[alegerlotz]

I had an interesting ride yesterday...

I wasabout 15 miles in and went to unclip my right foot from my speedplay pedals at a stoplight. I found that I couldn't and just before it was too late I uncliped my left foot and went into a parking lot too see what was wrong.

It turned out that 3 of the 4 screws that hold the mechanism to my shoes were gone. I checked my left shoe this morning and all 4 screws were slightly loose. I favor unclipping my right foot probably 70% of the time at lights, so its logical that these loosened sooner than the left.

I got more screws and put everything back together with fresh loc-tite blue.

This is a reminder to check your clip screws occasionally if you don't normally do so.

 

[kooshbal]

Check to see if your cleat sits level, you may need a spacer. The rocking of the cleat may be your problem.

 

[robdamanii]

At least you still had a cleat.

A couple weeks back I pulled into the driveway and unclipped, hearing a disturbing *snap/crunch* sound. Turns out my left cleat was so worn down that when I unclipped, it snapped off the remaining plastic on the front of the cleat, leaving it impossible to clip back in.

Glad it happened in the driveway.

 

[OldZaskar]

Copy that! Noticed this week my Look cleats were so spent, one side (always wears out first) was missing 1/2 the tab, the rest was paper thin. That could've been bad. They were so thin it would've had a measurable impact on the fit on the bike! Yeah, I know... that's gettin pretty anal.
New cleats are in place.

 

[DocRogers]

I recently noticed mine were getting pretty thrashed, too. Probably time to change 'em.

 

[Aggdaddy]

I got new shoes to go with my previously used mtn spd cleats. Cranked it too hard and broke a screw attaching the cleats.

A few rides later I noticed my right foot not feeling attached to pedal and couldn't detach easily. Sure enough cleat was loose.

A couple of guys nearby fortunately had an allen wrench and I was able to continue my ride.

Been carrying an allen wrench just in case since then.

 

[igotyofire]

I check my speedplay cleats before every ride, they loosin up. Ive been told different things and had a bike shop strip them by over tightening them. I recommend to just loosin them one at a time & tighten them back up for every ride. What is likely to happen is they loosin up while riding and ur cleat position will change.

 

[spookyload]

I check my speedplay cleats before every ride, they loosin up. Ive been told different things and had a bike shop strip them by over tightening them. I recommend to just loosin them one at a time & tighten them back up for every ride. What is likely to happen is they loosin up while riding and ur cleat position will change.

Loosen them up and retighten them before every ride? That is an insane amount of work, and if you need that much work with your cleats, you might check the shims you have installed. I ride five days a week and would spend way too much time with a screw driver if I did that. I installed my cleats last year and they have stayed secured ever since. The blue Loctite on the screws is more than adequate to hold them in place.

 

[igotyofire]

Loosen them up and retighten them before every ride? That is an insane amount of work, and if you need that much work with your cleats, you might check the shims you have installed. I ride five days a week and would spend way too much time with a screw driver if I did that. I installed my cleats last year and they have stayed secured ever since. The blue Loctite on the screws is more than adequate to hold them in place.

Its like 2-3 turns.....not really insane, 30 seconds for 4 bolts come on...

 

[D&MsDad]

Been there, done that, if there was a t-shirt, I'd have a couple.

I keep a couple of spare cleat screws and washers in my saddle bag, now. More a prophylactic than anything - haven't had to use them since I put them there. Of course, I learned (the hard way) to use loctite when installing my cleats, and checking them is now part of my pre-ride routine (just a glance to make sure all of the screws are there, and a quick twist of the cleat to make sure that they're tight).





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[alegerlotz]

Been there, done that, if there was a t-shirt, I'd have a couple.

I keep a couple of spare cleat screws and washers in my saddle bag, now. More a prophylactic than anything - haven't had to use them since I put them there. Of course, I learned (the hard way) to use loctite when installing my cleats, and checking them is now part of my pre-ride routine (just a glance to make sure all of the screws are there, and a quick twist of the cleat to make sure that they're tight).
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I have 4 extra screws now in with my patch kit and multi-tool. This will ensure that I'll never need them :thumbsup:

I think these loosened up because of the motion required to unclip. I've ridden them for about 1500 miles and the first time I had any issue was Saturday.

Checking my shoes will now be something I do at least every time I lube my chain if not more frequently.

 

[Tspeters]

The blue Loctite on the screws is more than adequate to hold them in place.

I think the original blue Lock Tite that comes on the screws works best when installing the screw the first time only. If the screws are removed or backed out to adjust the cleat later then the locking capability is reduced. If the screws are adjusted more than once than the Original Lock Tite is probably not going to hold as intended. After I had made my cleat adjustments I removed each screw one at a time and added my own blue Lock Tite.

 

[PoorCyclist]

Loctite seems overkill
I use a little grease on the threads. I just pull with a finger on the end of a hex key (the longer ones for working on bicycle) until the key is about to flex. The is about enough.
Night before a big ride I'd check them with the flex method again.

I did defer the replacement of LOOK cleat though and the front tab pretty much is gone, I can feel the slop but only when climbing a hill.

I wonder a little smear of RTV to dress the worn surface as it goes prolong the life of the soft plastic look cleat.

 

[Rekless1]

Absolutely locktite them.

Seem odd that cleats are not one of the things most people would check during thier normal maintenance intervals.

You may want to run around and check a few other critital pats of your bike on occasion too.

 

[alegerlotz]

Absolutely locktite them.

Seem odd that cleats are not one of the things most people would check during thier normal maintenance intervals.

You may want to run around and check a few other critital pats of your bike on occasion too.

My bike only has about 400 road miles on it and is gone over often. The shoes, on the other hand, are from the middle of last season and didn't seem like they needed any maintenance. I know better now...

 

[Rekless1]

Sometimes you learn these lessons the hard way, at least this one wasn't too hard.

 

[thatdrewguy]

I favor unclipping my right foot probably 70% of the time at lights, so its logical that these loosened sooner than the left.

I unclip from the same side 100% of the time except when I'm getting off the bike. Do people really sometimes unclip right, sometimes unclip left?

 

[ddimick]

I unclip from the same side 100% of the time except when I'm getting off the bike. Do people really sometimes unclip right, sometimes unclip left?

Yeah. I usually unclip left unless there's a handy curb on my right.

And +1 on the blue loctite.

 

[Rekless1]

I unclip from the same side 100% of the time except when I'm getting off the bike. Do people really sometimes unclip right, sometimes unclip left?

Sure. Which ever side I want to put down first. Depending on where I am or the road/ground contour , people stopped around me, etc.

 

[King Arthur]

I make it a point after a new pair of cleats have been installed, to retighten everything. After I have done that I typically go back one month later, found some loose bolts on
my spouse's and my shoes. Always a good idea to check this stuff before a really big ride.