When to replace SPD cleats?
07-30-19, 05:12 PM
#1
Vegan on a bicycle
Thread Starter
When to replace SPD cleats?
If they're still working fine, when is it time to replace SPD cleats?
Picture:
Left: New SPD cleat
Right: Old SPD cleat
Left: New SPD cleat Right: Old SPD cleat
Picture:
Left: New SPD cleat
Right: Old SPD cleat
Left: New SPD cleat Right: Old SPD cleat
Last edited by smasha; 07-30-19 at 11:59 PM.
07-30-19, 07:20 PM
#3
Sr Member on Sr bikes
I use the old, but similar LOOK Delta cleat. I have prolonged the life of them before by cleaning them, masking tape around the edge, and then filling and leveling the worn area with Goop/ShooGoo type adhesive.
Dan
Dan
07-30-19, 07:32 PM
#4
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Though it takes forever, they will eventually degrade and it will become more fiddly to clip in. I use new cleats with new shoes or pedals but once or twice have replaced some that became annoying. They won't "fail" abruptly so use them until they bother you.
07-30-19, 08:31 PM
#5
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Aren't those two different model cleats?
SM-SH51 single release vs SM-SH56 multi release?
I can't tell from the photo without looking it up.
-Tim-
SM-SH51 single release vs SM-SH56 multi release?
I can't tell from the photo without looking it up.
-Tim-
07-30-19, 09:04 PM
#6
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Your left and right must be different from mine. To my eye, the new one is on the left.
07-30-19, 10:01 PM
#8
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Unusually, this is all you need to know in far fewer words than I am accustom to seeing put forward.
07-30-19, 11:59 PM
#9
Vegan on a bicycle
Thread Starter
07-31-19, 12:00 AM
#10
Vegan on a bicycle
Thread Starter
07-31-19, 10:46 AM
#11
Senior Member
When they start to feel a little loose or shift around occasionally during hard efforts (e.g. climbing) is when I replace them. Mine usually wear a little differently than your photo though. Compared to the new one, it looks like someone took a bench grinder to the front triangular part of the cleat. That must be from walking on them? I don't think that part of the cleat contacts the pedal body during normal use.
Anyway, maybe it's just the way I pedal, but with the cleats I've replaced, that little vertical column of metal that's sort of hiding underneath the large overhanging plate gets concave, so the cages on the pedal don't clamp onto it as tightly anymore. Yours looks pretty straight though (assuming I'm looking in the right place...kind of hard to tell if it's the front or rear of the cleat)
Anyway, maybe it's just the way I pedal, but with the cleats I've replaced, that little vertical column of metal that's sort of hiding underneath the large overhanging plate gets concave, so the cages on the pedal don't clamp onto it as tightly anymore. Yours looks pretty straight though (assuming I'm looking in the right place...kind of hard to tell if it's the front or rear of the cleat)
07-31-19, 11:39 AM
#12
Non omnino gravis
Were the old cleats walked in a lot? Because I don't see how that amount of ramping could occur from normal use. The tail of the old cleat appears to be worn down 3-4mm.
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07-31-19, 12:00 PM
#13
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Took me a second to realize that the two cleats were facing each other. 
Wear from walking around on cement is what does my cleats in. They would last a lot longer otherwise. Thus, I replace when the bottom side has worn enough to start losing material at the ledge where it engages the pedal.
Wear from walking around on cement is what does my cleats in. They would last a lot longer otherwise. Thus, I replace when the bottom side has worn enough to start losing material at the ledge where it engages the pedal.
08-01-19, 05:29 AM
#15
Vegan on a bicycle
Thread Starter
Yeah, a fair bit of walking wore the shoe's soles together with the cleats.
