Hi all, I was wondering, what would be the first cause of the left side foot heel to want to move out words.
Been fitted but I get still have some issues. I have a feeling that Im still favoring my right sit bone and therefor my left side is higher and I dont reach the pedal on left as well as the right. Should I shim the right side a little bit, would that drop the left side then? I know, I should go see someone, if I dont figure this out, I will. there is a little bit of pain behind the knee on the back, on the left side. i have my seat a bit lower then my fitter got me on. Please advice, thanks

Noticing the same thing happening to me. It started when I switched from keo to speed play, I'm not sure if it's the pedals or the fact that the pedals have more float and let me.

I've tried consciously pointing both feet straight but the left heel indsnits way out maybe 4 degrees.

Very few people are symmetric. This includes where the feet like to point. My right foot points out moderately, left foot almost perfectly straight. Always been like that for me. I ride with a bit of length correction, my right leg is slightly shorter. Direction did not change before/after.

Thanks guys, I feel better knowing that I'm not only one, lol

I guess I will keep on trying to figure this out


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Never had problems with foot alignment when using clips and straps.....then moved onto first generation of clipless - no float....was decent given the level of shoes at that time. Then after a few years of trying clipless with float I noticed that my left heel wanted to flair outwards.....like the OP. As the years went on it got progressively worse. I also noticed more and more that I was sitting more-so on the right bony protursion of my pelvis (causing saddle sores 90% of the time on the right)....I had a therapist with cycling background check me out once and his determination was that my left leg was very nearly the same length as my right - that my issue must only be just a flexibility/strength imbalance....which I don't think I have to any significant degree. So I tried adjusting the left float cleat to minimize that heel movement and also worked hard to mentally keep things in alignment....finally I went back to fixed cleats - OMG - what a huge improvement - not only with the left foot but also a better "connected" feeling overall with the bike and a perception of putting more power to the pavement. I don't have before and after power meter numbers to quantify the change but the perceived/actual improvement is real for me.

Tomma, did you ever think there where any issues in your ankle alignments, did you have any knee pain as result of your heel kicking out, I personally don't have any knee issues while riding, I just don't feel like I'm symmetrically spinning, then when I'm home with the kids and I try to get of the flor, my knee is very sore and I have to watch how I get p, once I'm up, it's all good. For the past fee weeks I have been feeling a bit of discomfort on the back of the knee at all times.


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you can try self diagnosis/correction, but personally i'd look for a physiotherapist/similar who understands cycling/fit, can determine root cause and decide what the best way to tackle it is

i had a different problem to yours (turned out it involved some asymmetry i never knew i had), and spent ages experimenting to try to resolve it, but if i'd gone straight to an expert i'd not only have avoided a couple of minor, but slow to recover, knee strains, i'd have saved money and time too - resolving things took a combination of custom footbeds, shim and wedges, plus exercises, i'm sure there's no way i'd have figured it out for myself

I'm no expert, but from simple physics, if you're applying force out of line with the leg, then there's a resulting torque. Torques, it seems, are bad.

I've had an issue running where when I'm tired my left foot tends to approach my center-line. This results in knee torque, which I don't like. It's been suggested this is due to deficiency in hip flexibility, and indeed my pigeon pose could use a lot of work.

I have a similar anomaly when I ride. The heel doesn't shoot out but the knee tends to. Any trauma from poor form reduces the trauma one can provide toward propulsion. Even if there's no damage, it's likely slowing me down.

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I suggest going to see a chiropractor or oesteopath. It could be that your spine may need realigning or hips/pelvis are not symmetrical/level. This could lead to a slight leg length discrepancy or be the reason why you dont sit equally on your sit bones.

Worth a try, no point in spending large sums on physio/bike fits when it seems you are the problem, biomechanically speaking.

Hope that helps.

I have the same issue with my right foot.....my heal wanders out to the right if I am not concentrating on it. I also notice that I favor the left sit-bone. On longer rides (over 50 miles) the outside of my knee (ITB??) has a sharp pain. Guess I need to go see someone? I ride speedplay, so may just get some shimano pedals to see if reduced float helps.

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if they're speedplay zero you can just adjust the float, or remove it completely

imho if there's pain it needs investigation - outside knee pain can be things like...

stance too wide
too little float
foot misaligned

...or something else entirely, the itb can become inflamed, this is to be avoided!

Unfortunately they are x2's so not adjustable......so it definitely not too little float! I think it is definitely torque from too much float......but the root cause could be leg length or hip alignment because in my marathon days I had pain in the same area from running.

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2012 Fuji Altamira SE - 6.42kg

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this could be totally off base but could it be that your q-factor is a little wider than what you'd find desirable naturally? Something similar was happening to me when I rode with Looks for a while. I was subconsciously shifting my weight over to the right so that my dominant right leg was better aligned with the pedal. My left heel was then trying to go outward inside my shoe, resulting in knee and ankle pain. When things get all crooked they get torqued and knees dont like getting torqued! I since switched to speedplays which let me put the cleats further out on my shoes (effectively smaller Q factor) and everything settled down.

That's an interesting point......maybe I will try that adjustment to the cleats and see how I get on. Cheers!

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2012 Fuji Altamira SE - 6.42kg

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Im currently riding campy chorus and the q factor is pretty narrow on them, plus im all the way in on pedals, so that equation is out,
my pedals are speedplay zeros so I can play with the float, but I want to try some wedges first, does any one have a few of those laying around before I purchase them on line? thanks guys for all your imput

I will say that a long long time ago, 10years plus, I had a ankel injury playing soccer that might have something to add to this