Bike Forums

Bike Forums (https://www.bikeforums.net/forum.php)
-   Bicycle Mechanics (https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/)
-   -   Help, bought new shoes... cant seem to get them into my cleat. (https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/542993-help-bought-new-shoes-cant-seem-get-them-into-my-cleat.html)

silvershark 05-18-09 08:54 PM

Help, bought new shoes... cant seem to get them into my cleat.
 
So I purchased some new shimano shoes and i cant seem to get the cleat to clip in. The person told me that my pedals were spd so I purchased the adapter but i cant seem to get the shoe cleat to snap into the pedal, weather i am on or off the bike.

This is my first time using cleats/shoes. I have biked a few years and finally decided to upgrade from toe clips.

I purchased the side/side motion spd cleats.

Attached are the images of my shoes/pedals.

http://www.akgaming.com/shoes.JPG
http://www.akgaming.com/shoes1.JPG
http://www.akgaming.com/pedal.JPG

Torchy McFlux 05-18-09 08:59 PM

Those Wellgo pedals are supposed to be compatible with the SH51 cleats. Your problem is that you're trying to make road shoes work with mountain bike cleats/pedals. If the shoes don't have a recessed cleat area, they can't be used with MTB/hybrid-type pedals.
Take the TR31s back and trade them for some Shimano SH-RT51s.

AEO 05-18-09 09:05 PM

spd binder looks like this:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA280_.jpg

that looks like a WTB...

silvershark 05-18-09 09:09 PM

The bike is a hybrid road bike. It has the straight handles rather than the curls like a full blown road bike. However, it is a road bike, not a mountain. Are my pedals the incorrect type? Do I need to return the shoes/cleats?

Again, I am new. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

CACycling 05-18-09 09:15 PM

First make sure the tension screws are backed out fully. Put on the shoes, straddle the bike and try to click in while keeping the other foot firmly on the ground. If you can't, remove a pedal and take it and the shoes to the bike shop for assistance. Type of bike doesn't matter and SPDs on road shoes work fine (it is the only way my wife will ride clipless).

silvershark 05-18-09 09:17 PM

The shoes are Shimano SH-TR31's

The cleats are SM-SH51's if that helps

I have no idea what brand/type the binders are. Thats why I posted pictures. =)

Thanks again for all the help!

silvershark 05-18-09 09:22 PM

It's like the cleats are too long for the binders from what i can tell. No matter how far i twist the shoe or loosen the cleat I cant get it to fit into the binder.

silvershark 05-18-09 09:32 PM

How would trading the shoe for another shoe that accepts the same cleats fix my problem? It seems the binder is the problem from what I can tell... Can anyone let me know if the binder accepts spd type cleats?

Thanks!

CACycling 05-19-09 09:59 AM

Are you wearing the shoes when you try to click in?

silvershark 05-19-09 10:47 AM

Yes. A buddy of mine road his bike today and his shimano bindings look a bit different from mine. The forward side of my binding towards my toe seems narrower than his. He has the spd cleats as well.

silvershark 05-19-09 10:51 AM

I guess I will just make a special trip to the bike shop and see what they say. The bindings are about 4 years old.

merckx_rider 05-19-09 11:06 AM

Do you have an old set that worked?

kenhill3 05-19-09 11:15 AM


Originally Posted by silvershark (Post 8943058)
It's like the cleats are too long for the binders from what i can tell. No matter how far i twist the shoe or loosen the cleat I cant get it to fit into the binder.

Make sure you are trying to 'clip in' in the proper way. 'Twisting in' will not work. SPD's work by stepping in to the binder mechanism- you kinda engage the toe (front) end of the cleat and then step straight down to clip in. Yes, do this with the shoe on your foot so you can apply enough pressure. Doing it with the shoe in your hand is A LOT harder. To 'unclip' you will need to twist out- turn your heel toward the outside, away from the bike.

The road shoe you have should work fine for this as someone else said. But........since you are new to clipless pedals and if you are able to do it, I would recommend exchanging the shoes for MTB shoes (Shimano are good). MTB shoes are designed with a recessed cleat area in the sole, so that the cleat will not protrude (or very little) from the bottom of the shoe, making it a lot more comfortable for walking.

Edit: I can't tell from the picture what kind of pedals you have, though. There are SOME pedals out there that are similar ('SPD type') to Shimano's SPD's, but take that particular brand's cleat only. IIRC there have been some Ritchey pedals like this.

silvershark 05-19-09 12:22 PM

The handlebars are Ritchey handlebars, so the bindings could possibly be the same thing. The bike is a Novara XR.

