Ultra stiff Ultegra SPD SL pedals

[stevenb]

Boy,,,,mine are mega stiff.
I have reached the minimal limit of pedal adjustment and they are still very sitff.....difficult to engage and disengage my cleats.
My cleats are spot on in terms of position.

Is there anything I can do to loosen the pedals up?
It says in the instructions not to go past the minimal setting....but my pedals are so tight I've had to go 6 clicks past the minimal level.

Cheers

Steve

 

[Oldlegs]

The cleats / pedals "wear in" rapidily - like after a couple of rides and ease off considerably in the process. What you describe does sound a bit extreme though.

 

[stevenb]

I'm hoping that will be the case.
I have greased up the moving parts to see if that helps.

 

[Blue]

FWIW I put a set of SPD SLs on my winter bike a couple of weeks ago and I noticed the same problem. I have only used them a couple of times and have noticed a vv slight improvement. I too am hoping that they ease out a bit as they are my first move from SPDs and the difference is disconcerting.

In any case, it would appear to be a characteristic of the pedals rather than a problem with our individual sets. If they don't improve I will be binning mine

 

[stevenb]

I had a set of Look SPD SL pedals on my Bianchi and they were fine straight off.
I know there are cleats available without float so they might be required to engage and disengage more effectively. It's cheaper to try the 'No Float' cleats 1st before binng the pedals. The 'No Float' cleats will need to be set up perfectly in order to avoid discomfort though.

I'm just hoping mine will bed in.