Cleat System.....hip issue

[garyspecialized]

do the "look" cleats have a higher position off the pedal than spd? (i have perthes in one hip.... very lucky..... yet not so much, one leg is about 3/4 cm shorter and angled wrong)

i only ask cause i wear a small riser in my right shoes, and was wondering if there is a cleat that sits higher or some sort of riser for the cleat , cause sliding the cleat forward just makes my foot feel, 'off" AND makes that side achilles feel tight and painful.( and no the heel riser won't work for cycling,,, i've tried

(new to riding, 30-70km (roughly) per hilly rides, can't avoid mountains and hills where i live) and yes i've tried many saddle adjustments, and cleat adjustments,

and i don't think i'm overweight or too tall or too big

 

[dabac]

Anyone with modest metal/plastic working skills and a small stash of parts/materials shoule be able to shim the cleat up enough to compensate for that. It'd make walking in that shoe even more perilous than road shoes are to start with though. Otherwise, maybe look for either a right or a left(which should be easier) crank that's a bit longer/shorter than the other. It's usually a better way to compensate for differences in leg length. Shimming the cleat will make that side rise higher as well, which you might not benefit from.

 

[alienator]

A longer crankarm on one side also will make the affected leg rise higher. Shimming the cleat is a common--perhaps most common--and effective means of correcting for leg length discrepancies.

 

[tafi]

Originally Posted by garyspecialized .

do the "look" cleats have a higher position off the pedal than spd? (i have perthes in one hip.... very lucky..... yet not so much, one leg is about 3/4 cm shorter and angled wrong)

i only ask cause i wear a small riser in my right shoes, and was wondering if there is a cleat that sits higher or some sort of riser for the cleat , cause sliding the cleat forward just makes my foot feel, 'off" AND makes that side achilles feel tight and painful.( and no the heel riser won't work for cycling,,, i've tried

(new to riding, 30-70km (roughly) per hilly rides, can't avoid mountains and hills where i live) and yes i've tried many saddle adjustments, and cleat adjustments,

and i don't think i'm overweight or too tall or too big

Assuming:

1. Your leg length difference has been determined accurately (by a standing X-ray), and
2. That this difference (which is not really that big) actually needs correcting,

then the best way to correct is to use a shim between shoe and pedal. Generally the thickness of shim required is NOT the same as the measured diference. Different length crank arms is not advisable. As alienator has indicated, this just replaces asymmetry at crank BDC with asymetry at crank TDC.

For shims I have used multi-layered floor tiling or linoleum sheet cut to suit.