My right cleat no longer has that positive "click" sound when clipping in, and it sometimes will let go of the pedal under usual pedaling loads. The cleats are about a year old and have about 5,000 miles on them. My pedals are shimano 105 5700. I've tried adjusting the tension on the right pedal but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. Time to replace the cleats?

Tom

Your pedals should both be adjusted to the same tension. If you normally release the right cleat when you come to a stop without disengaging the left side, the right cleat will wear faster without a doubt. However, this also means that that pedal suffers more wear. Normally this is not a huge problem, the bail on the pedal should be made of more wear resistant materials than the cleat and should outlast the cleat many times over. The sound made when the cleat is engaged with the pedal shouldn't matter. What matters is if you have no problems with the cleat disengaging unexpectedly of if you have problems getting out. How it sounds isn't really important

Yeah, the sound wouldn't bother me if the cleat didn't keep letting go. I only included that bit of info in case it was important to diagnosing the problem. I probably click out of the right pedal 99% of the time when stopping for lights or stop signs. Should I just replace the cleats, they do look pretty beat up?

Tom

Sounds as if you need new cleats. How old are yours? Most people I know have to change at least once per year. I am unusual because I get a couple of years per set
Most cleats end up wearing out at the front end, not at the rear

The cleats are about a year old with about 5k miles. My son has a pair of the same pedals and shoes as I do. His cleats are almost brand new. I'll just put on his right shoe and test it.

Tom

Cleat wear has a lot of variables. I get several years from my old Look Delta style. I hardly ever unclip during a ride, maybe 1 "nature" break, and off the bike I only walk a few steps before and after the ride.

I tried my son's shoes with newer cleats and they clip in just fine. Guess I'll just replace my cleats.

Tom

Yes, when they don't work like they're supposed to it's time to replace them. So unless you want to wait until you unclip accidentally and slam your knees into the bars, and possibly go down as a result... I'd replace them soon.

They're plastic and they don't last that long. The good news is that the pedals seem to last almost forever.