Speedplay cleats help please

bikeit65

I have been using Speedplay zero pedals about 7 or 8 months now and i was wondering how do you know whenever you need to replace the cleats,
Also if you don't tighten the four cleat screws enough will it be harder or easier to get into and out of them.

sward29

Hi,

Not sure about the answer to your first question. I've had a set of cleats for a couple of years and they've been fine. I think you're supposed to change them when they become difficult to get in and out of the pedals.

Re second question, tightening the screws makes the pedals harder to engage and disengage. Tighten them until you first meet resistance then tighten 1/4 of a turn and they should be fine.

crankycrank

I just change mine when they don't engage/disengage properly which is usually after 8k+ miles. The main problem you'll see with trying to get the screws tightened correctly is that the contact area between cleat mount and shoe may have a large gap which causes the cleat to bend excessively to match the contour of the shoe. You'll find that you must really crank the screws down to force total surface contact between cleat and shoe and that is where the problem is. This will cause binding and difficulty clipping in and out of the pedals.The cleats fit some shoes better than others and I believe Speedplay includes corrective shims for this when you buy them new. You can always email them directly if you need any help getting it sorted. They're very helpful and have plenty of experience with most of the different shoes out there.