CRAP! I really wish I read this post before purchasing new road cleats for my new road bike that I haven't even gotten yet. I think I may try a rubber compound and level out the bottom surface. I'm most worried about the cleats metal making too much contact w/ ground and causing bad times.

The main reasons I did this were:
1.) I already had road shoes that fit and were comfortable so I didn't want to buy new shoes
2.) I started with SPDs on road shoes only because I used to ride MTBs, but planned to switch later on to something like Looks, Shimano Road, Speedplays, or BeBops (which I chose and love so far).

I assumed others may have encountered similar issues with their slick soles so I thought I'd post my DIY solution. If the DIY job doesn't work out, I'll try something else..... but at this point it doesn't make sense vs. simply covering the slick portion on my otherwise good shoes. I recently switched the SPDs out for the BeBops and did not experience any issues. I simply trimmed a little rubber off to allow for the larger cleats, but the overall effect is the same - where there's no cleat, there's rubber... and where's there's rubber, there's no slippage.

I agree 100%, the benefits of the added platform on the A520 are overrated when you have a sufficiently stiff sole. I would much rather have dual-sided pedals for riding in NYC (hence choosing the Bebops). The A520s should be appearing on eBay shortly.

I'll bet if you put the suction cup side down, you could climb walls like a fly!

Rather than coming up with the bath mat getto mod, you should have just bought these shimano touring shoes with the walk around rubber bottom. The SH-RT51.






You're now in the Fred club.

Again.... the point here was that $5 and 30 minutes could reasonably solve my dilemna and eliminate the need for new shoes.

I like my shoes and would rather throw $100 towards something else (for the bike of course)! It's almost like someone posting how they touched up a paint scratch and people are commenting "Why didn't you just buy a new frame?"

Seems like a good idea to me especially if you don't want to go out and spend more money on another pair of shoes, and some may think you're a "Fred" but you're not the one giving money away on every condition specific item that comes along.

Good job OP, from a fellow frugal biker

Uh, Shimano makes SPD pedals with clips on both sides. Get those. (I use those with MTN-ish shoes on my road bike. I can walk fine, and I can get clipped in on the first stroke.)

Here are the shoes:


Here are the pedals (PD-M520):



Works for me (tm).