Speedplay baseplate on Bont Vapour confusion.

janesy

I've bought a new pair of Bont Vapour shoes. Very comfy and pleased, However I cant get the base plate flat without warping. how important is it to have the cleat flat? I can clip in and out OK.

My confusion comes from the Bont yellow paper saying I may need to use the small shims, but wouldn't this put the base plate at an angle and raise it off the shoe?
The cleat shims (large one 1r 1f etc) are not easily sanded and now im getting frustrated as wondering if the sole of the bonts are compatible with speedplay.

ai_1

The shims are intended to keep the cleat flat. Most shoes have curved soles. The shims speedplay provide are intended to compensate for this curvature and they provide a couple of different types so suit different shoe soles. If I remember correctly, Speedplay provide a pretty comprehensive list on their site to tell you which shoes are compatible and what shims need to be used.
Unless the Bont Vaypor soles are flat you will need shims.

janesy

Yes they say they are compatible, however it doesn't matter what shims I use, the baseplate isn't flat.

chemicalviking

Here is the list from speedplay http://www.speedplay.com/pubs/instructi ... 122313.pdf
It does say extra shims maybe required . I'm hoping to get speedplays in a couple of weeks and I have the same shoes , hope that helps.

janesy

What does that mean, extra shims required, where and how do you install them?
It sounds stupid I know.

on-yer-bike

If you call Speedplay in the US a very helpful man will talk you through it. I had the same issue with Fizik shoes I even had to dremel off the large flat screw heads so that the cleat would sit flat on the base plate. There are various tricks that you can do with reversing the shims etc. I had a pair of Bonts once and cant remember a problem but they may have changed the sole shape recently. Extra shims are those small thin pieces of plastic, in the kit which are used just on one screw at a time to fill in the gaps.

lanccyclist

I have used speedplay pedals with it not quite flat with no issue, obviously it cannot be ideal - worth noting this was a cheaper plastic sole so not as fussed about it

janesy

I figured it out in the end. The soles are not flat and i had to use 2 shims on the same shoe. not 100% but much better.