Looking for advice to help dial in my cleat position.
I switched from Shimano pedals to Look Keo (Assioma Favero power meter) about a week ago. My previous Shimano cleats were in a perfect position with no knee pain. The cleats were basically as far forward (toward the toe) as they could go, as far outward as possible (feet closest to the cranks), with the heels rotated away from the crank arms.
The Look Keo cleats are smaller than the Shimanos, so I could not trace and replace. The old markings are still on the bottom of the shoes, though. I placed the Look Keo cleats in an identical manner as described above and the Keo cleats align with the trace of the Shimanos, just smaller.
However, I have had some pain in my left knee, specifically near the patellar ligament and a little on the medial side (inside). I have adjusted the cleat position a couple of times based on the graphics below. Looking for additional advice, especially from anyone with experience transitioning from Shimano to Look Keo. Thanks in advance!
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I went from Ultegra to assioma. The key is to mark where the spindle is, on the Shimano cleats thereâs is a little indentation market that shows this location and this is âhomeâ. Now, the XPEDO cleats donât have a home marker so to speak, but itâs here. The key is to line this up with wherever home was with your old cleats and youâre in the money.
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Dont forget to check stack height.
^^^yep. That being said that the Assioma stack is like 1mm lower so probably not something youâd feel
Is the float the same between your new look cleats and your old shimanoâs?
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Yes, the float is the same - 6 degrees.
Based on @Cleanneon98âs suggestion I moved the clear back a couple of mm. Only did an endurance ride with one 15 minute sweet spot interval. Will report back tomorrow after Juneau -1.
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Rebooting this thread for a different but related issue.
After adjusting the cleat position a little and getting used to it my knee pain is gone. However, since switching to the Look KEOs, I have had a saddle sore on the left side in the same area. I have not changed anything except the cleats.
Has anyone that switched from one cleat system to another had to adjust their saddle forward or backward? The 1 mm of stack height difference between the Shimanos and Looks should not have caused this. Thanks in advance!
The Shimano cleats are longer front-to-back than the Looks. I overlaid the old Shimano cleat (black and yellow) on top of the Looks (red) based on the marker trace on the bottom of my shoes from the last time I replaced the Shimano cleats. Both are at the same angle but the Looks are back several millimeters.
OK, hard to tell for sure, but I am guessing you are more âcleat rear, foot forwardâ on the pedal than before. If this is true, and your foot is further forward on the pedal axle (assuming nothing else changed), you effectively increased your functional saddle height.
That is because with your foot more forward, you are extending just a bit more than with the foot more rearward. Again, if true, your saddle may be âtoo highâ now and leading to rocking of the hips or some other motion that you are making now, that causes the saddle sores.
Lots of guessing and such, but it could be worth a test to drop your saddle about 5mm and see if you notice a difference.
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@mcneese.chad, just want to thank you for your suggestion. 5mm was the exact right amount to reduce saddle height. The sores are all but gone and my connective tissue and muscles have already adapted to the new position. Much appreciated!!!
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RIGHT ON!!! 
I will put that one in the âWinâ column for sure. Congrats and glad to have helped you get comfortable again. I have fought saddle sores off and on for years, and know the struggle when they are happening.
Have fun training in comfort now 
Something I learned todayâŚ
You can overtight cleats to the shoeâŚ
apparently the screws are too long on the cleats and actually went to the sole of the shoeâŚ
Wow! Thatâs good to know - thanks for sharing.
GrantedâŚ
it could be my shoes have thinner soles (specialized road shoes) âŚwho knows⌠I just know I have used shimano since i got the shoes in 2014 and never had that issue.
@rkoswald Could I check if everything got sorted with your knees? I have had my Assioma Faveroâs for 10 days and have incredible knee pain even though I thought Iâd set them up right. Have since had a bike fit and cleat alignment but obviously pain is still with me as Iâve not healed the damage yet. Just thought Iâd ask as the thought of ebaying them / throwing them in the sea is strong at the moment.
@Stuart_Ogier Lowering the saddle 5mm mostly fixed my issues. I also had a hip misalignment issue that was causing additional problems and is on the mend. I just finished a metric century this morning with no discomfort anywhere.
