Hi my first post on here after reading, listening to podcasts and of course training for a while
Training is unfortunately taking a back seat due to a niggling knee that I am keen to get sorted.
There is a lot of discussion around degrees of float but not around how freely the shoe moves through the float. I use 2 bolt SPDs on all of my bikes and there is an annoying amount of variation in how much resistance there is
Some click in and feel like they rattle around, some are way too tight and and don’t move through there float easily and some are perfect (which for me is float without any real resistance but no sloppiness)
Even brand new Shimano shoes cleats and pedals felt too stiff (I think persevering with this is the cause of my knee pain) - I ended up sanding some of the rubber away to get a nice feeling but these are starting to get sloppy after a year of service.
I am wondering how this compares to other pedal systems and how tolerant other cyclists are to friction between the shoe and pedal.
He is talking specifically about 2-bolt SPD cleats & pedals, which are all-metal cleats & pedal retention plates. So there is no connection or concern related to plastic in this case. At most, some of these pedals have composite (plastic) bodies but the cleat supports are metal plates screwed to that body, but that is not a wear issue.
These metal pedals and cleats do wear over time depending on use and conditions, but they are far more durable than a typical 3-bolt road pedal & cleat setup.
I thought that first then he said he sanded down the rubber and got confused, sorry. I guess he meant the sole in their case, that’ll wear down and probably faster if they’ve sanded.
With 2 bolts cleats I don’t think I’ve ever worn the cleat out but the shoe or the pedal body its self first.
There is going to be some tolerance variances in the manufacturing process. If you are having physical issues it might be time for a change in platforms to see if that solves your knee pain.
Let me add that over time the foot that you unclip with first, will usually be the one that loosens up first.
Yep, start here. I have found different tension in different pedals though (shoes that are fine on one bike nearly pull out on another, despite pedals being set the same). I like a loose clip in so mostly back the bolt right off them go max 4 clicks, but had to set one model of pedal (can’t remember which but can look if needed) a lot tighter to avoid accidentally unclipping when putting power down.