I'm hard on cleats. Real hard. My light action cleats need to be replaced right now - they're about a year old. The rubber cleat covers for walking around in are worthwhile - Speedplay cleats suck to walk on them bare and they can damage floors due to the metal. Don't be afraid of installing cleats. Maybe have your LBS show you the first time. I use a drill with a phillips bit on it and I can remove/replace my cleats in a couple minutes now. The thing you want to watch out for is overtightening the final 4 screws. If you do it can make it very hard to clip in/unclip.