Speedplay Zero Aero walkable cleats mini review

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trex021
Posts: 218
Joined: Tue Nov 19, 2013 5:46 pm

by trex021

I've got about 600 miles on my walkable cleats. They're awesome. They are so much easier to walk in. No problems at all.

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shoemakerpom2010
Posts: 296
Joined: Mon Apr 11, 2011 6:28 pm
Location: Palm Coast, Fl.

by shoemakerpom2010

I have been reading this review since the beginning and it made me go and try these . I have to say they are the best thing to happen to the Speedplay system. The only thing I do outside of the stock install is use blue lock tight on the bolts going into the sole and always use shims to make sure its at the correct angle. I have about 500 miles on them and have had no issues at all and the cleat area stays clean. I would say in my case that I am not a heavy walker and am only 135lbs if that has any affect on it. My only surprise is that I have not seen these in any of the shops around me that carry Speedplay products.....Had to order from Excel Sports.

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Bnystrom
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2010 2:08 am

by Bnystrom

I installed a set at the beginning of August. My initial impression was that they were a bit harder to engage, but otherwise felt fine. I really liked being able to walk around in the house if necessary without worrying about damaging the floors and they felt a lot more secure when walking up and down stairs, out of the garage and around the driveway. I had no issues with the covers coming off and the caps held fine, too, though I didn't find much reason to use them.

It seems that the key to keeping the covers on is to make absolutely sure that the corners of the cleat are properly seated in the pockets in covers. If you don't they won't stay on, but when properly installed, they're pretty bombproof.

After using them for a while, they seemed to be somewhat more prone to clogging with dirt, so I started using the caps when walking in dirt parking lots and such. I also mixed up some oil-free cleat lube that won't attract dirt. I've found that these cleats are much less prone to squeaking than the regular Zero cleats (which I've found to be really annoying).

On a recent trip to Italy, I had to walk in them more than normal, including through sharp gravel parking lots and up a 50 yard cobbled driveway with about a 25% grade, a couple of times. This was a pretty extreme test and it did some damage to the right cover, deforming it enough that one corner is now loose. I tried heating the cover with a hair dryer to see if the material would return to its original shape, but it didn't help. The cover hasn't fallen off and I'm still using it, but I'm going to replace them soon, before any problems develop. The cleats themselves are still working fine.

964Cup
Posts: 195
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 1:31 am

by 964Cup

I have similar problems to others; my left (unclipping foot) cleat cover has deformed and falls off; I also lost one of the yellow plug inserts early on. The cleat itself seems fine, but the covers are far less durable than Keep-Ons (or Chinese knock-off Keep-Ons, come to that) and the unprotected cleat is absurdly fragile. I'll be reverting to standard cleats when these wear out, I expect.

sungod
Posts: 1702
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2010 9:37 pm

by sungod

i used them on the new shoes for about 6 weeks now, the last three weeks they got daily use as i was on a cycling holiday

covers are still there, despite a fair bit of walking, also including a very steep rough path of volcanic picón, to get to a cafe :)

one cover has stretched a bit, i think the damage was done when i pivoted on it, the other is fine

i'd thought about trying heat to shrink it back, but sounds like that won't work

the screw-in plugs were really useless, at home on smooth surface they fell out easily even if i took great care, didn't bother with them after that, the rare times i had to go over loose/fine path i did it on tip-toe to avoid it getting in the cleats

i really liked the convenience of not worrying about putting covers on, but the aero covers are definitely far less durable

steventran
Posts: 176
Joined: Sat Mar 19, 2011 7:31 pm

by steventran

I've had mine for the better part of a year now and I've had no issues. They survived a 15+ day cycling holiday along the Alps with lots breaks, walks, loitering. They also survived a walk home on city streets and sidewalks on the way home from a race. I've never had to think of them.

trailgumby
Posts: 121
Joined: Sun Jun 30, 2013 6:05 am

by trailgumby

For those with issues losing the cleat covers, try gluing on with Shoo Goo.

I haven't lost a cleat cover for several years, despite walking my bike up and down the notorioius Sydney Harbour Bridge North ramp/stairs most days. I don't (yet) use the Aero cleats, but have found this stuff excellent with the Keep On Koverz. I'm about to wear through my second set of Koverz (lost the first ones on said stairs, that I didn't glue on), and will replace them with ... ones I found on the Harbour Bridge North stairs. :lol:

The Zero cleats have a tiny bit of wear from rubbing on the inside of the cover, but it is finish only and does not affect the function at all. With the Keep On Kovers the cleats themselves will last forever. The covers are still removable but will need to be reglued overnite if you remove. Two blobson either end where the lip on the Kover goes over each end of the cleat will suffice.

Hexsense
Posts: 3270
Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2015 12:41 am
Location: USA

by Hexsense

I moved to SPD-SL for a while as i acquired a new shoe that doesn't fit well with speedplay's baseplate and moved back to Speedplay recently. Moving from SPD-SL to Speedplay, i should lower saddle by just around 3mm, however 6mm is required in my case for some reason.
If you are interested in longer version of the sentences above, it's here https://weightweenies.starbike.com/foru ... 1#p1414341

Another thing i notice other than amount of seatpost lowered is, I'm now so used to Shimano SPD-SL blue cleats stability. On Speeaplay, no matter how much or little i open up the heel-in limiter on Speedplay cleats, my foot seems to rest at all the way heel-in position even if it hit crank arms. My feet also doesn't seem to be rock stable. I feel like my pinky toe sits lower than big toe rather than having foot level to the ground. Anyone had experience about this and want to share some solving experience and info?

