Cleat questions...

[icowden]

HI all,

I have finally ended my long quest to find cleated shoes that actually fit my feet. I am now the proud owner of a pair of Lakes MTB Shoes.
But now I have many questions...

1) When I am cycliing with people who wear road shoes, I hear ka-klunks when people clip in and out. My shoes do not ka-klunk. They have a gentle single snick. Is this because they are the two hole MTB style of shoe?

2) I am finding clicking out very easy and the cleats seem to allow my foot to turn a little bit. Is this normal for MTB shoes?

3) How do you decide on cleat position? At the moment I have just gone for dead centre which seems to be OK. I might take them a bit more toward the toe though. Is it just a matter of personal preference?

I know that the tension can be adjusted on the pedal bit of the cleat, but don't know if the above is normal or not.
Thanks for any help and advice!

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Don't worry about the noise.
Your pedals should have a means of changing tension. What pedals are they?
Cleat position is largely a matter of personal preference and comfort. It may take a few rides for you to be happy with the position.
Lastly....don't worry so much. You will be fine.

 

[Dogtrousers]

1.Yes normal 2. Yes normal. 3. I fiddle randomly, and when the music stops I tighten them up. Others may be more scientific.

 

[cyberknight]

1 road pedals have a larger back plate that spring loaded i would say thats why its louder
2 yes a bit movement is good as a fixed position can lead to knee issues unless your spot on with your set up
3 lots of vids etc on youtube and down to preference , mine are set so the flat of the cleat is level with the bony bit on my big toe the widest part of the foot

 

[I like Skol]

They have a gentle single snick.

Bask in the discreet brilliance of your superior pedal system. Also revel in the fact you can walk normally when off the bike.
The kind of people that like the noisy 'look at me' engagement of the typical road cleat system also have their Garmin's set to bleep-bleep every time they stop and start and also seek out the noisiest freehubs imaginable so that everyone can hear them passing and notice what 'special' cyclists they are

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I tended to "toe in / heel out" a little rather than dead centre, and more so on my left foot otherwise that knee ached.
Yes some "float" is good, road cleats are generally sold on a 3 tier colour coded system going from maximum power transfer / minimum float (1-3 degrees or so), down to a much wider amount of rotation, something like 15 degrees. I always went for the middle, I think it's about 8 degrees before you snap out on the medium float cleats.

Yeah a clunk is normal with road cleats, they have a big contact area at the back which creates a good solid sound as you engage, a lot like a ski binding.

 

[I like Skol]

Yeah a clunk walking like a cross between Bambi on ice and a constipated duck while noisily clack, clack, clacking with each step is normal with road cleats,

Ftfy

 

[bikingdad90]

There is a general rule that cleat as far back as it can go is not a bad thing in contrast to a cleat as far forward as it can go which is sometimes a bad thing because it puts pressure on your toe bones, tendons and muscles.

If you get hot spots or numb feet a common problem is pronation and your cleat(s) need a shim to correct. As cycling is a front foot sport not a whole foot sport then wedges in the shoe for this don’t work that well.

 

[icowden]

Don't worry about the noise.
Your pedals should have a means of changing tension. What pedals are they?
Cleat position is largely a matter of personal preference and comfort. It may take a few rides for you to be happy with the position.
Lastly....don't worry so much. You will be fine.

I think they are shimano reversible SPDs. They are definitely reversible SPDs, it' the Shimano bit I'm not entirely sure of.
By inclination I tend to be a "toe heavy" cyclist, although I'm finding these quite comfy in the centre position, so it might be they are helping improve my foot position.

I wasn't worrying too much, just wanted to check that I had them set up right. I know there is a tension adjustment - just didn;t know whether I needed to adjust it. From the sound of it, I don't!

 

[icowden]

If you get hot spots or numb feet a common problem is pronation and your cleat(s) need a shim to correct. As cycling is a front foot sport not a whole foot sport then wedges in the shoe for this don’t work that well.

I don't get numb feet that often but I do get a sore right knee which I think is due to a tendency to pronate at the ankle. I'm hoping going SPD will start to prevent that a bit.

 

[I like Skol]

but I do get a sore right knee which I think is due to a tendency to pronate at the ankle. I'm hoping going SPD will start to prevent that a bit.

Shimano SPD cleats/pedals have a reasonable amount of float so as long as angle is not stupidly wrong then you should be fine. Try looking at your foot position when riding with normal flat pedals and then through trial and error match this on your SPD set up. You can check the position by clicking in the cleated shoe when you are not wearing it and then moving it side to side within the limits of the float. Ideally you want your natural position to be at the midpoint of the float limits. This is how I set mine up.