Hello! Searched and found this thread. I have PD-M780 pedals on a flat-bar road bike (Trek FX 7.7), and for 1 whole year I've been using SM-SH51 cleats. I've only been unable to clip out in time just about 5 times for the whole year, but each time was a horrible experience. This past weekend I was in the NYC TD Five Boro Bike Tour, and the stop and go nature of it--the Manhattan part anyway--made me fall once badly scraping my knee and ruining my cycling pants. That was the last straw for me (very embarrassing when you've got lots of cyclists around you witnessing you fall because you didn't clip out). So yesterday I bought and switched to SM-SH56 cleats. And on to my question. The SM-SH51 cleats are painted black, and the SM-SH56 cleats look bright silver to me. My question is, are the SM-SH56 cleats of a softer alloy than the SM-SH51 cleats? And would this mean that the SM-SH56 cleats wear out faster and need to be replaced sooner than the SM-SH51 cleats, all other things being equal?