I recently purchased a fantastic pair of shoes that fits amazingly and is very good looking (sidi shot).
The only drawback is that the drilling setup doesn’t allow for more movement on the cleats. I like to ride with the cleats closer to the center of the shoes, and i can only go so far.
Granted, this is not a big deal but a 99% fit is not a 100% fit (duh).
I was wondering if it’s ok/safe to file the cleats’ slots. It’d be a 2-3mm, i’d measure carefully so as not to take too much material. Has anyone ever done this? Were the results satisfactory?
I’ve heard of people drilling shoes, e.g. for 4 bolt cleats etc, so I’m sure it’d be fine. Rather than filing a longer slot, I’d just drill the holes where I wanted the clear fixings to go.
If you can, and for possible re-sale purposes, I’d consider whether you can customise the cleats rather than the shoes. Obviously you might have to do this a couple times a year depending on your cleats’ longevity.
It should be fine, but I’d be careful about venturing too close to the edges of the cleat. You really don’t want one to break on you 50 miles from home. An adapter could be the answer if it doesn’t affect stack to an unacceptable level.
Yes, THAT’s the one. Thank you so much, already purchased them. Credit to you and another dude from the Paceline forum who sent me the correct way. Spread the news as this might be of use to Triathletes and TT guys.
Just curious, what brand cleats/pedal do you use? If it is Speedplay, they manufacture a fore/aft extender plate. It is basically an aluminum version of their normal black plastic three-bolt mounting plate, with extra fore/aft on the three mounting screws, and a second, more aft position for mounting the 4-bolt cleats further back.
I figured you were running 3-bolt cleats by reading your post, but thought it was worth mentioning in case you didn’t know about the extender plates. It is nice to see that there are now realistic solutions for 3-bolt cleats. I am an individual who likely “needs” some of the adaptability of Speedplay pedals/cleats (wider stance, more fore/aft, etc.), but simply prefers the 3-bolt designs.
