I just bought a set of Speedplay Zero Chro-Moly pedals, and Im having an issue with clipping in. After putting the pedals on the bike, and setting up the cleats on my shoes, it's ridiculously difficult to get clipped in. I can manage clipping in, but only after a huge frustrating, and leg tiring effort.

Anyone know if this is a common issue with brand new Speedplays that will correct itself after initial wear, or is this something that I need to have looked at by my LBS?

In a word, for many, yes. It takes practice to get the cleat approximately centered over the pedal, and the retention clip takes some time to get worn in. You can help the process along with a drop of light oil on the clip.

Keep at it, it gets easier.

When the pedals and cleats are new, it can require more force to unclip than when they are worn in. The first time I used mine, I thought I was going to damage my bike because of the force I needed to apply for unclipping. After a while the cleats wear, and the pedals wear, and it's no different than using SPDs or whatever.

You can help yourself if you lube your cleats a bit. I use a spot of Finish-Line bicycle grease, applied with a grease gun, in the channel where the c-shaped spring rests, and I put it in when I assemble the cleats to my shoes (pictured below). It's not my picture, so there is no grease in the slot, but you get the idea.

I also grease the bearings of my pedals using the same grease gun, and inevitably a bit shoots out the spindle-hole of the pedal, and that keeps the cleats lubed, too.

Using Keep-on Kovers helps to keep dirt and stuff out of the inside of my Speedplay cleats, plus it helps to keep the cleats functional for longer.

I've tried all kinds of things for lubing my Speedplays, and the best I've found is the Finish-Line grease.

Thanks much. I'll try putting oil on the spring's catches and get back to breaking them in tomorrow morning.

I use silicone spray on them stay much cleaner.
After a little time they will clip in without much effort and make sure when mounting on shoe soles they are not getting distorted some soles need shims to keep then in the correct shape.

I know Speedplay cautions against over tightening the cleat screws. Too much tension can distort the cleats and make them harder to engage.

Also confirm that you have the correct cleat on the correct shoe.

I hate to be the voice of dissension here, but your description does not align with my personal experience. It sounds not right. See HillRider and make sure your shoe is mostly flat at the cleat attachment points.

I'll add that since the cleats have two springs, if the OP is using a step down technique that requires both springs to simultaneously move, the effort will be twice what it might be. If one spring is slipped under the pedal's shelf (for me this is the front one) then only one spring's tension/friction will be felt. Andy.

The cleat has one spring, it is one c-shaped piece of metal. The spike on the outside edge of the spring is used as a lever by the screws to alter the angle of the cleat to set up the amount of heel-in/toe-in. If the c-piece was in two pieces, it wouldn't work.

+1,000,000 on making sure that the cleat screws are not too tight. They have loctite on them for a reason. They should be just finger tight- any extra torque that you put on them will make it much more difficult to clip in. When I work as a support tech on various rides, that is the only issue I ever see with any rider using Speedplay pedals.

As deep-sky pointed out the spring is one piece. But the basic issue of whether one side or both sides are being acted on is still in play. Stomping down to engage the pedal will/may cause both parts of the spring to need to flex. Therefore a higher tension. Working your foot so one sid eof the spring is hooked in before pressing down means only one side or amount od spring motion is needed to engage. Andy.
Who rides X2s.

Thanks for all the input...problem solved. The left cleat just needed lube...the right cleat...a little more. In my sweat filled rush to beat the rain yesterday, I failed to notice that the spring in the right cleat was turned flat side down...so I flipped it over and lubed it as well. I used a non petroleum based grease simply called "snot". I use it to pack the wheel bearing on my motorcycle. (Im a motorcycle mechanic)

As far as overtightening, I can assure you that all of the bolts are at the proper torque. I dont tighten any bolt without using a torque wrench. And as far as blue loc-tite..I removed it and used red. I have an issue with bolts that already have loc-tite patches on them...seen too many pre-patched bolts come loose. Unfortunately, I didnt have any more blue, so I had to choose between red and green. And green loc-tite on bike is just ridiculous.