Speedplay zero cleats

jimmocrates

I need new cleats for my speedplay zero's. Last time I needed some they were about £30.
The cleats now seem to have changed and have integrated covers, but cost about £50 everywhere.
Anyone know if this price fluctuates (drops!) much or do I have to just suck it up?

pippi_langsamer-2

I think they stopped making the regular V2 cleats a while ago, and now just sell the walkable ones for ~£50. I guess theoretically they should last you longer anyway!

williamac

You can still buy traditional cleats on Aliexpress if you are happy with using the Chinese ebay site at a fraction of the cost :-)

def_defyr

Hmm. That's not good to know as a 20 year Speedplay user. I haven't bought new cleats since the buyout but I'm afraid that might be why the price increase. I always use the plastic caps when walking but the cleats do wear out b/c of grit and putting a foot down at lights -- they're pretty soft metal...

gsk82

There's an article on cycling tips about speedplay. It seems they're not very active at the minute.

amrushton

Now under the aegis of Wahoo and supply seems hit and miss. Limited supply of a premium product prob means prices stay high.

def_defyr

https://cyclingtips.com/2020/12/whats-going-on-at-speedplay/

The article referenced above. I would personally hate to lose SP, as the design is brilliant and they just work almost perfectly for me. I only use the zero stainless, however, which is their popular midprice model. Might have to stockpile a few sets to get me through to old age...

pilot_pete

pippi_langsamer-2 said:

I think they stopped making the regular V2 cleats a while ago, and now just sell the walkable ones for ~£50. I guess theoretically they should last you longer anyway!

As a long term Zero user and now Pave owner, I think your theory is incorrect. Speedplay tried to address the issue of their Zero cleats being slippy to walk in, by firstly offering cafe covers, which tbh work, but are a pain in the proverbial and just something else to carry when riding. And then they redesigned the cleat to incorporate a permanent cover. I say permanent, but that only means you fit it and leave it on. It by no means stays on! They simply do not retain themselves when fitted. I’ve lost a few and tried various methods of gluing them on to get them to stay put.

If you remove the cover you end up with a much more fragile metal cleat in contact with the ground when walking, than the earlier cleat. In my experience I have found that I prefer the earlier cleat design and just never bothered using my cafe covers, just being careful when walking.

I contacted Wahoo after they acquired Speedplay and initially they were very helpful telling me spare parts would be available (I needed bow ties and now zero bodies) but a few weeks later then told me none were available and they had no timescale for when (if) they would be.

I find this very disappointing as I have been a long term user - I have 4 pairs of Zeros and 2 pairs of Pave pedals. The plastic zero bodies develop wear and that leads to rock. Body kits have not been available for a number of years. The thin metal protector shim that sits between your shoe and the cleat wears through very quickly. I have been able to purchase them, but at £16 a pop they add up.

The older style cleats last really well - at least 3 to 4 times as long as my old Look plastic cleats, so even at £50 I think they are still value for money. The newer cleats still work, but the covers are a very weak design in my opinion as they come off so easily. As for the ‘plugs’ which you are supposed to put in before walking - well they fall out even more easily and even if they don’t, you end up removing them before riding and having two discs covered in lube to put in your jersey pocket or saddle pack. More faff and filthy much transfer to your jersey if that’s where you carry them.

I have bought spare Zero bow ties from Dulight in France, which are excellent quality.
The Rock Bros ones have been very bad quality in my experience - one countersink not machined in at all, and wrong size screws supplied which would have been positively dangerous to use.

The bow ties do wear and cause the clipping in/out to become looser, so need replacing periodically. I have not found anywhere selling Pave bow ties. I am looking at getting an engineering mate to cut down some Zero bow ties to fit.

The Zero bodies simply aren’t available anywhere, so once you get rocking, the pedals are in effect useless unless you can buy some second hand zeros with less wear. I have some aftermarket titanium spindles and bought extra new pairs of chrome alloy Zeros just to get the bodies. They were £70 a pair when I bought them, the stainless ones were £100, but they are selling plain chrome alloy spindled Zeros for over £100 now. £150 with a pair of cleats.

