Check those cleats!

[GordonB]

Went for a longish ride on Sunday and stopped for a coffee at Orford on the Suffolk coast. Rezillo was with me and as it was my turn to buy the drinks he huddled in the nice little shelter on the quay while I braved the filthy weather to walk to the cafe for two takeaway jobs. I wear road shoes with Look Delta cleats and I've had the cleats on for about a year, never a problem with them. After we finished lunch we rode off again up the road and about three or four miles further on had to stop at a junction. I twisted my right foot out to unlock from the pedal, nothing, no release, still locked in. Tried the left one, same result. Oh cr*p..... Then tried the right one twisting inwards, heel to the left and got a release. When I checked the cleats I found that the walking had finally worn away the inside corners so far that they wouldn't operate the cam, and there wasn't much meat left anywhere else that mattered either.

If you use cleats similar to the Deltas I'd suggest checking them regularly otherwise you too could end up locked in! In know I will now......

Gordon

 

[redjedi]

I suggest you get some cleat covers for when you have to walk anywhere. I use them on my Keos and have tripled (if not more) the life of the cleats, even the ones with the rubber bits on, and makes it easier to walk in.

They are harder to find for the Deltas but there are some on Ebay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Look-Delt...keparts_SR&hash=item48452cd1b6#ht_1194wt_1163

 

[Jimmy Doug]

I've been thinking about this lately. I use Keos and change them regularly -probably too regulary cos it's getting expensive. How many Kms can you reasonably get out of them? I'm heading off to Norway this year and expect to clock up over three thousand kms. I wonder whether one pair is enough? (I use covers)

 

[martint235]

You've had Look cleats for a year??? When I wore Looks I had to change them every months, two months max. That's why I moved to SPDs, it was costing me a fortune.

 

[smutchin]

Had a similar problem with my SPD-Rs recently after one of the bolts fell out during a ride. Fortunately, it was only on one side and I was able to get the other foot out in time to avoid making a tit of myself in public.

d.

 

[GordonB]

You've had Look cleats for a year??? When I wore Looks I had to change them every months, two months max. That's why I moved to SPDs, it was costing me a fortune.

I don't stop very much, you are obviously walking up too many hills ;-) the genuine Look Deltas have a decent life, I found the copies wear very rapidly.

 

[GordonB]

I suggest you get some cleat covers for when you have to walk anywhere. I use them on my Keos and have tripled (if not more) the life of the cleats, even the ones with the rubber bits on, and makes it easier to walk in.

They are harder to find for the Deltas but there are some on Ebay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Look-Delt...keparts_SR&hash=item48452cd1b6#ht_1194wt_1163

Got some in this mornings post from that very seller, Graham Weigh Cycles!

 

[ColinJ]

Here's another cleats/pedals tip ...

On Ajay's recent N.Lancs/S.Cumbria forum ride I dropped my chain on a steep hill and found myself unable to unclip my right foot. I nearly fell on that side but somehow managed to twist my weight round and get the other foot down. I got the chain back on, caught up with Ajay and asked him to unclip the foot for me.

I had new double-sided SPD pedals on the bike and had taken the precaution of setting the release tensions to minimum. At least - I thought that I had ... It turned out that I'd got distracted while setting up the pedals. 3 out of the 4 tensions were set low, the way I prefer them, so unclipping was easy. The other tension was set to maximum but I hadn't discovered that until I randomly clipped in on that side of the pedal a couple of hours into the ride!

 

[User269]

It's counter-intuitive, but I've always found that worn cleats are difficult to disengage, rather than the other way round.

 

[GordonB]

It's counter-intuitive, but I've always found that worn cleats are difficult to disengage, rather than the other way round.

Yes, I agree, I think it's down to the cam portion of the cleat wearing.

 

[ColinJ]

It's counter-intuitive, but I've always found that worn cleats are difficult to disengage, rather than the other way round.

I think that could have been my problem - worn cleat + tight tension = impossible to unclip! I twisted my leg so hard that I hurt my knee but the foot still wouldn't come out.

 

[redjedi]

I've been thinking about this lately. I use Keos and change them regularly -probably too regulary cos it's getting expensive. How many Kms can you reasonably get out of them? I'm heading off to Norway this year and expect to clock up over three thousand kms. I wonder whether one pair is enough? (I use covers)

Always worth taking a spare set with you anyway, they won't take up much room.

You've had Look cleats for a year??? When I wore Looks I had to change them every months, two months max. That's why I moved to SPDs, it was costing me a fortune.

I think I changed my cleats once last year and I've still got lots of life in the current ones, but I do look after them with the covers.

I did once wear out a set of cleats in the space of a couple hours when I was clipped by a van which buckled my rear wheel and I had to walk 2 miles to the nearest bike shop; no covers with me that day

 

[martint235]

I think I changed my cleats once last year and I've still got lots of life in the current ones, but I do look after them with the covers.

I did once wear out a set of cleats in the space of a couple hours when I was clipped by a van which buckled my rear wheel and I had to walk 2 miles to the nearest bike shop; no covers with me that day

I could never be bother with the covers but I wore Looks for commuting in so I had to walk across the car park every day. It all mounted up.

I don't stop very much, you are obviously walking up too many hills ;-) the genuine Look Deltas have a decent life, I found the copies wear very rapidly.

Don't think I've ever walked up a hill. I've stopped for a breather a couple of times but never walked.

 

[youngoldbloke]

I find my LH Keo cleat wears faster than the RH, so I replace the RH one and move it to the LH pedal. Also equalizes wear pattern on the cleat. I replace the cleat when I judge the 'nose' too to be thin, but could probably get more life out of them.

 

[Rezillo]

Rezillo was with me and as it was my turn to buy the drinks he huddled in the nice little shelter on the quay while I braved the filthy weather to walk to the cafe for two takeaway jobs

Note for the record that he walked 150m in the rain to the cheaper cafe rather than cough up for the pricier coffee 10m away

John