Choosing cleat float?

Valerie in Memphis wants to know about the different Look shoe plates, with or without float. She rides a hard 180 miles a week and sometimes has sore knees, will the black plates help or…

Question:
I use the grey Look cleat. I was thinking of going to a black Look cleat with 0 float and wanted to know what the ramifications would be if I did. I ride aggressively about 180 mi/week solo, in mostly flat with some hills (Memphis, TN). Sometimes I push too hard on the hills and my knees get a little sore.

Hi Valerie.

As you say the Look black plates give no float and your foot is held solid and you will not have any heel movement. Before the invention of clip less pedals the shoe plate and pedal set up didn’t have any float and (as I remember) riders had more problems with their knees. This was probably due to not fitting the plates in the correct position which would twist the knee, causing damage.

Probably the main advantage of the shoe plate with float is that you will get away with any incorrect positioning of the shoe plate as the float allows the foot to move to the correct place without causing injury to ankles, knees, hips or the spine.

If you want to try the black shoes plates you need to make sure they are fitted in the correct place. When fitting new shoe plates mark the old ones with either a permanent marker pen or tape before you take them off and you should hopefully have them in the same position as the old ones. If you are putting new plates on new shoes then take the measurement of the position of the old plates on your old shoes and try to replicate their placement. When you go for your first ride with new plates or new shoes and plates remember to take a screw driver or the correct Allen key so you can stop and adjust the plates on the ride. You will normally feel that the shoe plate is in the wrong place in the first few metres of the ride. The longer you ride you will get used to the wrong position, which will cause damage and injury.

Your sore knees may have nothing to do with the float on the plates, but it could just be the pain of riding up hills when pushing hard on the pedals. Old worn shoe plates will cause knee problems as there will be movement on the pedal in the wrong way.

Good luck, but be careful.