Short leg due to tilted/crooked pelvis

[kiethsurf63]

Hi, I'm an ex racer (Cat II) who basically quit because I saw my potential limited due to my left leg seemingly doing the most work and never recovering enough and being overly sore., when the right leg would recover in under half the time. Now 20 years later, it's magnified. If I do 3, 4, or 5 mtn bike rides of only 1.5 hrs each over a two week period, my left leg will be much more tired and sore than my right.
My left calf and quad have now developed more in size. I think my legs are the same length but my pelvic bones are a bit crooked so I slide off my seat just a bit to the left and can feel especially climbing that my left leg is doing most of the work. I feel uncentered in that position so I'm always sliding back to the right, then I'm pretty sure my left foot is aprx 1 to 1.5 cm farther away from the pedal (shorter) than the right at the bottom of the stroke.
Has anyone experienced this?

 

[alfeng]

Hi, I'm an ex racer (Cat II) who basically quit because I saw my potential limited due to my left leg seemingly doing the most work and never recovering enough and being overly sore., when the right leg would recover in under half the time. Now 20 years later, it's magnified. If I do 3, 4, or 5 mtn bike rides of only 1.5 hrs each over a two week period, my left leg will be much more tired and sore than my right.
My left calf and quad have now developed more in size. I think my legs are the same length but my pelvic bones are a bit crooked so I slide off my seat just a bit to the left and can feel especially climbing that my left leg is doing most of the work. I feel uncentered in that position so I'm always sliding back to the right, then I'm pretty sure my left foot is aprx 1 to 1.5 cm farther away from the pedal (shorter) than the right at the bottom of the stroke.
Has anyone experienced this?

There are two things which you can try:

A common, but imperfect, solution is to put a shim between your cleat & shoe ...

You will probably need longer anchoring bolts for the cleats which you should be able to get at your LBS.

OR, use different crank arm lengths.

Neither may help. Implementing both may be the solution.

While you are sorting out the problem, you may also want to consider lowering your saddle ... while I am using a longer crank arm than I did way-back-when, my saddle height is now about an inch lower than it it was 30 years ago!

 

[105k]

Hi, I'm an ex racer (Cat II) who basically quit because I saw my potential limited due to my left leg seemingly doing the most work and never recovering enough and being overly sore., when the right leg would recover in under half the time. Now 20 years later, it's magnified. If I do 3, 4, or 5 mtn bike rides of only 1.5 hrs each over a two week period, my left leg will be much more tired and sore than my right.
My left calf and quad have now developed more in size. I think my legs are the same length but my pelvic bones are a bit crooked so I slide off my seat just a bit to the left and can feel especially climbing that my left leg is doing most of the work. I feel uncentered in that position so I'm always sliding back to the right, then I'm pretty sure my left foot is aprx 1 to 1.5 cm farther away from the pedal (shorter) than the right at the bottom of the stroke.
Has anyone experienced this?

Being a cat 2 rider I would have thought you would have had yor **** worked out by now. Pro bike fit and a wedge in cleat should have you all fixed up. Knowing you where Cat 2 and can still do 5 days a week of 1.5 hours each time with a leg length difference gives me al ot of confidence, so thanks for that. When i had my bike fit done he made an adjustment I think higher on the cleat of the shorter leg.

 

[sub7bikes.co.uk]

My advice is probably try to resolve the real problem, which is the twisted pelvis.A good physio who will recommend some stretching, you will find the top of either the left or right quad which attaches into the core (front) & back muscles is tight.If you can loosen this muscle structure it could help you no end and will make you feel more ballanced on the bike.All this should be done like I said under the supervision of a good physio.
Let me know how you get on
Best Regards