I was taking apart my sylvans with soma double straps today and I noticed how difficult it was to get the straps threaded through the slots in the sylvans at the bottom.

I'm worried now that the exustars, being laminated and new, will prove even more difficult if not impossible.

Any experiences?

I always file the slots on my Sylvans a little bit to prevent messing up the edges of my straps when installing them.

I'll definitely be using a pair of pliers. Not sure if I'm keen on filling the slots just yet. I don't have the exustars, they should be shipping tomorrow, but I'm now considering whether I should cancel the order or not.

And on clipless: I live and work in an urban environment where it is inconvenient to carry around cleated shoes. I am on and off my bike multiple times a day and I appreciate the comfort and versatility of clips/straps and sneakers.

Prepare to completely shred the edges of your new straps.

Yeah it already happened with the old, worn soma straps. I had white paint/leather dust all over my jeans. . I don't really have a round or square-taper file that's small enough to fit, what kind would you recommend? Medium round file or something with a triangle or square taper?