One Leg slightly longer than the other

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I have just realized that my left leg is slightly longer (about 1/2 inch)
than my right leg. How should I adjust my cleat on my shoe to compensate
for this? Move the cleat forward on the long leg or back ? Thanks

I'd say have an expert do it.... I have a slight functional leg length discepency and my fitter (who happens to be my coach and a physical therapist) used a combination of insoles and cleat shims in my shoe for the shorter leg to match them. I don't think I have anything as drastic as 1/2 inch though - that sounds like a lot, so some other fixes might be needed. I've heard of someone who has a pretty big discrepency using cranks of differing lengths to even it up.

You may find this site of interest; they make specific adaptations for leg length discrepancy.

http://www.hscycle.com/index.html

Elsewhere on the forum you will find many references to this situation, including remarks concerning special pedal adapters.

I do not think you should be messing with cleat placement in an effort to address this perceived problem as you may create any of a host of other issues re your knees or other body parts. One key determinant as to whether any adaptation should be made and if so, what kind of adaptation is which part of your leg (upper or lower) is longer/shorter, and are the feet the same length. ("The foot bone's connected to the leg bone, the leg bone's connected to the knee bone, the knee bont'es connected to the thigh bone......") If all you can say is that one leg is longer/shorter, you don't have anywhere near enough info. You should also bear in mind that NOBODY has two legs of exactly the same length.....you are most likely making a big deal out of nothing. 1/2 inch is not very much (my son has 5/8" & rides a standard crank w/ no problem).

I'd say have an expert do it.... I have a slight functional leg length discepency and my fitter (who happens to be my coach and a physical therapist) used a combination of insoles and cleat shims in my shoe for the shorter leg to match them. I don't think I have anything as drastic as 1/2 inch though - that sounds like a lot, so some other fixes might be needed. I've heard of someone who has a pretty big discrepency using cranks of differing lengths to even it up.
That was just a grab at a number, I have not actually measured the diffrence but just by looking at it I would say that it is more like 1/4 than a half.
sorry about that.

That was just a grab at a number, I have not actually measured the diffrence but just by looking at it I would say that it is more like 1/4 than a half.
sorry about that.

As others have hinted, you should have your descrepency quantified and evaluated by someone qualified to do so. Bike fitters are a group of folks I'd generally consider to be unqualified to make such judgements.

It's entirely possible that your body has adapted to the difference. It's entirely possible that your body has adapted in the wrong way, potentially setting the stage for more serious problems. These are things bike fitters can't address. You should see a doc or a physical therapist.

I've been through this--with a leg discrepency about the same magnitude of yours or maybe a bit larger--and I can assure you that it can be a real pain in the ass, literally and figuratively.

One leg discrepency isn't necessarily like all the others or any of the others.

One thing to consider when evaluating how to fix your situation is that

CHICKS DIG SCARS!

I know this because: I have lots of scars Studies published in both Nature and Science indicated that chicks are suckers for Knotty, bumpy healed fractures Scars Inplanted metal hardware Scientists (engineers.....eh...not so much) Other chicks Chicks dig me

That should answer all your questions.

As others have hinted, you should have your descrepency quantified and evaluated by someone qualified to do so. Bike fitters are a group of folks I'd generally consider to be unqualified to make such judgements.

It's entirely possible that your body has adapted to the difference. It's entirely possible that your body has adapted in the wrong way, potentially setting the stage for more serious problems. These are things bike fitters can't address. You should see a doc or a physical therapist.

I've been through this--with a leg discrepency about the same magnitude of yours or maybe a bit larger--and I can assure you that it can be a real pain in the ass, literally and figuratively.

One leg discrepency isn't necessarily like all the others or any of the others.

One thing to consider when evaluating how to fix your situation is that

CHICKS DIG SCARS!

I know this because:

I have lots of scars
Studies published in both Nature and Science indicated that chicks are suckers for
Knotty, bumpy healed fractures
Scars
Inplanted metal hardware
Scientists (engineers.....eh...not so much)
Other chicks

Chicks dig me


That should answer all your questions.
Too funny , thanks man..:D

I think you need to look at your problem another way.

Instead of trying to make adjustments to your bike/equipment, try seeing a Chiropractor and see if your irregular gait can be fixed. I am having mine treated and after each session, my legs are exactly the same length. Muscle memory means the problem comes back, but not as bad. Each time I visit I can see the improvment. By next week I will only need to visit once every couple of months.

