Originally Posted by merlinextraligh
I doubt your clipping out problem was related to cleat maintenence. in my 15 yyears or so experience with Speedplays I've found tht dirt in the cleat definitely will make it hard to engage. I've never found that it affects the release of the cleat.
And my maintenence routine is to squirt the cleat with a water bottle if it gets dirty, and replace it every 5,000 to 10,000 miles.
This is useful advice, thanks. I can get gravel in there (it;'s everywhere here) that takes some chipping out but yeah a water squirt seems like it might take of much of the day to day.
I have had a potentially dangerous slip once from my Speedplays disengaging in a jump, and it felt like my right pedal just wasn't fully engaged in the first place. It was probably gravel and a loose screw that had the cleat half-engaged. I'm told I have to check my cleats every time before I ride but my usual style of riding when I see a good time window doesn't really allow that. This is why I value very low maintenance gear more than the next guy.
SpeedPlays might be great for other people but they're a little too high maintenance, and as such potentially dangerous, for me.