knee problems with shimano spd pedals and shoes

Adam Lipscombe said:

I am getting quite a bit of knee pain that I never had that before with
the toe-clips.

I followed the instructions carefully and both shoes clip in very easily
and remove fairly easily when the heel is twisted out.
My feet move easily enough on the pedals when clipped in.

Quoted message said:

The knee pain could be coincidental but I doubt it.
Is there a trick to setting up these pedals/shoes? Any other adjustments
I should look at?

I have come across various problems like this reported, and at least
some of them found a solution switching to Time ATACs rather than SPuDs:
they have considerably better float characteristics so your knees should
be freer to do what they want.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

No trick, but have you checked the fore and aft position of your foot
compared with the old toe clip position ?
I found the need to move the cleat way back on the shoe, but that's just me
!

SW

Adam Lipscombe said:

Is there a trick to setting up these pedals/shoes? Any other
adjustments I should look at?

The the angle of your feet (ie, whether your toes point inwards or
outwards) is the same when clipped as your feet are naturally. To see
what they want to be naturally, sit on the edge of a table, let your
legs swing to and fro, then look down and see if your feet point
inwards or outwards. My right foot points very outwards, my left foot
slightly outwards.

If your feet don't line up straight, you don't want to set the cleats
straight. In that case, hope that you've bought a pair of shoes that
let you set the cleat twisted (not all do). The simpler the cleat
attachment the easier it is to tweak, normally.

As has been noted, ATAC are generally reckoned to be kinder on knees,
but it's probably too late for that kind of advice.

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

Adam Lipscombe said:

Folks

I recently fitted my Dawes Discovery 601 with shimano spd pedals and
clip-on shoes after many years with toe-clips.

I am getting quite a bit of knee pain that I never had that before
with the toe-clips.
I followed the instructions carefully and both shoes clip in very
easily and remove fairly easily when the heel is twisted out.
My feet move easily enough on the pedals when clipped in.

The knee pain could be coincidental but I doubt it.
Is there a trick to setting up these pedals/shoes? Any other
adjustments I should look at?

Persevere more with cleat adjustment (rotation and fore/aft), but also think
about saddle height. Not usually so much with SPD, but still some clipless
shoe/pedal combinations need the saddle raising to make the riding position
the same as you get from "ordinary" pedals.

Also check that any of the shoe soles aren't interfering with the float
action. Sometimes a bit more of the tread can be cut away with a Stanley
knife to increase clearance around the cleat.

~PB