I have a similar problem, actually, although I don't ride professionally or anything so it's never been a huge concern to my cycling. I've seen a few doctors and they've told me that the difference in length is so slight that the compensations my body makes naturally are appropriate. Now I'm getting concerned about my body shrinking but that's a different story... :o

I have a similar problem, actually, although I don't ride professionally or anything so it's never been a huge concern to my cycling. I've seen a few doctors and they've told me that the difference in length is so slight that the compensations my body makes naturally are appropriate. Now I'm getting concerned about my body shrinking but that's a different story... :o
I've decided to just forget about it. My wife pointed it out and I just freaked out a little bit. I have raised my seat 1/8" to give my longer leg a little more stretch.
and that is about all I'm gonna do. After I raised my seat, my wife said that it is hardly noticable now, at least not like before. Hell , I never noticed it in the first place...:)

As long as its not hurting you, you are totally right, there is no reason to worry about it! Funny enough we've been having a similar discussion on another cycling board. There are two people over there that through accident have severe discrepencies (like an inch and a half).

Mine isn't so crazy, probably about 1/4 inch, maybe a bit more. I have shims in my shorter side, but to tell the truth I didn't really notice the difference in my legs until it was pointed out to me. It only makes a difference for me, since I race and while I have a great cardio system I'm not particularly powerful, so eeking out as much power as possible is important to me... putting the shims in has made a difference.

As long as its not hurting you, you are totally right, there is no reason to worry about it! Funny enough we've been having a similar discussion on another cycling board. There are two people over there that through accident have severe discrepencies (like an inch and a half).

Mine isn't so crazy, probably about 1/4 inch, maybe a bit more. I have shims in my shorter side, but to tell the truth I didn't really notice the difference in my legs until it was pointed out to me. It only makes a difference for me, since I race and while I have a great cardio system I'm not particularly powerful, so eeking out as much power as possible is important to me... putting the shims in has made a difference.
I would like to try the shim thing to see if there is a diffrence, however I went by performance bike today to see if they sold shims for "Crank Brothers Quattros" cleats and they did not. I'm gonna try and rig up something to go between my shoe and the cleat plate just to see if it feels better.

I would like to try the shim thing to see if there is a diffrence, however I went by performance bike today to see if they sold shims for "Crank Brothers Quattros" cleats and they did not. I'm gonna try and rig up something to go between my shoe and the cleat plate just to see if it feels better.

I have Quattros as well - the shims in my shoe (all 6 of them :eek: ) are the ones that are shaped like Look or similar cleats, and they still work just fine. I also have a plain (non-orthotic) insole in my left shoe to give me a bit more height on that leg too - it would have been too many shims otherwise.

I have Quattros as well - the shims in my shoe (all 6 of them :eek: ) are the ones that are shaped like Look or similar cleats, and they still work just fine. I also have a plain (non-orthotic) insole in my left shoe to give me a bit more height on that leg too - it would have been too many shims otherwise.
Thanks for the info, I will improvise a little and put an eyball on some of the shims made by others. Thanks again for the help.:)

I'm a little skeptical, because I had a crackpot chiropracter tell me something similar, had me put a lift in one shoe that nearly killed me. My back kept getting worse. One day I was in so much pain I couldn't stand, so I dug out the lift and threw it away. Instant, 100% improvement.

I healed up the minute I stopped seeing him. Got into yoga, haven't had a problem since.

If one leg is that much shorter, your spine would be twisted to the side and your hips cocked whenever you are on your feet. It would have a big effect on your gait, especially when running. There would likely be a lot of pain, and I think someone would have noticed this when you were quite young.

I'm a little skeptical, because I had a crackpot chiropracter tell me something similar, had me put a lift in one shoe that nearly killed me. My back kept getting worse. One day I was in so much pain I couldn't stand, so I dug out the lift and threw it away. Instant, 100% improvement.

I healed up the minute I stopped seeing him. Got into yoga, haven't had a problem since.

If one leg is that much shorter, your spine would be twisted to the side and your hips cocked whenever you are on your feet. It would have a big effect on your gait, especially when running. There would likely be a lot of pain, and I think someone would have noticed this when you were quite young.
I was suffering from knee pain for a while. I suspected I had a leg shorter than the other, which was indeed confirmed by a sports doctor (about 7 mm...next to nothing). When I asked him what sort of adjustment should I do to compensate (I even hinted at using different crank lenght crankarms) he just said that the body can actually compensate much better (for rather short discrepancies such as mine) much better than any insole / crank / supplement / etc and that I should keep riding.
Months later I slightly changed the positioning of one of my cleats (they were simmetrical till then) by moving it 5 mm up, 5 mm away from the frame and twisting it a few degrees to the right.
Problem solved. No more pain in the knee.
My lessons learnt:
- Go to a qualified doctor - they know their stuff
- The body knows what its doing
- Small changes can account for a lot

Thanks for the info LeDomestique and Oruboris. I think I will just forget the issue is there. I'm not having any pains and I did not know that there was a diffrence in my leg length until recently, which pretty much means that my body has adjusted to the diffrence.

So I have now convinced myself to stop freaking out about it and just forget it. Making any adjustments to my shoes or cleats will most likely only cause me some pains that I don't have at present.