Cyclist0114

Hey,
I have problem with creaks, noises on SPD pedals - for a very long time (few years, beginning from MTB). There are some creaks during rhytmic, calm ride, especially on road... it devastates road driving pleasure
I have two bikes and one shoes for them:

1. Cyclocross bike with PD-M540 - creaks are not issue here, it's "wild" ride
2. Road bike with PD-A600 (single-sided SPD)

And shoes: very good and very comfortable for me, Shimano RX800 - stiff and lightweight, I like them.

I tried to use chain grease on SPD cleats, I tried finishline spray for SPD - it helps, but only for max. 1 ride... after that, there are creaks again.

What can I do with that?
I consider to move to SPD-SL but you know... I will have to buy pedals and new, similar shoes, and I will gain nothing more, so it will be quite expensive fix

Lazyass

As someone who had had more different spd pedals than I'll ever remember, all I could do is make sure the shoe sole is trimmed so the rubber won't squeak. Some aren't too bad but I've never had a totally silent pair. It's fine on a MTB because the noise of riding off road kind of drowns it out and you aren't pedaling non stop for as long periods of time.

MinnMan

My SPD squeak comes from my shoes - inexpensive Specialized shoes about 5 years old. Theres a little bit of give between the 2 bolt cleats and the rubber. I just live with it.

canklecat

I've only used SPD-SL and similar cleats (Look Delta and Keo). They all work pretty similarly and have similar friction points that can cause a little squeaking until the surfaces wear in. I occasionally apply wax to the friction surfaces to ease clipping/unclipping and quiet any squeaking. Leftover scented candle wax works fine. Doesn't attract debris like wet lubes.

Doomrider74

Have you tried cleaning and greasing the pedal threads into the crank arm? From my time mountain biking, that is by far the most common cause of creaking coming from pedaling.

guachi

I had squeaky SPD pedals and cleaning them did the trick. I didn't even have to take them off. Soap and brush. Then WD40 (since it's what I had) to help loosen what was left and the pedals were like new again, aside from some scuffs.

Iride01 

Are these old well used pedals that might need the spindle bearing re-lubed?

But I can see your issue as being squeaky shoes too as others suggested.

Doomrider74

IME when SPDs start squeaking, its a sign they need replacing.

JohnJ80

Two things have worked for me:

1. Cleaning pedals and shoes.
2. Replacing the pads on the shoes.

I use Sidi shoes that have replaceable treads where they contact the pedals. When those pads wear, they tend to become noisy in my experience.

Shimagnolo

SPD's always reach a point when they need to have the bearings adjusted.
Just yesterday I adjusted 3 sets of 540's.

17mm open end wrench to get the spindle/axle assembly out of the pedal body.

Then clamp a metric hex key into a vice with the end pointing up.

Slip axle onto hex key.

Put 10mm open end wrench on adjusting nut to hold it, while using 7mm box end wrench to loosen lock nut.

Rotate cylinder containing bearings while slowly tightening adjusting nut as tight as possible w/o the bearings dragging. Now be aware that tightening the lock nut will cause bearing to get tighter, so you need to back off adjusting nut 1/8 to 1/4 turn.

Hold adjusting nut with 10mm wrench while tightening lock nut.
This needs to be really tight, else bearings will get sloppy again, 20 miles down the road.

Reassemble.

And beware there is a mix of lefthand and righthand threads in each pedal, and the L and R pedals are opposite internally.

eflayer

but you shoe lugs rubbing against the pedals. wax or grease on the interface. or shoe with different lug composition.

Steve B.

Using both SPD 520 and 540 pedals, occasionally get a bad squeak with Shimano shoes. I'm loath to shave down the rubber as thats whats supports the foot and i need the support to prevent hot foot. Currently keeping the pedals clean, using furniture polish on them, using Armor All on my shoes, seems to last a few weeks.

chaadster

I’d be sure to check chainring bolts are properly tightened, in order to eliminate those as a possible source of the squeaking.

Check to make sure your crank is properly fitted and snug.

Next, confirm it’s not the bottom bracket. Try pedaling without being clipped in to see if the squeak persists, then swap pedals between bikes— the CX bike pedals don’t squeak?— and ride without clipping in to check for squeaks again. If the squeak persists in both trials, it’s not the shoes, cleats, or pedals, and having checked chainring bolts, it’s time to look at the bottom bracket.

Depending on type of BB, I’d pull the cups or cartridge, clean and grease shell threads, and reinstall. If a press fit type, depending on frame material and BB type, there are couple of different possible remedies which can be undertaken, like assembly with retaining compound and/or a sleeved BB.

If it is the A600 pedals, a rebuild like Shimagnolo suggests is worth a shot, taking care not to lose any of the tiny ball bearings in there. I’ve had the same A600s since they came out about 10 years ago, and have only needed to rebuild once in that time, because one got notchy and didn’t spin smoothly.

If all that fails, you could try replacing the shoes and cleats. It’s not the nature of SPDs to squeak necessarily, so there’s no need to change the whole pedaling system to SPD-SL or something else to resolve the noise. You just need to be methodical in figuring out what is causing it and fix that issue to return to silent pedaling.