I have run the old cleat position for years. The cleats were positioned by a bike fitter (Jan-2020) on my gravel bike (spd cleats) and I always thought they were a bit forward (towards toes) but never had any issues.
I got Assioma MX-2’s in April 2024, which provides the Power Phase data.
I recently moved the cleat position back 10-15mm and it changed the Power Phase. Hard to tell which position is more comfortable.
Struggling to find info about what an ideal Power Phase looks like.
I’ve been digging into this for other reasons (trainer feel/realism) in recent weeks. I’m usually near on 90 degrees for peak power phase. Give or take a few degrees for uphills/downhills. You can squish PPP to a smaller % of the pedal phase for a better indication of ppp.
Your ‘current’ cleat position looks like you’re riding out of the saddle. Original looks more what I’d expect. And (although I’m not an engineer), more mechanically efficient.
A lot of this depends on your own personal physiology and preferred muscle recruitment.
Cleat position and saddle fore/aft each have major effects on muscle recruitment and power production, and while changing them might show differences initially, it’s hard to say what’s “best.”
My gut says to do what feels best to you personally at the moment, but there could be a “better” fit for you if you were to know exactly what that looked like and strengthen the muscles needed to make that feel solid.
Without knowing that, though, I’d recommend using whatever feels good. Switching to the new position for a few sessions and then switching back should give you an idea of what feels better.
Further forward cleats are typically good for quick out-of-the-saddle accelerations and utilize your calves more, whereas cleats further back are usually more stable and offload some of the calves’ work onto the bigger muscle groups..
IDK, but fitters sometimes adjust saddle height when moving cleats fore/aft. As I understand it, they move the saddle slightly higher for forward positioned cleats as it makes the leg effectively longer, and the saddle slightly downward as cleats are moved rearward. This may have an effect on the power phase. You might try adjusting the saddle height to see how it affects things with your new cleat position.
