It is commonly accepted that pedal axles should be positioned near the balls of our feet, but is it really the best place? German shoe designer Götz Heine doesn’t think so and Cyclingnews technical editor James Huang says his mid-foot cleat position is at least worth a closer look.

Read the full article here

Gratuitous pic….

Interesting… I’ve been using flats for XC for the last few months and I noticed that one ride back on SPDs had me struggling for power as my muscles had adapted to the different foot position. Like the article says, I tended to adopt a central foot position. I did find more zip up the hills on flats by going back to having the ball of my foot over the axle and flicking my ankles down through the middle part of the pedals stroke. Which contradicts what the article is aiming for.

One of my mates was speculating that the different foot position makes it easier to bunny hop properly too. I think he may be right.

The problem with my experiments, though, are that Vans feel squishy so it’s not fair to compare the efficiency so proper clipless shoes.

With flats, I find my feet migrate to a position with the pedals closer to the arch. Dunno why.