Creaky shoe?

dabber

I've got a problem with what I think is a creaky shoe... Specialized BG Sport (MTB) used in conjunction with Shimano A520 pedals. It happens mainly under load when climbing. It's the left hand side (non-drive) only.
It happens on both bikes... Giant Defy 3 and Wilier Mortirolo so I don't think it's a BB problem and I'm not swapping the pedals between the bikes.
I've tried a bit of grease around the cleats, adjusting position of cleats a little, WD40ing the whole shoe (which seemed to help for a short while.

Any suggestions ... other than buying new shoes?

Grill

Sounds as though the shoes are too soft. The problem occurs when you're putting down a lot of power so you're most likely collapsing the sole which is causing the creak. The fact that the shoes in question are A) soft and not road specific (meaning they're already softer than their road counterparts) is the real issue. In order to get the most efficient energy transfer the sole should not deform.

MAMB

I have exactly the same problem with a pretty much identical setup (apart from the bike being a Giant SCR1 rather than the newer Defy). It also only affects the non-drive side. I've now bought some Speedplay pedals and will be getting some proper road shoes - not because of the creaking but because I need pedals with a bit more float.

dabber

In guess I'm resigned to the fact that the shoes are probably flexing and causing the creak. Is my only option to go for "proper" road shoes/road pedals? or are there spd shoes that are sufficiently stiff and that I could use with my existing pedals?

Grill

Sure, there are lots of stiff mtb specific shoes. They're more expensive and usually marketed as an XC Race type shoe, but even below that there are some. If you're serious about road biking though then get proper pedals and shoes.

diy

I have Shimano M161 which are a pretty firm XC MTB shoe and they too creek. I personally prefer MTB/mutli release and accept some loss of efficiency vs road shoes.

I started out road cycling with the intention of riding my road bike in exactly the same gear I use for MTB, but I have gradually swapped helmet, clothes etc. etc as you find the limits of mtb gear.

Helmet was the first change since I just couldn't see properly in the drops, plus the wind made quite a difference.

thegibdog

Could be worn cleats.

redvee

Give the pedals a drop of heavy lube where the cleat goes, mainly on the release plate.

dabber

It looks like I'm not he only one with this problem.

I have changed the cleats as I had a spare set available to me... it made no difference.

I tried greasing all around the cleat and the relevant areas of the pedal.... again, it made no difference. It it had worked it probably would have introduced other problem with the grease acting as a kind of glue every bit of grit etc.

The only thing that did seem to improve it was when I sprayed the whole shoe... sole, uppers, liberally with WD40.
This seemed to cure the problem for about the first 20 miles of a ride but then the creaking came back.

I opted for spd pedals/mtb shoes because of the walking around factor but I think I'll maybe do something different.
There's nothing worse than riding (slowly in my case) up a couple of miles or so climb, where there is complete silence except for the dreaded creaking.

thescouselander

This happens to me too. It usually happens when my shoes have come into contact with water or mud and the squeak eventually goes away. My theory is that it has something to do with the contact patch between the cleat and sole of the shoe. You could try nipping the bolts up a bit more and see if that helps.

diy

buy some of these only about 10p and they fix every mechanical noise problem known to man.


I actually have worn ear plugs before on MTB enduros where after 70+ miles most full sus bikes will be making some noise and it drives you nuts if you have another 2-3 hours riding to do.

AchillesLeftKnee

The 520s on my MTB creak something rotten if not kept well lubed. What shuts them up for me is keeping the springs and pivots for the mechanism well lubed with wet lube. If that doesn't do it, a spray with degreaser then rinse with water, then lube up again, sorts them out.

Wardster00

I had the same problem and tried everything related to my cleats and pedals. I eventually remedied the problem by greasing my where the saddle attaches to the seat post.

Check and lube everything.

griffsters

Had exact same set up. I went thru and greased pretty much everything - bottom bracket, seatpost, QR skewers before I read about Spesh BG MTB cleats creaking. Sure enough re=seated the cleats greased the screws etc and it would disappear for a ride or two...

Ended up buying road shoes and pedals. Problem solved.

foggymike

My winter road shoes creak and it's only solved by rubbing brooks saddle cream (other leather products are available!) on the tongue, all upper stitching and also around the toe straps and ratchet.

They are a few years old and clearly now flexing more causing rubbing between parts which makes the noise under power. It needs applying every 2 or 3 months to keep silent.

dabber

Some good tips... I'll give them a try... Thanks