clayperez

I am seriously starting to dislike my SPD cleats. I'm an agressive XC racer and I'm sick of popping out of the pedals at the wrong time. It's starting to create a cautiousness when I know I should be fully commited to jumping over logs, etc... It doesn't seem to matter how hard I clamp down the tightening screws on these things. They just won't hold me on the bike.

Has anyone had a similar experience with SPDs? They're so damn popular it's rediculous. They're on every trainer bike on the market and 50% of my friends can hop on my bike because they've got 'em too... Is it something wrong with the clip on the bottom of my shoe or what? They seem to come unclipped just by pulling straight up too hard. I don't EVER want to come unclipped unless I really turn my foot outwards, but at the same time I want a platform that I can get back into in a hurry - another drawback to the SPD's... I feel like it takes 4 or 5 tries to get clipped in sometimes. It's one of the most frustrating things in the world.

HELP!!! ARGHGHGH@(*#$(*&@#^$@

James H Haury

how long have you had them ? Could they possibly be worn out?

clayperez

The pedals are pretty old. I guess I hadn't thought about that. The cleats are brand new. But I'm still having trouble clipping in to them when I'm in a hurry and I think it's just a fact of the way SPDs are made - not really flat, kinda knobby. Some people have recommended Time's but I'd like to know what other people think.

Good mud shedding, easy clip-in, tight grip... You know, the cat's meow would be nice. And all for $5.99

PWRDbyTRD

have you considered tightening the tension on your pedals?

Snuffleupagus

Crank Brothers egg beaters or candy.

Best mud clearance out there, the only thing I don't like about them is that you cannot adjust tension, but the any sided clip in is a big plus. I've used both, and I'll take my Candy Sls over my 505s any day.

Phatman

do you have the right cleats? the SH55 (silver) SPD cleats are designed to pop out if you pull hard enough. what you want are the SH51s, they are black in color to differentiate from the others. they have only pulled out on my once, and that was on a road bike during an all-out insane uphill sprint.

nymtber

i have times and i really like them, you wont clip out when you dont want to and you will clip out when you do want to. simple enough for you? plus mud doesnt seem to affect them too much at all....i use the time alium, cant afford the fancy plastic (er i mean carbon)

Raiyn

Rock on! Another member of the TIME ATAC fan club

khuon

The problem you're finding with SPDs is one many other SPD users find when they're doing technical riding. SPDs have a pretty shallow release angle. Tightening the tension isn't really a fix either. All it does is make it harder to twist your foot when what you really want is more freedom to move your foot around without unclipping. You might want to look at Time ATACs as others have suggested. They offer more float and greater release angle.

Time ATAC XS pedals feature:

• +/- 5 deg angular float
• +/- 2.5mm lateral float (side-to-side)
• 13 deg or 17 deg release angle depending on how the cleats are positioned
• adjustable tension (for centering) - independent of float and release angle

CranxOC

SPDs blow in ways that are almost indescribable! Get a set of Egg Beaters; you can't find a better pedal out there period.

phantomcow2

You told him it to him straight. Well said.
But yea crank brothers are great, they dont have tension adjusters but it makes them a more simple design, they shed mud and are bomb proof. Light too, also cheap. I payed 61 dollars for my candy SL's brand new on ebay. They have the option of a 15 or 20 degree release angle, but i think 15 is plenty

Phatman

I dunno. It definitly sounds like he has the wrong cleats to me.

sarsparilla

It could be the wrong cleats, maybe ask the lbs about that. If they say it isn't or you just don't think that it is then I'd say go ith either some Time ATACs or eggbeaters. I guess one way of finding if it's the cleat is to try to remember if they clipped out on you like this with the old cleats in. I must say though that I was having problems with my SPDs doing this, I went to Times and haven't looked back since

Deanoldo

What brand of SPD and how old are they? You may just need new pedals. I replaced some Shimano 515's that came on my bike with M540s and the difference is night and day. They (M540) also shed mud really well.

Dean

Raiyn

Nowhere near as well as Times or Eggbeaters

fhfn2000

why would they make a cleat that can be pulled out if you go hard enough?

Deanoldo

Perhaps, I've never used either one. But I've also never had a problem clipping in after putting my foot in some good old PacNW mud either. I'm not sure I'd like all the float you get with the Time's or eggbeaters. I'm comfortable being basically bolted to my pedals...

Dean

Karldar

I always figured it was for crashes so your shoes would come out of the pedals. Maybe it's for panic attacks when you feel the need to abandon ship....

PWRDbyTRD

Honestly the Crank Bro pedals versus the Shimanos as far as placement isn't that big of a deal. There isn't THAT much float that you notice.

khuon

It's not about float... it's about release angle. The Shimano pedals have a pretty shallow release angle. I have found that with SPD, I can break away too easily if I attempt any sort of body/bike-english. Basically, on Shimano pedals, you release right at the end of the float. Shimano pedals couple float, tension and release angle. The way the Time ATACs work is that you get a certain amount of float before you start hitting the tension. Then you get a certain amount of tension until you hit the release angle... at which point, you disengage. In the Time ATAC XS, the tension is tunable as is the release angle and they can be set independent of one-another. In actuality, the amount of free-float in the ATACs is not that much higher than the Shimano pedals but you get a lot more leeway till the release angle.

PWRDbyTRD

Crank bros also have 2 different setting for release angles.