b-ride

so hey, i've been rolling with the eggbeaters for a month, six weeks at the most and i happened to look at one of my cleats today. dogg, that **** is mad worn already! like, not only are they worn, they are actually a new shape. the outside leading edge of both cleats have a slope to them and the little sort of peak area at the front of the cleat is nearly worn away. i actually compared my cleat to a pic on the crank bros website. i'm worried that in not too long there's going to be no material left to hook into the pedal. i read somewhere that these cleats are made of brass fer chrissakes... so i'm wondering, for those of you that run 'beaters, how long do a set of cleats last you (mind, i work with mine, 5 days a week)? has anyone had any problems with unintentional clip outs? maybe not a big deal on a free wheel bike, but nobody wants their foot to pop of the leading pedal in the middle of a skid. if i'm going to need new cleats every two months, i don't think the pedals are worth it, at least not for working. here, one of the only places i've found sells new sets for 26 bucks, and that's not really cheap, especially when i used to buy shimano style cleats that lasted a year minimum for 10 bones.

thoughts? suggestions?

thanks,

b

b-ride

yes, i did search the topic, btw, but unfortunately, dumbass that i am, i did it after i posted. anyhow, my questions still stand.

treechunk

what kinda shoes do you have?

A good mountain shoe will protect the cleat a good deal more.

baxtefer

i've got about 3000 commuting kms on mine. they look like crap, but they still hold fine.
i'll replace them the first time i pull out. so far so good.

Surferbruce

they have new ones made of a harder brass. cost 5$ more than the standard and you can still order both types.
i've had regular ones on sidi dominators for over a year and mine are still in decent shape. on road shoes i think the little rubber bumpers are key.

commuteORdie

It didn't take long for my eggbeater cleats to look like crap either, but I've been using them for about six months (and god knows how many miles), and they're still working great.

Fugazi Dave

Don't go by their appearances alone. They look quite worn a long time before they actually start having truly compromised performance.

wangster

agreed, it's surprising how well they work despite the beat up look. Mine looked worn after a month too but it's been almost a year and they still work great.

treechunk

My Time cleats wore out (as did my shoes) in 8 months of all day-every day use. They were REALLY worn before they started unclipping. I mean REALLY worn. Nobody could believe they engaged at all.

b-ride

it's not realy the bottom of the cleat that i'm worried about, but the parts of it that contact the pedal itself. seems like i don't have to worry about anything for a while though, from the replies in the other posts and what y'all have said here.

b

WhiskeyTango

I've had mine for just over 1,000 miles (got em on the same day I got a bike computer). I just ordered a new set of cleats, but I've never come out of these unexpectedly.

habitus

i have to agree that the shoes make a huge difference, even though you might not think so. i could hear the crunch of the cleats when i walked with my diadora touring shoes. been wearing my sidi dominator SRS for a few months now and have RARELY heard the crunch. sure they're wearing from contact with the pedal, but a large aspect of wear, i think, is the (near) continuous contact with rocks and pavement and such.

spud

they make them out of brass so that the cleat and not the pedal gets worn and beat up.

LóFarkas

^^^And to make sure you buy expensive new cleats frequently. If I was a 'beater user, I'd look into having a batch of replacement cleats machined out of aluminium. Make 50 of them, sell 40 to fellow messengers etc. and you got your money back.

r-dub

Isn't aluminum quite a bit softer than brass?

12XU

If you're going to go as far as source your own cleats, I'd say have Ti cleats made and fahgeddaboutit.

Surferbruce

https://crankbrothers.com/premium_cleat.php?itemId=

Surferbruce

ok you have to wait till dec 1st for em.

b-ride

fyi, i'm wearing some almost worn out shimano road shoes, but there's enough of the sole lugs left that rarely if ever do i hear teh cleat crunching on anything.

i emailed crank bros. and this is what they had to say:

Thanks for the email. I recommend you check out our new Quattro cleat, which
is made of harder brass, and should last longer. This cleat is compatible
with all of our pedals. As for the use of brass, this material is chosen
because it works with our pedals. Engagement is too tight with other
materials. Also, using a material like steel would wear the pedal out before
the cleat, rather than the cleat before the pedal like with brass.

b

LóFarkas

It can't be much softre then the stuff CB make the cleats from. The cleats had little dents on them after I first walked on them. And they hardly touched the ground! Plus if you or a friend can make some really chep, it doesn't matter if they wear as fast or faster as the originals...
Steel etc. wouldn't be much good, 'cos if the wings start to wear, then you've had it. If that flimsy thing breaks, you eat *****...

poopncow

the mating surfaces round off during "break in" and the bottom scrape up quickly. But the dents and scrapes are not on the mating surfaces. I have yet to pop out accidentally after 2 yrs of riding and walking on them (crunch crunch crunch). bought a new pair of shoes and cheats last week, and I actually like the worn cheats beater (more float).

$0.00/Gal

I've been using mine very often for 2 years and they're fine. I have the LOOK 4x4s though

1fluffhead

I have been using the same eggbeater cleats on mtb shoes for 18 months-some wear on them, but the mtb shoes definitely help protect them from walking damage. No unintentional pull-outs yet.

somnambulant

slightly off topic question: which way do you runs run the cleats? more or less float?

Shiznaz

I use less float