Speedplay Zeros pull out on the upstroke
 

I'm on a demo pair of Speedplay Zero pedals from the LBS and after a short ride with them tonight, I'm wondering if theres something wrong with them or if it's me.

The pedals are a demo set, but the cleats are new. The pedals look to be in good shape and very clean. But while on my ride when I would be making a harder effort the pedals would pull out while pulling up. At first I thought I was twisting my foot, but I could pull straight up and it would come out every time.

Another thing I've noticed is that if I twist my ankle a bit, they come out instantly. I don't mean move my heel out, the best word I can think of is camber my foot out, lifting the inside of my foot a bit to stretch my ankle. I could do this all I wanted on the Keos with no problem, but just thinking about it on the zeros and I pull out.

I'll be going back to the lbs tomorrow to see if it's normal, but I want to ride in the morning before they open and know I can get a faster response here. Thanks

First thing that comes to my mind is over-tightened cleat bolts, which deform the cleat to the point where it doesn't clip in properly. It doesn't take much at all to over tighten them.

They're borked.

I think they are the only pedal I've heard about that doesn't unclip unexpectedly. It's too bad you can't give them a fair test, cuz I love mine...

Ooh, good point! I was assuming broken springs or something catastrophic. The cleats are installation sensitive, and need to be completely flat. Use locktite, not elbow grease for the install. And follow the directions well.

The float might be adjusted to "zero," meaning if you even barely move your ankle your foot will likely pop out.

The float is adjustable via the screws off to the side of the cleat. Here's a pic of my girlfriend's Speedplay cleat:

http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n...49/photo55.jpg

That is her left shoe btw.

See how the screw on the bottom (the one towards the rear of the shoe) is backed out a little? This screw adjusts the amount of outward float you have. In case you don't know what float is, it's how much your heel can move out before the mechanism releases your shoe. The top screw in that pic adjusts the inward float or how far your heel can move inward towards the chainstay. Typically, you don't want your heel to be able to move inwards at all so you usually set this one to give you zero float. This is why you see the screw protruding in so much towards the little nub of the C-shaped spring.

The LBS installed them for me, but I'll check the tension on the screws and try again. As for the float, I actually have them set to have lots of float, but I tried all sorts of float settings while riding today and the problem still remains. I really want to like these pedals and hope it's just an isolated issue.

The best test for proper install is put a flat edge along the bottom of the cleat. It really should be completely flat, and even LBS guys can over-tighten the four cleat mounting screws. It's easy to deform the cleat, especially ifthe shims don't exactly fit your shoes.

Page through the install video here, and double check that your cleats are GTG: http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?f....thumbs&cgid=1

I have been riding with Speedplay pedals since 2006 and the number of times I have unclipped unexpectedly is exactly zero times. The cleats may be over tightened

I loosened the cleats and retightened them with barely any pressure. The twist out issue is still happening.


Thats a video of what I mean by twist, it seems like a lot of force when doing it by hand, but when my foots in the shoe, any small twist will cause that.

Definitely not normal. I can pull up as much as I can, my feet will stay on the pedals.

Mine won't come out unless I absolutely, positively want them to. Based on your video I don't think the cleat c-ring is fully seating in the groove on the pedal. When my cleats were new it was *hard* to get them in, I had to rock my foot in and out while putting a lot of downward pressure. This got easier after they broke in, took a few weeks.

Check to make sure the base plate sits flush with the bottom of the shoe without being screwed in, the cleat sits flush on the base plate without being screwed in, and follow the torque recommendations.

35 in/lb on the base plate screws and 20 in/lb on the cleat screws.

I can't tell from the video but are you certain those are Zero pedals? According to SP you can't mix Zero cleats with Light Action (or any other) pedals.

Yeah, I'm wondering if you are getting them clipped in at all. The Zeros, when new, take substantial downward force to clip in and should result in a very positive "clack". That's why they developed the Light Action, for lighter people (especially women) who had problems clipping in/out. I weigh 185, can generate ~1400 watts in a sprint, and I've never inadvertently unclipped from mine.

Yeah, it took me 15 minutes to clip the first shoe on my speedplays, they are really hard to clip. And because you got to clip front and rear, sometimes you think you're OK, but only one side is clipped.

Make certain the 'C' clip is not installed upside down. One side is tapered and the other side is square. Square side goes up. Clip should move freely in the cleat.

Sounds like it's not clipping in all the way. Mine don't do that at all!

and we got a winner! the guy at the shop put the c clip in upside down on both shows. Now it's not going anywhere. thanks for the help! Clipping in had a much more positive action now, and the shoe only came out by pull the heel outward. Perfect.

Hey, look at that!

It only took til October 12th for BF to actually help someone this year (narrowly edging out last year's record of Nov. 3rd). Well done.

EDIT: Also, we know that "the guy at the shop" who put them in upside-down is really you, but we're not going to say anything :)

Ha this was actually the first time I let a shop work on my bike. They're demo pedals with the longer spindles so they did the work. The best part is the mechanic asked me who works on my bike, and I told him I do my own work and just finished building it. His response to that, "oh, you should let a real mechanic work on your bike, these things are really complicated and it takes years of experience to learn the tricks"

After 462 posts, I finally said something that actually helped. But would you take advice from a mechanic called a 'Butcher'?

Hahahaha. Classic line from yet another bike shop "i'm the best bike mechanic ever" attitude employee. And he sent you out the door with messed up cleats...wow. This is just another example of why I do my own bike work, do my own fittings, and generally don't shop at the LBS.

+1 on the cleat being overtightened and not allowing you to really clip in.

I went to Speedplays more than 20 years ago precisely for the reason that you can't clip out inadvertantly, even in an all out sprint.

One problem with the design though is that the cleats are finicky to being tightened correctly. You want the screws just tight enough to keep them in place, no more. (with locktite, which comes on the screws, to hold the screws in place.) An overzealous, or misinformed mechanic can easily over tighten them.

:bang:

Hope you like the pedals!