Leg angles from a photo: knee and foot
The calculator assumes a default foot angle. A photo from the side shows your own: load the photo, place five points, and the angle goes into the calculator.
Your photo stays in your browser. It is not uploaded and nothing is stored.
How to take the photo
- From the side, at a right angle to the bike, the camera at bottom bracket height.
- A few metres away, and zoom in rather than step closer; that distorts the picture least.
- You sit in your riding position, hands on the bars, the crank pointing straight down (bottom dead centre). Easiest on a turbo trainer or with one hand on a wall.
- The leg facing the camera is the one you measure.
Knee angle: ° (flexion °)
That is below the band of 145° to 155° that the calculator's saddle height leads to: in this photo the saddle looks rather low. Or a point is off, or the crank was not quite at the bottom.
That is within the band of 145° to 155° that the calculator's saddle height leads to.
That is above the band of 145° to 155° that the calculator's saddle height leads to: in this photo the saddle looks rather high. Or a point is off, or the crank was not quite at the bottom.
Foot angle: ° (toes lower than the heel) (sole level) (toes higher than the heel)
Use foot angle in the calculator
Without an entry the calculator uses -6°. A photo shows angles to within about 3 to 5 degrees.
The calculator accepts foot angles from -25° to 15°. Check that heel and shoe tip are placed correctly.
The knee angle in the photo is a check on your setup, not a target. How the leg feels counts for more than the number.
The five points
- Hip: the bony bump on the side at the top of the thigh
- Knee: the bony bump on the outside of the knee
- Ankle: the outer ankle bone
- Heel: the back end of the shoe sole
- Shoe tip: the front end of the shoe sole
The knee angle sits between thigh and lower leg; 180° would be a straight leg. The foot angle is that of the shoe sole against the horizontal, negative meaning toes lower than the heel. That is exactly how the calculator treats the foot.