4 Hole Cleat mounting shoes

Ryaner

Since I've wanted some Speedplays for a while, and my cleats need replacing, I've decided simply to buy some new pedals since they come with cleats

Anyway I'd like to get a pair of shoes that have 4 holes for mounting the cleats. Some of the older Sidi shoes used to have these however I can't find any currently on sale that have it. Does anyone know of any that do have them?

Thanks in advance

blorg

Most people use Speedplays with three-hole shoes, they come with an adaptor that screws into the shoe and the cleat. Apologies if you know this already.

Hungrycol

Blorg, you're fast becomming the Sheldon Brown of this forum.

Ryaner

Yup I know of the adaptor. Since I already use shims, I'd like to reduce the stack high, make them a little easier to get around in.

http://www.cyclingforums.com/attachments/cycling-equipment/4008d1122434178-speedplay-zero-pedals-sidi-genius-5-shoes-imgp1546.jpg
Is a picture of an older Sidi shoe which had a removeable section to get the 4 hole mounts.

lukester

Why Speedplays? Just wondering.

blorg

There are a lot of advantages to them: low weight, double sided, best cornering clearance, lots of float.

Main disadvantages would be: cleat not too walkable and wears, cleat needs maintenance and careful installation, expensive relative to other systems.

I considered them myself but ended up going Time mainly because they had a cheap entry level pedal and I thought I would probably end up buying more than one pair (more than one bike.)

lukester

Considered them myself, but the cons outweighed the pros for me.

blorg

Which cons in particular?

lukester

Maintenance and cost. Walkability was a slight factor, although you can get covers for the cleats.

This article sealed it for me.

blorg

Yes I read that and it was a factor in my going for Time. However I have had pedal strike cornering on them and also have knocked the front bit off the right pedal when my foot slipped clipping in. Tiny did the exact same and a search on the internet reveals it is a common problem. They are also decidedly not the easiest to get into. I am not sure that article is entirely balanced to be honest. Still like the pedals but would not be beyond trying Speedplay.

lukester

blorg wrote: »

knocked the front bit off the right pedal when my foot slipped clipping in....They are also decidedly not the easiest to get into.

Pedal or cleat? A bit of my cleat snapped off, but Wiggle replaced the cleats.

Have never had pedal strike, but I ain't been racing in them. Also find them no problem at all to clip in to, compared to SPDs, only other ones I've tried.

Dunno, not convinced by Speedplays myself, I'd probably opt for a different system altogether if I was changing, but so far happy with the Times.

blorg

Pedal, like this. Seems to be common enough. CRC said send them back and they will inspect them.

lukester

Ouch, that's a concern alright.

Hope they sort these issues out, because I like them a lot.

Ryaner

lukester wrote: »

Maintenance and cost. Walkability was a slight factor, although you can get covers for the cleats.

This article sealed it for me.

That article is incredibly biased. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the guy was in some way sponsored by Time.

The Speedplay zeros have very little maintenance anymore. The older models, the X series I think had a spring bar which did get clogged with dirt and cause problems. The new one uses a rotating spring which can't get clogged / damaged.
The metal on the cleat also means that setup wears much longer than the plastic cleats. Speedplay have a recommendation to replace the cleats every 5000km as when the metal plate wears too much, the screws can require drilling to remove.

The walking problem is one of the reasons I'd like to get a 4 hole shoe. The older Sidi Genius shoes had a removeable section which had the 4 hold mounting below it. Meant the cleat dropped right into the shoe. Your foot was then level while walking in them.