Jed19

The yellow Shimano SPD-SL cleats are now selling for $30 or more.The last set I bought not long ago was about $17. I just saw some knock-offs on eBay selling for $13, and I am sorely tempted to bite on two sets.

The sellers are very upfront about the cleats not being manufactured by Shimano, but they have sold quite a few, and no negative feedbacks whatsoever. Everything else looks "kosher" about these cleats.

Anybody riding on these chinese-made SPD-SL cleats? If so, any issue(s)? Money is tight right now, thus the temptation to buy these knock-offs.

aramis

The authentic ones are $21.61 on amazon. Buy something else for a couple bucks and shipping is free (or already free if you have prime).

For the extra 8 bucks I'd go with the Shimano ones.

..but I did buy the exustar cleats for my look pedals and they worked fine. They're just plastic with some bolts.

https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-SM-SH1...=spd-sl+cleats

Aeolis

If it fits and clicks why not ? But if amazon has the real deal for a few bucks more id go with that. Buy 2 pairs and free shipping vs 2 pairs of eBay ones with 8 dollar shipping I'm guessing?

canam73

And buy yourself some Kool Kovers: https://www.ebay.com/itm/KOOL-KOVERS-...item5aea32b441

I seem to get about 3x the use that others talk about from my cleats but I don't walk much without putting the cover on.

Liist

+1 on the Kool Kovers. I wore my first set to **** in a month, the yellow pieces on the back fallen off. The second set looks barely used and it's been more than a month.

mpath

Skip the beer this weekend and get the genuine ones.

MegaTom

Eh, it's a friggin piece of plastic. Why pay more than you have to? Get the knockoff.

MegaTom

I'll be the guinea pig next time I need new cleats.

Jed19

The interesting thing is that about three different sites (in China and Hong Kong) have sold hundreds of those knock-offs (they call them Dura Cleats), and not a single negative feedback. On the contrary, positive feedbacks (regarding fast shipping, stand-up vendors) seems to be the norm. The feedback I am most interested in is the actual performance of the cleats, and I could not find any of that.

Bob Dopolina 

There are MANY different grades of plastic and they are NOT all equal.

I have no experience or knowledge of the cleats in question but, years ago, I bought some Look knock offs that all eventually failed. One set shattered as I clipped in on a start line so I was only clipped in on one leg for the entire crit.

For the cost of a beer or two I'd go with the product I knew.

mprelaw

Of course not, because most people leave feedback within a few days of the transaction. Mostly about the quality of the transaction, not the long-term durability of the product.

SPD-SL cleats just don't wear out that quickly, even if you walk in them.

Denny Crane

It's two years later, and I'm looking at the Chinese knockoffs. Has anybody actually used and reviewed them on this forum? Did you try them?

Thanks,
Denny

trailflow1

I've been using them for a couple of years. They hold up pretty well compared to the real ones. I'd say they are about 75% as good but can wear abit faster, and are slightly less positive to clip in. The bolts and washers included are abit heavier too.

i dont think i will buy the overpriced Shimano ones again.

Search SM-SH11 SPD-SL on Aliexpress.

$7.40 shipped from here
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Self-...694398963.html

rms13

I have non shimano ones and they are fine. They have lasted over a year of nearly daily riding. Can't tell any difference from the shimano branded

Jed19

My order of this Shimano knock-off SPD-SL cleats came yesterday. In the visual on aliexpress.com, the vendor shows the yellow cleats and the red cleats, which denotes the float and zero float respectively. When you order, you only get the yellow option, so I ordered those. The cleat I got in the mail has a beige coloring where the yellow outline was supposed to be. Now I am worried about trying it out. May be it will fail at a critical moment.

I only paid $8.49, so I can just toss it.

Why they'll advertise a yellow cleat, then send you some weird beige color is worrisome.

Anybody had this or similar issues with Aliexpress chinese knock-offs?

RPK79

Why do all threads about Chinese knockoffs all have this vibe that Chinese Knockoffs is a brand name? There could be a dozen different companies making these with varying levels of quality...

raisinberry777

I bought some recently, not happy with them. Require some wiggling to get in, as opposed to just a straight push down, and ones seems much tighter to get into than the other, so I've got uneven tension on my pedals which feels a bit strange if I want to wear another pair of shoes.

Silvercivic27

or worse yet have a cleat break or rip off while you're putting in a hard effort up a hill and sprinting? No thanks. Hospital bill and repairs to the bike are going to be a lot more than $10. If you were rock climbing would you buy a bargain rope? If you were skydiving would you buy a bargain parachute?

TrojanHorse

If ebay is the wild west, what is aliexpress?

trailflow1

All my cleats have been black and yellow. Some not as bright as Shimano yellow but never beige. Maybe they run short of yellow dye or something

i've bought around 10 sets of these cleats from different aliexpress sellers. They have all been packaged and branded by a company called Tiebao. Who manufacture sports and cycling shoes. So probably have some knowledge of plastics.
www​.tiebao.cc/

Like most cleats they take time to bed in.

Shimano cleats are not indestructible by any means. Any of those scenarios could happen and probably have with Shimano cleats. What if the Tiebao cleats are stronger than Shimano's ? I suppose you won't know until you try them yourself. Dont knock them until you do aye?

Silvercivic27

true. No cleats are indestructible. The fact that literally millions of people all over the world including pros use them each and every single day, however, provides me with a track record that I am comfortable with. The fact of the matter is that if Tae Bo or whatever crappy Chinese company is making better cleats than Shimano, they would be charging just as much if not more for them, and would probably be making their own pedal system. That's the way the world works. I'm not going to be a Guinea pig to save $10. There are many other safer things in my life to save money on.

raisinberry777

Well, that's completely atypical of my experience with Shimano SH-11 cleats, which have replaced previous ones with no change in tension settings.

The ones I'm trying are indeed the Tiebao ones.

KantoBoy

I'm actually interested if they have a 0 float version but reading all these messages they only come in the yellow (15 deg?)

trailflow1

Have the Tiebao cleats been proven to be unsafe ? What makes their company crappy ? Or is that just your assumption because they are not a worldwide brand ? they could be a huge brand in China. The truth is, they are not as bad as what you think they are. Just because they are sold cheaper doesn't automaticaly mean they are inferior. Its called undercutting the competition. They are moulded plastic. Not very hard to make. If they are really that crap they wouldnt sell any but they do. And i'll definitely be buying more.

Silvercivic27

No. They haven't been proven to be unsafe, and I don't want to be one of the people who proves it. What makes their company crappy is that they are stealing intellectual property by trying to produce a replica of an existing company's product. Yes, that is my assumption and if they were a huge brand, I think we would know more about them then to be that brand that sells crappy knockoff cleats on Alibaba. You can make a safe assumption that because they are cheaper they are inferior. The reason you can make that assumption is because Shimano is probably already making them as cheaply as possible and anything cheaper would probably be unacceptable. Otherwise, they would make them cheaper to compete with Look, Speedplay, etc. in an already tight market. Making good quality molded plastic is actually very hard to make in high quality with consistency. They sell them because people like you will buy them simply to save a buck at all costs. Have at it. Enjoy your cheap, crappy cleats.