On my road shoes, I have Crank Brothers setup and have been happy so far. Lately the screws holding the platform of the cleat in have been loosening up to the point where I have to tighten them after every ride. Now low and behold on my way to work, I come to find that I have finally lost one of the screws (after falling from not being able to unclip because of the play in the cleat).

Three questions:

Anyone with Crank Brothers (or any of other cleat) have excessive issues with cleat platforms not staying properly tightened?

Does anyone use any sort of putty/glue/substance of any kind to secure the bolts in the shoe? If so what do you use?

Now I am not entirely sure if its a pure cleat or shoe issue, but I'm starting with my first suspect. Thanks in advance for any help.

EDIT: I am referring to the platform that holds the cleat in place. Sorry for any confusion.

Dab a little Loctite 242 on the threads.
You'll find it in most hardware stores, home depot, automotive supply stores (Kragen etc) or online.

I had exactly the same problem in a double century recently with my Quattro SLs. I became aware that the right side was loose and when I went to stop found that one screw was missing, another one dropped out (but held in place by the "pontoon") and the last one was loose. I almost could not unclip as a result. (The left side was also loose but still in place). I tightened them back down and completed the ride without problems. They're still tight so I'm guessing they loosened up slowly over time.

I'm thinking the philips head screws are the problem. These same shoes have had different cleats that never had this problem, but the screws were allen-key head that you could really torque down. I plan on switching to allen-key and keeping an keeping a close eye to see if they loosen again.

Loctite, go to Ace Hardware

Excellent, I wasn't aware that Loctite came in a removable thread compound as well. I'll give that a try as well.

I believe the bulk of my problem may rely on my shoe using the 3 bolt pattern. The 3 bolt pattern involves the cleat to do some bending on ball of my foot, always creating some negative pressure against the platform. Since my shoe accepts the 2 bolt pattern as well, I will be trying out the "Pontoon" style cleat with Loctite.

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

You can get replacement plates for the bolts. Over time, the threads can get stripped, or the plates can become loose in the shoe. There should be a flap under the insole in the shoe that you can lift up to access the plates. Get spare parts from the shoe manufacturer.

I'll keep that in mind, though my shoes are less than two months old without that much wear and tear. The cleats are the same since this was my first venture into clipless. In my case I think I have come to the conclusion that 3 bolt CB's are not the best fit for my Cannondale RS1100 shoe. The 2 bolt pattern looks like the fit will be just right without any other pressure factors as I mentioned before.

This plus Loctite I believe may solve the problem.