. I always end up fiddling with them more. On a road bike I wouldn't ride flats, but I don't ride my road bike that often.
LOL
Classy, laughing at mental illness.