SPD Cleat scrapes rough ground

**Timbuk2**

Hi - long story short: have recently converted to clipless, love it etc.

Although I cycle on the road as opposed to Mountain Biking, I use Shimano SPDs (yes I know, the shame) as I like to be able to walk as I don't need a spare pair of shoes at times. I have the Specialized Comp MTB Shoes which have recessed soles.

The recessed soles work fine on smooth ground (anywhere indoors). However, when outside and on slightly rougher ground (e.g tarmac) when I walk the front of the cleat sometimes scrapes off the ground.

Is there any way of preventing this as I'm worried it will lead to my cleats wearing out faster than they should? Are my cleats too far forward (it is only the front tip of them that are scraping off the ground)?

DBCyc

Yep...I know what you mean. If you stand on a stone or loose gravel, you hear an unpleasant scraping noise.

I think that it is something that you just have to live with while walking in cycling shoes. I would hope that metal cleats would have a decent resistance to wear from stones etc.

Anyway, cleats are fairly cheap to replace if worn out.

TinyExplosions

It doesn't really shorten the life of the cleats all that much tbh

Lumen

I have the same shoes and cleats, with no scraping (unless I'm just being inattentive).

I initially had my cleats centred but have now pushed them all the way back (towards heel).

Ghost Rider

Having used both road bike -style and mountain bike -style cleats, I can tell you that the amount of scraping going on in your life is minimal. You should try walking in Look Keo cleats. It's a bit like when you have to go to the jax with your ice skates still on: do-able but not comfortable and you feel like a bit of a plank.

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Hi - long story short: have recently converted to clipless, love it etc.

Although I cycle on the road as opposed to Mountain Biking, I use Shimano SPDs (yes I know, the shame) as I like to be able to walk as I don't need a spare pair of shoes at times. I have the Specialized Comp MTB Shoes which have recessed soles.

The recessed soles work fine on smooth ground (anywhere indoors). However, when outside and on slightly rougher ground (e.g tarmac) when I walk the front of the cleat sometimes scrapes off the ground.

Is there any way of preventing this as I'm worried it will lead to my cleats wearing out faster than they should? Are my cleats too far forward (it is only the front tip of them that are scraping off the ground)?

niceonetom

I took a dremel to the sole of a pair of shimano shoes I own to eliminate the Fred Astaire effect. I just drew around the cleat with a permanent marker, removed it, and milled out the recess by about 1mm. Now my career as a cat burglar can resume.

**Timbuk2**

Thank you for all the replies! The scraping is not major it just makes me grimace every time I hear the 'crunching' noise as the front tip of the cleat scrapes the ground. I'm glad to hear that it won't wear the cleat much

As a matter of interest (and to save me starting a new topic or anything), how do you know if a cleat is worn? My friend told me that it can click out easier or even unwillingly when its worn. (I'm aware though that my cleats are too new to wear anytime soon - I'm just curious)

Thanks

thebouldwhacker

or you could embrace it...:D