CCrew 05-19-09 12:29 PM


Originally Posted by kenhill3 (Post 8945919)
Edit: I can't tell from the picture what kind of pedals you have, though. There are SOME pedals out there that are similar ('SPD type') to Shimano's SPD's, but take that particular brand's cleat only. IIRC there have been some Ritchey pedals like this.

I have to agree. They don't look like any of my Shimano bindings and I have 4 different models.

gbg 05-19-09 04:30 PM


Originally Posted by silvershark (Post 8945732)
Yes. A buddy of mine road his bike today and his shimano bindings look a bit different from mine. The forward side of my binding towards my toe seems narrower than his. He has the spd cleats as well.

Did you try using his pedals??? Or visa versa??

silvershark 05-19-09 09:27 PM

I took my bindings into a local bike shop and they had a tool to expand my bindings. Come to find out the spring seized on both pedals. They loosed them, I took my bike home, tried my shoes on and wala, they fit just like they were supposed to.

So just FYI for anyone else out there.

I road about .5 mile and the shoes are super comfortable so far. I cant wait to put some real miles on them this weekend.

On another note, how do you keep your bindings to stay in the upright position so you dont have to keep spinning them with your foot to get them up. They are heavy so they want to be on the bottom side of the pedal all the time. With my new shoes being white I dont want to scuff up my toe of my shoe when i clip/unclip at stop lights when I bike to work.

Is there any way to make them stay stationary so they are always on the top of the pedal so I can just clip in and go?

cooker 05-19-09 09:43 PM

1 Attachment(s)
You may find it easier to clip out if you rotate the cleat slightly to point towards the big toe side of your shoe. You won't have to rotate your heel out as far to release.

kenhill3 05-20-09 12:33 AM


Originally Posted by silvershark (Post 8949708)
I took my bindings into a local bike shop and they had a tool to expand my bindings. Come to find out the spring seized on both pedals. They loosed them, I took my bike home, tried my shoes on and wala, they fit just like they were supposed to.

So just FYI for anyone else out there.

I road about .5 mile and the shoes are super comfortable so far. I cant wait to put some real miles on them this weekend.

On another note, how do you keep your bindings to stay in the upright position so you dont have to keep spinning them with your foot to get them up. They are heavy so they want to be on the bottom side of the pedal all the time. With my new shoes being white I dont want to scuff up my toe of my shoe when i clip/unclip at stop lights when I bike to work.

Is there any way to make them stay stationary so they are always on the top of the pedal so I can just clip in and go?

I would suggest going to 2-sided SPD's. One of the best values would be the Shimano PD-M520, which should be obtainable for $30-$40 .

sunburst 05-20-09 01:36 AM

I've got some spd's that I could sell you for considerably less. PM me if you're interested. I abandoned spd's a long time ago. That's not a big criticism btw, I just decided to go back to clips and straps.

johnknappcc 05-20-09 06:02 PM

+1 on the double sided, the only issue is that you have to adjust tension for both sides, which can be annoying.

Camilo 05-20-09 06:15 PM

Curious: why did you buy a smooth soled road shoe if you intended to use a SPD type cleat?

I would still suggest trading the shoes for a MTB shoe with treads. There is little or no reason to use road-style shoes with a SPD type cleat. They're much harder to walk in, and they give very little or no advantage functionally. To me, the one and only reason to buy a smooth soled road shoe is if you intend to use a pedal/cleat that cannot be used on a treaded MTB type shoe. Of course there may (or may not) be a weight advantage to the smooth soled road shoe, but that isn't meaningful to a recreational rider at all.

Just my opinion.

CACycling 05-20-09 06:28 PM


Originally Posted by Camilo (Post 8955522)
There is little or no reason to use road-style shoes with a SPD type cleat.

Road shoes are typically much stiffer than MTB shoes so there is an advantage. My wife will only use SPDs but has MTB shoes and road shoes (both Shimano). She notices a big difference between the two especially on long rides.

johnknappcc 05-20-09 08:13 PM


Originally Posted by CACycling (Post 8955599)
Road shoes are typically much stiffer than MTB shoes so there is an advantage. My wife will only use SPDs but has MTB shoes and road shoes (both Shimano). She notices a big difference between the two especially on long rides.

Wow, really, now I'm curious. My SPD (mountain shoes, although I use them on a road bike) are crazy stiff, I'm not sure I could imagine them any stiffer.

CACycling 05-21-09 09:40 AM


Originally Posted by johnknappcc (Post 8956180)
Wow, really, now I'm curious. My SPD (mountain shoes, although I use them on a road bike) are crazy stiff, I'm not sure I could imagine them any stiffer.

I said typically. MTB shoes typically allow some flexing of the sole (some allow a lot, some very little) to make them more walkable. Road shoes typically have virtually no flex maximizing the power transfer.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:46 AM.


Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.