Whenever I've had a fitter working with me, they always position my foot with the heel slightly higher than my toes at the bottom of the arc. However, when I climb, I slide WAY back on the seat and intentionally try and keep my heel as low as possible so I can pull the pedal back to me.

BUT, now I have a different pedal system (yes, the dreaded PC's!), and I may find I no longer do this, because I am learning to pull back and up and over the top on every stroke...not just pulling back when climbing. I'm definitely climbing better on PC's than on regular cranks...that was immediately noticeable for me.

Sorry to get off the subject a little...my guess would be heel slightly higher than the ball of your foot. I don't know that a deviation from this would necessarily cause knee problems, though.

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)

With going to a slightly higher foot height would in theory change your seat height?

You pedal how you pedal and that's about it. Look at the pedalling style of 5 time tour winner Jacques Anquitel (sp?). He was definately a "toes down" pedaller. Now look at Eddy Merckx. More heels down. It is an individual style. Go with what works for you. There are physiological reasons why you pedal one way or another. Build your position to facilitate you pedalling style and body dimensions and you can't go wrong.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Tom is right, everyone pedals how they pedal, except for Anquetil, he

pedaled for power. It is not the position of the shoe on the pedal that

is important, it is the position of the knees at the top of the pedal stroke, they should be as close as is possible while still feeling comfortable.

I would agree with the statement that you should do what is most natural... (duh) But here is my reasoning.

There is a physiological reason not to keep your ankle position artificially fixed (toe down, heel down, etc.)
For blood to move through your veins the muscles surrounding them must contract. They squeeze the blood through the valves of the veins. The venous drainage is essential for flushing of waste products. When your ankles are fixed it prevents the natural contraction of the muscles of the lower legs (especially the gastrocnemeous and soleus ... tha calf muscles) this impairs your ability to clear waste products... This is bad for cycling... devastating for running after biking.

something to think about...

As G. Lemond said to the experts when told that his narrow tri bars were supposed to restrict breathing, " You just keep on telling that to everyone "