Poor Man's Ergon (DIY Cleat Alignment Tool)

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efeballi
Posts: 492
Joined: Tue Dec 17, 2013 2:50 pm
Location: Istanbul, hopefully not for long

by efeballi

Hello fellow weenies,
As someone who had a lot of fit issues lately, I was interested in the Ergon Cleat Alignment Tool. But I couldn't bring myself to pay €30 for it so I decided to make my own.

Now, on to the build.

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The ruler contacts the cleats at 2 points each, which means they are on the same line. The outer contact points, which are the release ramps, are at 0 and 18.5 cm. The centerline is at approx. 9.25 cm. Good alignment.
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Made a grid with 1x1 cm squares. This part is also important.

It's quite straightforward, but I can share detailed instructions if needed.
Cheers.





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Last edited by efeballi on Fri Sep 19, 2014 9:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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2015 Giant Propel Advanced
2015 Cannondale Supersix Evo
2013 KTM Strada mod. (totaled)
2011 Pinarello Dogma 60.1(loaner)
2011 Scott SUB 45(sold)

Politecnico di Milano Ingegneria Meccanica

by Weenie


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milkbaby
Posts: 182
Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2011 9:04 am

by milkbaby

Wow! That is really a great idea... I will have to try that next time I put new cleats on my shoes.

TheKaiser
Posts: 653
Joined: Thu Sep 05, 2013 3:29 pm

by TheKaiser

I love the DIY spirit, and am all for more precise cleat alignment, however I have one quick question. I have never understood the advantage of the Ergon setup vs. simply outlining your cleats in marker or ink pen on the soles of your shoes and matching up the new ones, can you explain?

I guess if you don't want to mark up your shoe soles, that would be one plus. Also, if you have a tall stack of shims or wedges for foot correction then that can make it tough to get the outline correct, because of parallax errors, so I may have just answered my own question.

efeballi
Posts: 492
Joined: Tue Dec 17, 2013 2:50 pm
Location: Istanbul, hopefully not for long

by efeballi

IMO its best use is for setting up the cleats for the first time, or reviewing/checking your current setup. The sole of my shoe now looks like the surface of the Moon so no, that wasn't a concern for me.

I don't use any shims under my cleats but still, another useful point.

Another use of this DIY thing is that you can build it for any oddball cleat you may happen to be using.


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SHUT UP LEGS
2015 Giant Propel Advanced
2015 Cannondale Supersix Evo
2013 KTM Strada mod. (totaled)
2011 Pinarello Dogma 60.1(loaner)
2011 Scott SUB 45(sold)

Politecnico di Milano Ingegneria Meccanica

bricky21
Posts: 1403
Joined: Tue Sep 14, 2010 3:28 pm

by bricky21

The tool is also handy for experimenting with different cleat positions since you can measure their exact position.

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Rick
Posts: 2034
Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2009 4:30 pm

by Rick

Nice work, and I am sure it is useful.

But in defense of the real ergon, I would point out that its sturdiness and rigidity are valuable when making small refinements to position.
The cleat-fit hole is fairly snug, and you can put the cleat in, then loosen the cleat bolts just enough that the cleat position will slip when you push on the shoe, but it is still pretty solidly held. Then adjust the cleat angle/position by pushing the shoe in very small increments and retighten the bolts.

Of course there are a lot of ways of recording position and making adjustments, so it is just what you think is most convenient/accurate/repeatable.

efeballi
Posts: 492
Joined: Tue Dec 17, 2013 2:50 pm
Location: Istanbul, hopefully not for long

by efeballi

Surely. First and foremost, the Ergon is made of hard plastic instead of flimsy cardboard and that alone increases precision by a huge margin. Not to mention tighter fitting holes disallowing movement...
This is by no means a device superior to the Ergon unless you are using a cleat system that Ergon does not make kits for.

I've tried the method you mentioned, which generally results in overshooting and messing stuff up for me, but that could be due to my shoe soles being worn and having too much friction against the cleat.


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SHUT UP LEGS
2015 Giant Propel Advanced
2015 Cannondale Supersix Evo
2013 KTM Strada mod. (totaled)
2011 Pinarello Dogma 60.1(loaner)
2011 Scott SUB 45(sold)

Politecnico di Milano Ingegneria Meccanica

davidalone
Posts: 622
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2012 4:27 pm

by davidalone

if you want to improve on this, you can simply repeat in clear acrylic or thin plastic. then varnish to keep the marker from wearing off. it will last a long time.

efeballi
Posts: 492
Joined: Tue Dec 17, 2013 2:50 pm
Location: Istanbul, hopefully not for long

by efeballi

Great idea. Having clear plastic would be great, allowing me to look under the plate and see the shoes' position.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
SHUT UP LEGS
2015 Giant Propel Advanced
2015 Cannondale Supersix Evo
2013 KTM Strada mod. (totaled)
2011 Pinarello Dogma 60.1(loaner)
2011 Scott SUB 45(sold)

Politecnico di Milano Ingegneria Meccanica

DanW
Posts: 1243
Joined: Fri May 02, 2008 5:39 pm
Location: Here, there and everywhere

by DanW

I tired this cardboard method and it was a bit of a disaster. The Ergon tool is really rather good, especially for MTB cleats where it is hard to control the rotational position and it is easy to make quite large changes without anything visibly looking that different without the Ergon.

deek
Posts: 406
Joined: Fri Aug 31, 2012 6:32 pm

by deek

TheKaiser wrote:I love the DIY spirit, and am all for more precise cleat alignment, however I have one quick question. I have never understood the advantage of the Ergon setup vs. simply outlining your cleats in marker or ink pen on the soles of your shoes and matching up the new ones, can you explain?

I guess if you don't want to mark up your shoe soles, that would be one plus. Also, if you have a tall stack of shims or wedges for foot correction then that can make it tough to get the outline correct, because of parallax errors, so I may have just answered my own question.

Using a marker is definitely the best and easiest way to replace used cleats, but when you want to replicate your old position to new shoes it doesn't work.

TheKaiser
Posts: 653
Joined: Thu Sep 05, 2013 3:29 pm

by TheKaiser

deek wrote:Using a marker is definitely the best and easiest way to replace used cleats, but when you want to replicate your old position to new shoes it doesn't work.


Oh, that does make more sense, thanks. Just out of curiosity, what are people using a tool like this using as their reference point/s on shoes. If it is just a new pair of the same or a very similar model then I can see it being a very easy 1:1 swap over, but I have always found it kind of challenging with differing brands, as there is no single point that will be consistent for measurement. Any tricks to share with us in that department?

by Weenie


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bricky21
Posts: 1403
Joined: Tue Sep 14, 2010 3:28 pm

by bricky21

Find your first met head and tape a spoke nipple or even chain connector pin over it, then slide on your shoe feel for the nipple and mark the shoe. I got that idea from Steve Hogg's bike fitting blog.

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