Putting cleats on new shoes tips?

[Anonymous1502]

Does anyone have any good tips? I have watched a few youtube videos on how to do it but I don't feel confident that I can get the job done properly.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Grease the bolt threads before you attach cleats. The cleats will wear out long before the shoes and if you didn’t grease the bolts, they will be seized.

 

[roadrash]

loads of different videos on youtube , no one can tell you exactly how to do it as everyone has them in slightly different positions regarding fore and aft and sideways , my feet naturally fall at ten to two so not many folk would have theirs set like mine etc, bit of trial and error , you will get there

 

[slowmotion]

Sit on top of a kitchen worktop and dangle your feet over the edge. You will probably find, when you relax, that each foot does not point straight ahead, but may point out or in. Those feet positions are the ones that your feet should assume when you are clipped in on the bike, and you should adjust the cleat angle so that they do so. If you make your feet point directly straight ahead when clipped in, you may put some unwanted strain on your knees.

As for the front-back position of the cleat on your shoe, try and get the ball of your foot directly over the centre of the cleat.

 

[itboffin]

It’s one of the jobs I hate most and never get it right for ages, I recently bought an ergon cleat tool which gets me 99% of the way then it’s a few short rides and micro adjustments

 

[fossyant]

Very hit and miss at first. Take an allen key if going out to test ride.

 

[slowmotion]

Tighten up the screws after the first few rides. You really don't want the cleat to work loose and swivel on the shoe.

 

[rockyroller]

you can do it! ;-)

what shoes/pedals/cleats do you have?

for me, I use MTB shoes & 2 bolt SPD multi-release cleats, which have a lot of float, so the angle is irrelevant. for me the only adjustment was the position of the cleat on the shoe (up down left right)

I move the cleats down to the lowest position, furthest away from the shoe toes

minor adjustments can be made for better fit or "hot spots". I wound up changing shoes tho, because messing with shims & other adjustments never relieved the hotspots

1st pair of shoes

current shoes, looks like I made an adjustment left/right

these are the pedals I use

+1 for trial & error

 

[Anonymous1502]

It’s one of the jobs I hate most and never get it right for ages, I recently bought an ergon cleat tool which gets me 99% of the way then it’s a few short rides and micro adjustments

How does the tool work?

 

[Anonymous1502]

you can do it! ;-)

what shoes/pedals/cleats do you have?

for me, I use MTB shoes & 2 bolt SPD multi-release cleats, which have a lot of float, so the angle is irrelevant. for me the only adjustment was the position of the cleat on the shoe (up down left right)

I move the cleats down to the lowest position, furthest away from the shoe toes

minor adjustments can be made for better fit or "hot spots". I wound up changing shoes tho, because messing with shims & other adjustments never relieved the hotspots

1st pair of shoes
View attachment 568623

current shoes, looks like I made an adjustment left/right
View attachment 568629

these are the pedals I use
View attachment 568627

+1 for trial & error
View attachment 568626

SPD-SL pedals. How do you know if you got it right? What's the difference in feel with regards to pedalling?

 

[vickster]

SPD-SL pedals. How do you know if you got it right? What's the difference in feel with regards to pedalling?

If it’s wrong, it’s likely that your knees, ankles and /or feet will hurt. You may also need to adjust your saddle height to compensate

 

[rockyroller]

SPD-SL pedals. How do you know if you got it right? What's the difference in feel with regards to pedalling?

well as you can see by my photos, I don't use those. I can only speak for myself, in that, while pedaling, I can feel that my foot wants to be in a different position. it's subtle & I'm not sure one can do justice to the process in writing. do you have a shop nearby so that you can talk to someone about it, in person? is that even allowed? my bike shop is open, we both wear masks & we can carry on as before ...

 

[Anonymous1502]

well as you can see by my photos, I don't use those. I can only speak for myself, in that, while pedaling, I can feel that my foot wants to be in a different position. it's subtle & I'm not sure one can do justice to the process in writing. do you have a shop nearby so that you can talk to someone about it, in person? is that even allowed? my bike shop is open, we both wear masks & we can carry on as before ...

My local bike shop (evans) is open you can go in wearing a mask but I didn't buy them from there as all the shoes in my size were sold out so not sure if they would do it for me. I looked at the services offered by the shop and attaching cleats to shoes doesn't seem to be a service they offer?

 

[vickster]

My local bike shop (evans) is open you can go in wearing a mask but I didn't buy them from there as all the shoes in my size were sold out so not sure if they would do it for me. I looked at the services offered by the shop and attaching cleats to shoes doesn't seem to be a service they offer?

If they are offering bike fits, they'll do cleat set up (just you may have to pay, would have probably been free if you'd bought the shoes and pedals from them)

 

[Anonymous1502]

If they are offering bike fits, they'll do cleat set up (just you may have to pay, would have probably been free if you'd bought the shoes and pedals from them)

They only had ultegra pedals for sale so couldn't buy neither item from them anyway. I will go by the shop once my shoes arrive and ask.