SPD, Emergency!

souter

Thankfully not yet, but I'm sure my pedals are slowly getting harder to disconnect, often need a 2nd twist to get out of them.
They're fairly bargain basement (can't remember model but they were one of the cheaper one at chainreaction or somesuch).
Done 3+ years commuting with them, just wondering if they're likely to be nearing the end of their natural life.

Inquitus

souter wrote: »

Thankfully not yet, but I'm sure my pedals are slowly getting harder to disconnect, often need a 2nd twist to get out of them.
They're fairly bargain basement (can't remember model but they were one of the cheaper one at chainreaction or somesuch).
Done 3+ years commuting with them, just wondering if they're likely to be nearing the end of their natural life.

Tried some WD40 or the like?

Khannie

Could be the cleats too? (I'm only really familiar with keo's, but with keo's the cleats are gonna go long before the pedal clip section does). Pedals do wear out over time, but they're good for a huge number of connect / disconnects.

triggermortis

sounds like they need a clean up and lube..if they were worn I'd have thought that they would disconnect easier or when unwanted

C3PO

triggermortis wrote: »

sounds like they need a clean up and lube..if they were worn I'd have thought that they would disconnect easier or when unwanted

That's my experience too!

Usually if SPDs are becoming more difficult to unclip it's because the cleats are becoming loose in your shoes and are rotating when you are twisting your foot! However you should regularly lube the mechanism of the pedals.

souter

Damn it, I haven't bought anything bike related for years now - new cleats don't really provide much of a challenge in consumer research.
Will have a poke and lube at the pedals later.

**Timbuk2**

Make sure the cleats aren't becoming loose in your shoes. It happened to someone I know and eventually they twisted their foot out but left the cleat in the pedal. It is very very difficult to get the cleat out of the pedal when it's not connected to a shoe!

check_six

Removing SPD cleats from a pedal once they have come adrift from your shoes requires you to loosen the spring in the pedal and use a skinny screwdriver to pop out the cleat from the top. It's not too difficult if you remember to loosen the spring. I couldn't say if this is as straighforward with other pedal types though.

Lubricating the springs and tightening the cleat screws seem to be the way to go here. Also perhaps check the shoes. I had an old pair of shoes and the sole started to crack and disintegrate eventually. No amount of cleat screw tightening is going to help if the bottom of your shoe comes apart!