Hi all,

Got a problem, wondering if any of you would care to help a fellow ww out. I have a pair of DMT radial's in the speedplay specific sole, but I'm in the process of converting all my bikes to shimano pedals and I'd like to continue using the shoes. My question is two part: One, does an adapter already exist that allows usage of shimano pedals with speedplay specific shoes? And two, if I took a standard speedplay adapter plate, turned it 180 degrees around, could I attach the shimano cleats to the shoes that way? Would it be safe? Would I need to make a filler in between the curved shimano cleat and the flat speedplay one?

Also, since this is weightweenies, do you think there is a way to do it that would have less stack height and less weight? The only thing I can think of is drilling holes in the shimano cleat to allow it to attach directly to the narrower speedplay spacing, but without washers, the load may not be distributed over a wide enough area...

Anyways, Thanks in advance for your help,

Stefano

The Shimano cleat can't accommodate any more holes or drillings. The flimsy plastic is fairly specific in its design with minimal redundant material to tune away.

Given your SP specific shoes, I see no reason to adapt them to SPD-SL much less change at all.

If you're looking to change though, consider SPD-SL specific shoes. Would be the most WW specific option without having anything to do with adapters. An entry level Shimano shoe is fairly cost effective, but to get the most out of the design you'll need the high-end pedal and shoes.

Darn about the drilling I race, so I guess taking chances with your pedals at 35 mph is probably not a good idea...

Is there really no adapter for reverse compatibility? I figured that in this day in age, with a bajillion different standards, someone had come up with one already...

As far as getting a shoe with a shimano specific sole, I guess it will help you guys more to know my situation. I have four sets of shoes, three of which have spd-sl cleats, the fourth has speedplay. I decided to try them out but was not impressed, so am converting two bikes back to shimano. I like the shoes a lot though, just not the pedal system, and would like to continue using them with my new pedals. Hope you guys can help!

Stefano

If you consider that something on the order of 98% of the cycling shoes on the market now have the Look Delta three bolt pattern, there's no return for any company to make a Speedplay to Delta drilling adaptor. They simply wouldn't sell enough of them to warrant making them.

Time used to make one that did what your looking to do. Won't be easy to find I'm thinking.

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Check out the stack on that. Add on top of that a Shimano cleat.

The worst thing about SP is the adapter to turn a 3-bolt pattern into a 4-bolt one. You don't want to be doing that in reverse especially given the choice of shoes to choose from.

Alright, good job ipaul! That's exactly what I'm looking for. Problem now is finding one, I did a pretty thorough ebay/ google search,found one seller who looked rather shady. Anyone have any other links for this?

If I cant end up finding one, do you guys think that the reversed speedplay adapter will work? or will it not be strong enough?

Stefano

A reversed Speedplay adapter will not work. Where the cleats mount, Look shoes have a rounded, convex sole: (]; whereas Speedplay shoes have a flat sole. The Speedplay adapter has a concave side to match the Look sole and a flat side for the Speedplay cleat, like so: )]. The curvature is simply the wrong way to use in your circumstances.

Hi dwb,

I pulled the grey plastic pieces off of the adapter, so its just a flat piece of plastic, and I plan on making something, whether it be out of wood or plastic, to go under the curved shimano cleat to support it. I think I'm going to experiment this weekend, if it works I'll post pics/ method. Otherwise, keep coming up with ideas, thanks all!

Stefano

Okay, I did not realize that you were filling in the gap. Your approach makes sense. I did not intend to seem negative. Good luck!

No offense taken! Constructive criticism is always appreciated.

Anyways, found a couple links that appear to be selling the time adapters shown above if anyone's interested. Have any of you bought from these shops, are they reputable?

http://www.cambriabike.com/Time-Inserts ... -Black.asp

http://www.trivillage.com/timsho0300.ht ... 6_c36aaaff

Thanks for the help all,

Stefano

I've purchased from CambriaBike in the past (both online and in their actual location), they are trustworthy.

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Exp001

Stefano,

Look closely before purchase. Think those plates are different then what I remember seeing. The ones your listing go the wrong way. There for three hole to four hole.

Paul

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I´ve done a titanium plate for using shimano road shoes with speedplay cleats.
Worked well as far I know.

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Experimental Prototype