Mountain Biking - cleat wear

i've started to notice that my cleats (spd) don't unclip from from pedals as smoothly as they used to. that is a sign of cleat wear. however, when i look at the cleats, they look fine to me. what are the tell tale visual signs of cleat wear? these cleats are approaching their 3rd season. is that a reasonable amount of time for them to last?

Ummm, 3rd season. How much riding do you do? If a lot, you should've replaced them 2 seasons ago. I usually replace mine ever 12-18 months depending on amount of use.

And YES, difficulty unclipping is a sign of wear. Kinda backwards don't you think? One would image that the more they wear, the easier it would be to release. BUT, the cleat is design to move a spring loaded clip on the pedal. As the cleat wears, it requires more force to activate the clip.

L8R

My cleats (think thats what they are called, pads at bottom of shoes) are almost unuseable after two days :eek: of use!

They are bianchi brand, and are made out of plastic, but replacements (metal are only 10 quid. still quite weird)

Dazza, do you have access to a digitial camera?

You've got me sooooo confused. I don't know if you're talking about the right thing, and I'd be happy to help you out!

L8R

You've got me sooooo confused

LOL seems to be happening to everyone i am talking to recently.

I dont have a digital camera (yet:D ) but i can try and elaborate about it,

ok it is a rounded triangle piece, made out of red plastic, which is screwed into the base of the shoe. The shoe then is then clicked into the pedal, the red part never moves form the underside of the shoe.

Well after 2 days of use,the part has been worn by about 2-3mm, to the point that the front "lip", hasnt got the thickness to have a really tight hold on the pedal.

I have been walking on stones, and hard gravel to and from bike rides (not a massive amount of walking) and they have been badly scored and worn.

That's prolly your problem. Plastic cleats don't take walking very well. Maybe you can find a harder plastic that'll last longer?

Yea, there are metal replacements, theyre only £10 so ill do that soon.

Cheers :beer:

have you tried lubing your pedals?

Dazza, those really sound like road cleats. I think you are using the wrong pedals for the kind of riding you are doing. This is triangular cleat held on with three screws and it is about 60mm across the back and about the same front to back, right. The cleats are green with the Bianchi logo on them? If so they are liscensced from Look and are road pedals.

Hey Dazza, do they look like this

Originally posted by Rev.Chuck
Dazza, those really sound like road cleats. I think you are using the wrong pedals for the kind of riding you are doing. This is triangular cleat held on with three screws and it is about 60mm across the back and about the same front to back, right. The cleats are green with the Bianchi logo on them? If so they are liscensced from Look and are road pedals.

Road shoes/cleats are very hard to walk with... And will be damaged if you walk in them especially in rough terrain... You have to replace those pedals to MTB specific pedals and get MTB shoes... MTB shoes have rubber spikes that makes it easier to walk with and has so much more grip compared to road shoes...

Dazza, those really sound like road cleats. I think you are using the wrong pedals for the kind of riding you are doing. This is triangular cleat held on with three screws and it is about 60mm across the back and about the same front to back, right

Yes those are the ones, but i am using these for road riding, see i have a road bike, but even still i seem to have gone through them way too fast.


Hey Dazza, do they look like this
Yes they are almost identical to that.

Im heading into the LBS today to get a computer for my bike, so i will take the shoes with me and see what they think.

Ill post back what he thinks, thanks for the help so far.:beer:

i went to my lbs over the weekend and picked up new cleats. the new ones look slightly different than the old ones. they are the same size, but my old ones come to more of a point than the new ones. is there more than one type of mtb spd cleats?

Just got back, i asked the guy what he thought i could do. The plastic replacement cleats are basically all i can buy for the pedals i have, so i foresee a change in pedals pretty soon.:D

Anyway i got a new wireless Oktos F18 computer and i took all of 10mins to install, i am well pleased.

dont they make covers for walking in these cleats?

Dazza, are these cleats used on your new Bianchi? or your mtn bike?

These are definately ROAD cleats, or should I say, "used for pedals specifically designed for Road bike use.".

If you're using these pedals/cleats on your mtn bike, STOP! You'll be buying new cleats ALL the time.

If they are for you Bianchi, try to limit your walking in them. That or try to walk only on your heels. BTW, they do make rubber cleat covers.

L8R