squeaky pedal / cleat

mcstumpy

I've recently noticed a bit of a squeak, and have narrowed this down to my left pedal and its grip of the cleat. I have shimano a530 pedals with spd cleats.

The noise seems to start after around 30 mind. I can make it stop by twisting my foot sightly but it's not a natural position, but did allow me to confirm source of noise.

I've tried cleaning and greasing / lubing the pedal but no joy.

One factor - on holiday in early August, my cleat came loose on my shoe, I ended up taking shoe off with cleat still in pedal. I only had a mini tool with me, so used a blunt knife to twist the cleat out. I'm guessing I might have bent the cleat interface slightly hence noise?

Anyway any thoughts / suggestions welcome. Thanks

grenw

Sidi shoes?

Had this with XT pedals when I switched from Shimano shoes. My missus has the same combo and also squeaks! Same pedals don't make a sound with my winter boots.

Seems to be down to the softer rubber on the grips especially when they get a bit grubby. Only (temporary) solution I've found is a good clean and a slathering of grease.

Secteur

I recently developed a noise mid-ride during a short but very powerful short-sharp-climby type of ride, and narrowed it down to my cleat / pedal / crank area. The unusually forceful ride had caused (for the first time ever) my cleat to work slightly loose.

By the roadside, by cleat seemed rock solid, but when I got home all three bolts had come slightly loose (just on one shoe) and even though I couldn't budge the cleat with my bare hands, I got the best part of a full turn out of each of the bolts with an allen key, and the noise immediately went away.

I draw a line around my cleat with tippex to allow easy detection of movement, and that's the only reason I knew it had slipped - the cleat was half a centimetre out of flunter with the marks.

Anyway, I suppose I am asking the obvious but since you didnt specifically state it - are your cleat bolts super super tight? Because as per above, you can put a tremendous amount of force through them.

mcstumpy

Thanks, I haven't checked cleat bolts are tight, will do that this evening. Thanks also Re shoe tip. I have shimano rt82 touring shoes.

wongataa

I use SPDs and my left one squeaks/creaks sometimes. I think it is down to the position of the cleat relative to the built up sides of the sole of the shoe. I just spray some GT85 on the pedal and it is quiet for a while. When it bothers me again I use the GT85 again. The cleat is tightly fastened to the shoe.

Pituophis

Wow! I have this with XTR pedals occasionally, and never once thought to look at how tight the cleats were!
It's taken me an age to work out where the noise was coming from, until I upgraded the groupset but not the pedals, and the noise remained.
If this cures it I will be eternally grateful (but don't expect gifts!)

Secteur

Any update?

cq20

I got this on a A520 / RT82 combination also on the left side. I reckoned the cleat was slightly offset from its neutral position when pedalling so I moved the cleat on the shoe to get properly inline and the noise stopped.

jgsi

just hope you never suffer the keo kreak of death

mcstumpy

Sorry not had a chance to try any of the above but I will report back with findings when I do

mcstumpy

Squeak update....

Made sure cleat bolts tight, and.... again all fine for about 20 miles then the insidious squeaking. One thing I noticed, if I pulled my heel away from the pedal , the squeaking stopped

onionmk

My shoes started to develop a squeaking noise recently. I realised it wasn't the pedal or the cleat itself because it sounded more like a 'rubber on rubber' type squeak than a 'metal on metal' creak. I sprayed plenty of WD40 behind the cleats where the shoe/cleat holder meets and left my shoes upside down for 10 mins to let it get to the right places and dry up. Once dried, WD 40 leaves a thin layer of oil. I found this to do the trick. You should try this method before anything else as its easy to do.

Secteur

You still haven't tightened the cleat bolts enough, and they are working slightly loose after 20 miles.

keef66

I've always found a squirt of furniture polish like Pledge or Mr Sheen handy for silencing cleats / pedal mechanisms. Makes it easier to clip in / out too, so you may need to adjust the tension afterwards. I suspect it's the silicone that does the trick.

mfin

Make sure you have the cleats rotated the right amount on the shoes if your feet aren't running parallel. My heels run slightly inwards so I adjust the cleats so they are still inline with the pedal axles. It might be enough to stop it making the noise if you are similar, although it should make little difference with the cleat float available.

Another thing you can do if your pedals have a metal surface the cleats sit on is clean it then scribble on it with a soft pencil, that's shut up cleat squeaks for me before.