What kind of cleats are those?
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They are, indeed, spd-sl cleats. They are one-off cleats that are ultra-fixed and made for Lance only. Apparently the red tipped fixed cleats still have about one degree of float. That was too much for Armstrong and he had shimano make him special ones. They were made in that white/clear/purple color so there would be no confusion for the mechanics.
This is true. I wrote shimano and asked when those cleats would be available to the public and was told I was out of luck. It is only for lance. I too like a very fixed rigid feel and the red cleats that I use get sloppy after some use. However I can't see exactly where they modified lance's cleat to make it more fixed. Hmmmm probably deeper groove or slightly wider bulge in the front or something. I don't see why they can't just replace the red fixed cleat with lance's version since people who buy the red cleat want it "fixed" and not with one degree of float.
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HXTi wrote:This is true. I wrote shimano and asked when those cleats would be available to the public and was told I was out of luck. It is only for lance. I too like a very fixed rigid feel and the red cleats that I use get sloppy after some use. However I can't see exactly where they modified lance's cleat to make it more fixed. Hmmmm probably deeper groove or slightly wider bulge in the front or something. I don't see why they can't just replace the red fixed cleat with lance's version since people who buy the red cleat want it "fixed" and not with one degree of float.
Totally agree!!
It could be with this clete design that if you have no flote it is either in or out. That is why they won't make them for public consumption and what happened to Lance. Move a smidge and you are out.
For certain parts stiffer is more important than lighter.
That could be true. However lance has no problems with his cleats except during those two TT's in which case he is wearing shoe covers which go over the cleats and may prevent complete engagement with the pedal. I am assuming lance is using this cleat all the time and not just for TT's. I would think the zero's set with zero float would behave similarly and since mart nothstein used them with no problems on the track I would think fully fixed should be fine. You would have to maybe up the tension though on the release mech.
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