Endless cleat positioning

Before I really knew the world I entered when I bought my road bike, I had simple mountain biking shoes with the tiny SPD cleat. These cleats actually went into a hybrid platform/MTB pedal and I never really thought anything else of it. My knees didn't hurt, the fit of the bike felt fine. There were a couple of limitations though. The shoe could become stuck or unclipped when applying a lot of power, such as in a sprint. Also, the pedal and cleat didn't cover much surface area, so I was subject to hot spots depending on the pressure to the pedal.

After some research, I decided that road pedals, with their wider platform, would be the way to go to maximize my efficiency. For Christmas, my wife gave me some Ultegra SPD-SL pedals, and I followed that up with the purchase of Specialized BG Comp Road shoes and attached the Shimano cleats.

Immediately, on my first ride, I felt a few things off. On both of my feet, I felt like I was pushing with my toes, and with my left foot, I had not compensated enough for how my feet point naturally inward, yup I'm pigeon toed. I made an quick adjustment to both cleats. My right cleat and foot felt perfect, but the left one continued to be a problem.

My left inner knee would feel a strain on pedaling, or I'd feel like I was pushing too much with my toes. With every adjustment I made, it was either one or the other, I can't get rid of both symptoms.

I ran across this great article that talks about knee pain. For my case, it suggested allowing my feet to point further inward and move the cleat outside so that my leg would be closer to the frame; both changes minimizing the stress on my medial collateral ligament. Check out this knee diagram to complement the previous link with tips to address knee pain.

I'm still not there though. On the radar are for me to investigate some of Specialized's "footbeds" and shims to help align my left leg and foot. I may need to make some saddle adjustments. My last resort, which actually would be great, would be to invest in a full bike fit to increase my comfort and performance. For now, it's a consistent game of little adjustments before, during, and after rides. I don't regret moving to the road-style pedal and cleats, but I do wish the fit were easier. How do you deal with fit problems when it comes to the cleat?