Mountain Biking - Some SPD pedal questions ...

I've been wondering this for a long time ... how much side to side play do you guys have with your SPD pedals? I'm talking about heel movement. Mine are definitely not stuck in there and if I tighten the cleat it still doesn't help. Tightening the allen bolt only makes it hard to clip out. and doesn't do anything about the movement back and forth.

Also my pedals seem to make a lot of squeking noises. Should I just throw some grease in there?

It depends if your pedal has designed float. Not all SPD pedals float.

Hm ... I think they're 505's. That's what it says on the pedal itself. Does that help at all?

Hm ... I think they're 505's. That's what it says on the pedal itself. Does that help at all?


My old 505's had some float built into them and so do the 540's I'm riding now. I've ridden SPDs of some sort for around 8 years and have never had any knee pain from them. If you ride in muddy conditions you may want to get some 520s though. They shed mud much, much better than the 505s.

When mine start squeaking, I just hit 'em with some silicone spray.

Dean

I've never really noticed what mine do. I'll try and pay attention tonight and report back.

Ya I'm just wondering if there is supposed to be some play in the pedals or if you're supposed to be dead locked in there with 0 possible movement.

The safest setup is with float. It will save your knees from injury. Practice tracking your knee up and down smooth and straight as you pedal. Pull up as hard as you push down. Think about spinning in tiny circles. If you smoooooth out your stoke the lateral movement of your heel will diminish.

You'll also get a lot faster ...not a bad return for geeking on your pedaling form.

Man, I have about 1/2" movement in the rear of my shoes. I wouldn't want to be locked-in stiff. They're supposed to be free floating. Also, as your cleats wear out, it will be harder to get out of the pedal, not into the pedal as most people would guess.... Just my $.02

Oh ok ... my pedalling is actually pretty good and I don't feel lateral movement when I'm doing so. I just play around with the lateral movement when I'm on flats etc and it's always been a concern if I bought the right cleats or not. haha.