Setting new cleats

I've had the same brand and model of road shoes for over six years now (not the same pair though!), so it's been a long time since I've had to set the cleat position on a different make. And with some new shoes, I've been struggling to find a comfortable position for the cleats.  So after several abortive test rides, it was time to be a little more scientific.

Looking at my old shoes, I found the angle between the cleats and the centre line of my feet was quite different on the left and right shoe. I guess it happened over time, and I simply copied the position from one set of shoes to the next.  I've never ridden fixed cleats though, so my feet have probably being able to find their natural position.

On the new shoes, I've aligned the cleat angle on both shoes parallel to the centre-line of my feet. I wondered where the centre actually was though, so I stood on a piece of paper in a 'natural' position with feet under hips and traced the outline of my feet. I've then imagined two parallel lines over the tracings, roughly perpendicular to my hips, and set the line of the new cleats to match. The line is similar to the old right cleat.

Forward and back adjustment is set to match my old cleats, which for me is the first joint of of the big toe about 10mm forward of the pedal axle. (This seems to work for me, though there are lots of different opinions.) I did this taking lots of measurements between the cleat and the the toe and heel on the new and old shoes, and also by marking the position of the big toe joint on the shoe. As many measurements as possible seems best. Side-to-side adjustment is also to match the old shoes as closely as possible.

So, we'll see how the new shoes feel with this position. First impression is much better, but a long ride is needed to really tell. I might take the old ones with me just in case!