TMBRA - Rider Board

[Guest]

Hey doc!!

What's the best way to go about shimming cleats due to one leg being slightly shorter than the other. after a 40 miler yesterday the little muscle that connects my quad to my knee cap was pretty sore. I have my left cleat pushed as far forward as it will go which isn't a viable solution anyhow.

[The Bike Doc]

Guest:

It is helpful to get your leg length discrepancy measured by a Physical Therapist. Then it is generally recommended to start to shim with 1/2 of the discrepancy placing the shims or washers between the cleats and shoes. You will likely need longer cleat bolts. Try this for a week or two then gradually add more shims to allow your legs to adjust. Reassess your seat height position as you may need to bring it up some as you adjust the cleats.

Another, but more expensive option, especially if the leg length discrepancy is more than 5mm, is to change to shorter crank arm on the short leg side or a longer crank arm on the long leg side. If you have, for example, a 10 mm differnce then you could run a 165mm crank arm on the short leg side and a 175mm crank arm on the long leg side.

I hope this information helps.

Thanks,
_________________
Paul K. Nolan, MD
AKA: The Bike Doc