Speedplay Cleat issue

[Eekz]

After cleaning my shoes today I found out that a small bitt of my speedplay cleats had chipped off. It's the litte yellow bit that holds the metal ring (see picture). Does anyone know iff this is a problem? Do I need to change my cleats? If i don't will it be to hazardous to ride? Or just no problems at all?

I hope the picture is clear enough.

Thanx!

[ritcheykestrel]

I hate to say it but it's a very common problem to have Speedplay cleat bodies chip away. I have seen it many times in house. Is it dangerous, not really. The snap ring is held in by the metal outer plate primarily. The plastic that chipped keeps the snap ring in place and if it chips away like that, the main issue you have is it hitting the pedal body. It will gouge the body up a bit. On the rare occasion it gets worse, it can affect the engagement. What I have done in the past is cut it down with a Dremel slowly and little by little to make sure I don't remove to much of the snap ring.

Of course, it is easier to just run down to the LBS and get a new set. But my fixes are based on having to do this stuff on the road for athletes and we don't always have extras of things on hand or we run out of them.

Hope it helps.

[record]

I have that small piece chipped off in both cleats (which I am about to replace) right now, since that I've made few thousands km on them with no problems at all. So don't worry.

[ajh]

I have had this on all of my Zero cleats within the first month of use since I moved from the X series years ago.

Not a huge deal.

[tmanley]

A bit off topic, but I had a teammate have his Speedplay cleats completely break down about 10 minutes before his TT start at a local stage race. Luckily I had my extra pair of shoes and we quickly got him back up and running. Since that experience I've gone through both sets of my cleats looking for any potential pitfalls.

[Rick]

I just checked my zero cleats and I DON'T have the problem shown.
It seems like the nub in question is actually recessed below the surface of the cleat that would come in contact with the ground during walking.
I use the "cafe covers" if I am going to walk on anything that isn't flat ; maybe that has helped.

But I also note that the circlip has an inward curve there that would shear off that nub if the inward rotation adjustment screw (the front one in your photo) does not stop it prior to touching the nub. I have my inward rotation limited a little so the circlip does not even come close to the nub.
Speedplay recommends that you not back the adjustment screws out more than flush with the plastic, which is the way I have my outer rotation screw adjusted (maximum float in that direction) That allows the circlip to just barely touch the other nub at the rear of the cleat. My rear nub is not sheared off either, but the rear nub is a little wider and stronger.

Next time, when setting up the cleats, try making sure the front (inward rotation) adjustment screw is inserted at least far enough so that the bump in the circlip just barely touches the nub in question, but does not put any shearing force on it.

On the other hand, maybe that nub doesn't make any difference either way, as others have reported. In which case, just don't worry about it. I can't help but feel squeemish about plastic parts shearing off though.

[SteveV]

I had this happen to my left cleat after only 200 miles. I called Speedplay and spoke to Steve Tyler in tech support and he assured me that the yellow tab in question is just part of the mold required during the fabrication process and has no affect on performance or longevity. He was nice enough to send me a new yellow housing since mine were so new, but since then, the right one snapped also. I never walk in them without the coffee shop covers and always lube them as described. So it appears as though Speedplay is aware of it and it is not a problem. No need to run out and buy new cleats over it.
In fact, check out this photo from the Competitive Cyclist web review of the cleats: http://www.competitivecyclist.com/image ... dplay1.jpg
It is clearly missing on theirs also.

[Liggero]

Same issue here. Happened on my left cleat. They have barely 2000Km in 14 months of use. I just contacted speedplay to get a new yellow part. They will send me a new one or they will loose me as a client... Up to them.

[Ozrider]

Get yourself some Keep On Kovers, they save your Speedplay cleats from wear and tear. The new Z version lasts a lot longer. They have kept my cleats looking nearly new after a season of crit racing.

[dvincere]

You're taking one of the heaviest cleats on the market, if not the heaviest, as well as bulkiest and hardest to take two steps in and adding more bulk and weight to it with a cover? I stopped using Speedplay because of the durability issues and the amount of maintenance they required. Outside of a few bio-mechanical oddities I can't find one convincing reason to use Speedplay. More on topic, I have had my cleats break in the same place.I've always had the C-ring snap too. The best solution I found to these reoccurring issues was to use a different pedal system.

[Johnny Rad]

Same issue here! Been riding Zero's for +5 years now and that little nub on one or both cleats (I can't remember) never lasts a full season. I also called Speedplay recently to inquire and was given the same info as SteveV (see above) with a slight twist - it's extremely rare, probably brought on by my technique of pedal entry and it's a weak element in their design. I smell cover-up. However, I agree with many of the posters here and Speedplay's position that it's not likely to affect the operation of the cleat / pedal. That said, after reading this thread, I don't believe it's anywhere as "rare" as they made it out to sound but I'm not losing sleep over since it still works fine (I think).

[r_mutt]

That just happened to me, and it made my cleat feel like it was loose on my shoe. It took me while to figure out what was moving. That little nub kept the c clip from moving up and down in the cleat. Big problem!

[Liggero]

I think the problem here is that there are not many alternatives in road pedals with doble size entry. I appreciate flotability adjusment, but it's not the reason why I moved from look to zero's. I feel like wanting to use my mtb pedals and sidi mtb shoes on a road bike. And i can even walk out of the bike!!!! amazing!! I think for training and lot of city routes and traffic lights I have to deal with, gonna switch pedals. And if the zero cleat is not worthy... bye bye!!

[Liggero]

Get yourself some Keep On Kovers, they save your Speedplay cleats from wear and tear. The new Z version lasts a lot longer. They have kept my cleats looking nearly new after a season of crit racing.

I also use them since the begining. They should come by default with the zero pedals.

[nealjp]

Yeah, I have the same issue every year with that yellow part wearing out. The cleat then moves A LOT on the pedal.
Is there a solution or aftermarket solution that's longer lasting?