Breaking Speedplay cleat springs

[rgree...@my-dejanews.com]

Is anyone having problems breaking the cleat springs on Speedplay
cleats?

I go through these things fairly quickly. About 300-500 miles I
start seeing grooves developing in the cleat plates and at 750-1000
miles I'll snap the wire spring. At $35-38 dollars to replace the
cleat I'd like to come up with a fix for the problem. I have
bought the spring kit that Speedplay offers for a few bucks but replacing the
spring and not replacing the plate causes a failure at a faster rate (300-500
mi). I have contacted Speedplay and was told I have the mounting screws
that attach the cleat to the shoes (Carnac LeMond) too tight. Believe
me I don't. I tighten the screws to the minimum, in fact to the point
where the cleats loosen and need to be checked about once a week.

I really like this pedal system a lot but I have gone back to using my
old LOOK pedals but miss the rotation and ease of entry of the Speedplay
pedals.

Any ideas??

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[IKEGAL]

I don't have an answer but I just broke my first spring last night. I had 900
miles on the cleat.

Mike Gallagher

[JV]

I have over 3000 miles on my slim-line cleats and I have not had any
problems, other than they need to be replaced because they are wearing
down. I weigh around 165, 170 lbs and I am a strong sprinter; I have
used the same cleats for a season of track racing and now I just use
them on my road bike.
You may want to investigate how the cleat attaches to the shoe (since it
appears this problem is not isolated), and make sure the cleat is not
stressed from tightening to the shoe (i.e. making sure the curve on the
sole of the shoe is not bending the cleat when tightened).
All the advice I can give, sorry you are paying the price for IMHO a
great pair of pedals.
-JV

[Brian Nystrom]

rgree...@my-dejanews.com wrote:

> Is anyone having problems breaking the cleat springs on Speedplay
> cleats?
>
> I go through these things fairly quickly. About 300-500 miles I
> start seeing grooves developing in the cleat plates and at 750-1000
> miles I'll snap the wire spring. At $35-38 dollars to replace the
> cleat I'd like to come up with a fix for the problem. I have
> bought the spring kit that Speedplay offers for a few bucks but replacing the
> spring and not replacing the plate causes a failure at a faster rate (300-500
> mi). I have contacted Speedplay and was told I have the mounting screws
> that attach the cleat to the shoes (Carnac LeMond) too tight. Believe
> me I don't. I tighten the screws to the minimum, in fact to the point
> where the cleats loosen and need to be checked about once a week.
>
> I really like this pedal system a lot but I have gone back to using my
> old LOOK pedals but miss the rotation and ease of entry of the Speedplay
> pedals.
>

> Any ideas??

I broke my first cleat spring at 4600 miles. I replaced it, and the replacement
lasted less than 1000 miles, probably due to wear in the rest of the cleat, as
you described. I replaced the cleats and have gone 3000+ miles without a problem.
These are mounted on Sidi shoes, so perhaps there is a problem with the fit on
Carnacs.

I'd take the cleats off and place them against the sole without the screws in
them. If there are any gaps between the cleat and the shoe sole, the cleat will
flex when it's tightened, which causes wear and fatigue. Shim the cleats, if
necessary, to prevent flex when mounting, then screw them down tight so they
cannot move. Hopefully, this will help. Speedplays are great pedals. It would be
a shame to have to give them up due to cleat breakage problems.

Oh yeah, keep the cleats lubed with a dry lube, to reduce wear.
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Regards

Brian

[David Stark]

I had a prblem with mounting the pedals, the smooth bottom of the shoe
caused the mounting plate to slip and loosen the screws. This required me to
remove the cleats to tighten the mounting plates. This removed the locktite
coating from the cleat mounting screws and would cause them to loosen and
fall out on longer rides.

I finally found a solution in an old inner tube. I cut open the tube and
cover the bottom of the mounting plate. Then I drive the screws throught the
rubber into the shoe and trim the excess. This stops the mounting plate from
slipping and also stops mounting plate deformation.