SPD-SL - Floating or Non

thefd

Hi all,

I currently have the floating SPD-SL cleats (yellow) but think I would prefer the non-floating (red) cleats. But having never tried them I'm unsure. What are people's views on them? I suppose I'm wondering how many folks use which ones and what people's thoughts are on each one.

ktuludays

i use floating too and also wondered the same. I think the floating ones are easier on the knees

JJBlade

Just for a newbie could you explain the difference. Cheers in advance

slunker

Yellow have more movement allowing your knee/foot/ankle to track in a wider range of movement. I personally use red cleats as I don't like the "float" feel. You just need to be a bit more careful when setting up your cleats with the red/fixed cleat but once done I find it better.

thefd

JJBlade wrote:

Just for a newbie could you explain the difference. Cheers in advance

There are two types of cleats, floating (which give a little movement sideways) and fixed (no sideways movement).

elderone

i just bought floating and there red,,has lbs give me wrong ones

Anonymous

If you screw the cleat into your shoe in the wrong place, you can force your knees to unduly twist each pedal stroke.
This can rape your knees in the long term.
The yellow ones with a small amount of float allow your feet to twist to their natural position as you pedal, therefore not putting any twists or stresses on your knees.
If you get it perfect, the fixed ones are fine, but I really can't see any need for them (unless you have a pro-bike-fit and you are better off having your knees locked in place for medical reasons).

From personal experience of Look vs Shimano, Look floating pedals are VERY loose and your feet can almost 'skate' from side to side (that feeling of standing on ice). Shimano feel much more secure (the friend who has Look says they are crazy tight and offer no twist but this is simply not true). Unless your knees are like matchsticks, your feel will gradually rotate on the pedal so they are aligned normally. You can also adjust the tension if you are worried.

As for where to put your cleats onto your shoes? I would go dead center, pointing straight, UNLESS you have a significant toe-in or out. You can see this if you sit on a table, let your feet dangle and see where they point. Most people have a slight toe-out, in which case just point them straight. I would say only if it is significantly out should you actually deliberately try and have a 'non-straight' cleat on your shoe.

For mine, I just stuck my cleats on my shoes dead straight, front and center, loosened the pedals right up (there is an allen key slot on them) and away I went.

ad_snow

elderone wrote:

i just bought floating and there red,,has lbs give me wrong ones

Are they Look cleats? I have red look cleats and they are the ones with the biggest amount of float. (9 degs I believe)

elderone

ad_snow wrote:

elderone wrote:

i just bought floating and there red,,has lbs give me wrong ones

Are they Look cleats? I have red look cleats and they are the ones with the biggest amount of float. (9 degs I believe)

not sure,but lbs did say i recall they have 9 deg float and there all red.
they come with the peddles which are exustar epsr.
there fitted to shimano road shoes.

lotus49

Unless you are really sure that your fit is perfect (eg as a result of a professional fitting) you are running a risk of hurting your knees with completely fixed cleats.

If you are sure, give them a try. They are only £12-15 and if it doesn't work out you can just revert to your floating cleats.

FlacVest

I prefer the float; then again, I've never used cleats without it.

hstiles

Exustar pedals are Look Compatible.

AchillesLeftKnee

SPD-SL yellows here. I'd actually like to try zero float as I suspect it would be better for left knee which is horribly sensitive to any sort of twist and only really happy if kept running very straight. The problem is I doubt very much whether I'd be able to get the cleats set up properly for the desired position without an inordinate amount of painful faffing about.

RDB66

Apart from the Red 0deg, Yellow 3deg, you can now get Blue Shimano Cleats that are 1deg of float.

Might be worth trying these Blue ones first before the Fixed Red.

Rich.