I love the pedals, especially the Pave (I bought two brand new sets from Canyon for £100 each a year or so back as they were just getting rid of them!) these came with the older cleats which I prefer too. These do away with the plastic body and shed muck much better.

I have bought a set of bearings anticipating having to change them on at least one pair at some point, but with regular greasing I have never found any pedal bearings to wear out, get noisy, notchy or tight.

So I think it is really disappointing that Wahoo seems to be doing nothing regarding supporting the product they have bought. Speedplay were always very protectionist and pretty much made you buy a new pair of pedals when anything wore out as their rebuild service cost almost as much as a new pair! I got round that by buying their cheapest models to scavenge new bodies to transfer onto my titanium spindles. I was hoping for better from Wahoo, but alas they seem to have no plans whatsoever for doing much with the brand. I have no idea why.

The cleat design needs changing to put the covers on permanently in a way that doesn’t fail. Spares such as bow ties, bodies and bearing kits need to be available. If not these pedals become trash for the sake of a few unavailable spares. In this day and age, that is not a good stance for any brand.

jimmocrates

Pilot Pete - I love my speedplays and wouldn't want to switch. I'd rather stick with the old style cleat too - have you tried any of the unofficial versions from ebay?
It's more for the thin metal shim that you referred to.

Have you tried any other coffee shop covers for that matter? I have 2 pairs - one is fine, but the plastic on the other pair has stiffened up over time and is a pain to get on and off.

sungod

i've used the aero/walkable cleats 4+ years

the speedplay plastic covers are mediocre, if they get distorted they don't recover

but the j&l covers are good, never had one come off or distort, even when walking on rough/steep slope, they seem a bit grippier on smooth/wet surfaces

they're easier to get hold of, way cheaper too

pilot_pete

jimmocrates said:

Pilot Pete - I love my speedplays and wouldn't want to switch. I'd rather stick with the old style cleat too - have you tried any of the unofficial versions from ebay?
It's more for the thin metal shim that you referred to.

Have you tried any other coffee shop covers for that matter? I have 2 pairs - one is fine, but the plastic on the other pair has stiffened up over time and is a pain to get on and off.

I’ve not tried any of the unofficial covers or cleats. That may be my next move. I only tried official coffee stop covers in the original cleats and considered them to be a waste of time - not that they didn’t work, simply that the extra faff and having them take up room in my jersey pocket didn’t warrant their use for me. As I said, I just took it easy when walking and never really had an issue. The old cleat design lasted ages even without using the covers. I find it’s the spring circlip that eventually wears out/snaps, especially on the side that you predominantly unclip when stopping.

When you say ‘more for the metal shim’, are you meaning just to see if the shim is the same spec and can be fitted to genuine cleats? I was wondering how much it would cost to get some cut by an engineering workshop. I’m guessing to make it viable would require hundreds though!

PP

pilot_pete

Having just done a quick search, there is a laser cutting workshop just down the road from me! I might pop in and enquire about the cost of having some sole protector plates cut. If I bulk order I must be able to get them cheaper than £14 a pair, surely....?

It would be interesting to hear from anyone who has experience in engineering/ metallurgy if they reckon using slightly thicker stainless plate would be more hard wearing, or if it would then wear the pedal body more....

PP

mrb123

Keep on Kovers have always worked well for me with the original design of cleats. Still on my original pairs of both after about 5 years of use.

Looks like replacing the cleats when they eventually wear out will be a costly business although I suspect the new style cleats will save a few grams over the old ones plus covers.

pilot_pete

mrb123 said:

Keep on Kovers have always worked well for me with the original design of cleats. Still on my original pairs of both after about 5 years of use.

Looks like replacing the cleats when they eventually wear out will be a costly business although I suspect the new style cleats will save a few grams over the old ones plus covers.

That’s the point, the new style covers don’t stay on. They come off very easily with any twisting type motion, which is pretty much unavoidable if you are walking in them, even short distances. The weight is irrelevant, it’s the cost and the fact that if you lose the cover the cleat is much more vulnerable than the old one.

PP