Stitchking
Posts: 203
Joined: Fri May 25, 2018 7:30 am

by Stitchking

It sounds like you've developed a muscular reliance on the self centering spring of the shimano pedal. After a week or so on speedplay again you'll probably be back to normal. Just takes a while for those glutes to start firing properly.

Shimano(?) Make a wedge that goes under your inner sole in the toe box that is tapered from one side of the shoe to the other. I run those to keep the outside of the shoe elevated vs the inside.



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jaypee
Posts: 19
Joined: Sun Jul 28, 2013 5:25 pm

by jaypee

Hexsense wrote:
Mon Jul 16, 2018 6:26 pm
I moved to SPD-SL for a while as i acquired a new shoe that doesn't fit well with speedplay's baseplate and moved back to Speedplay recently. Moving from SPD-SL to Speedplay, i should lower saddle by just around 3mm, however 6mm is required in my case for some reason.
If you are interested in longer version of the sentences above, it's here https://weightweenies.starbike.com/foru ... 1#p1414341

Another thing i notice other than amount of seatpost lowered is, I'm now so used to Shimano SPD-SL blue cleats stability. On Speeaplay, no matter how much or little i open up the heel-in limiter on Speedplay cleats, my foot seems to rest at all the way heel-in position even if it hit crank arms. My feet also doesn't seem to be rock stable. I feel like my pinky toe sits lower than big toe rather than having foot level to the ground. Anyone had experience about this and want to share some solving experience and info?
Had been a long-time zero user (now spd-sl). Found a combination of wear on both cleats and pedals contributed to an unstable platform with the foot rocking laterally on the pedal. Didn't have a situation where I couldn't dial out the float but noticed that even with new cleats, the wear on the metal part which controls the cleat spring tention on the side of the pedal (I can only describe it as the 'w' bit underneath the bowtie) meant that float adjustment was less effective. If the setup is relatively new I'd suggest looking at the screw adjustment again; if the 'pointy' bit of spring is up against the screw limits it should disengage rather than continue to float. If its getting on a bit then have a closer look at the wear or perhaps a damaged cleat.
FWIW found the upgrade to the walkable cleats great provided you add a little adhesive for peace of mind, and pedal entry on these is as good as it gets, I just got fed up with paying over the odds for cleats that ultimately lead to a wobbly footbed which you won't get with shimano.

BdaGhisallo
Posts: 3261
Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2004 1:38 pm

by BdaGhisallo

jaypee wrote:
Wed Jul 18, 2018 7:01 pm
Hexsense wrote:
Mon Jul 16, 2018 6:26 pm
I moved to SPD-SL for a while as i acquired a new shoe that doesn't fit well with speedplay's baseplate and moved back to Speedplay recently. Moving from SPD-SL to Speedplay, i should lower saddle by just around 3mm, however 6mm is required in my case for some reason.
If you are interested in longer version of the sentences above, it's here https://weightweenies.starbike.com/foru ... 1#p1414341

Another thing i notice other than amount of seatpost lowered is, I'm now so used to Shimano SPD-SL blue cleats stability. On Speeaplay, no matter how much or little i open up the heel-in limiter on Speedplay cleats, my foot seems to rest at all the way heel-in position even if it hit crank arms. My feet also doesn't seem to be rock stable. I feel like my pinky toe sits lower than big toe rather than having foot level to the ground. Anyone had experience about this and want to share some solving experience and info?
Had been a long-time zero user (now spd-sl). Found a combination of wear on both cleats and pedals contributed to an unstable platform with the foot rocking laterally on the pedal. Didn't have a situation where I couldn't dial out the float but noticed that even with new cleats, the wear on the metal part which controls the cleat spring tention on the side of the pedal (I can only describe it as the 'w' bit underneath the bowtie) meant that float adjustment was less effective. If the setup is relatively new I'd suggest looking at the screw adjustment again; if the 'pointy' bit of spring is up against the screw limits it should disengage rather than continue to float. If its getting on a bit then have a closer look at the wear or perhaps a damaged cleat.
FWIW found the upgrade to the walkable cleats great provided you add a little adhesive for peace of mind, and pedal entry on these is as good as it gets, I just got fed up with paying over the odds for cleats that ultimately lead to a wobbly footbed which you won't get with shimano.
I have had a few attempts at using Speedplay. In theory they are a brilliant design with lots of adjustability with the ability to limit the float and adjust its range without having to move the cleat. Unfortunately, in practice they don't measure up. That's a shame. I once had a brand new set of Zeros exhibit a great amount of the rocking you describe - new cleat, new pedals on new shoes.

Shimano SPD-SL are really hard to beat with great bearings and functionality and a bomb proof robustness. It's easy to see why there are so many of them on so many bikes, pro and otherwise.

addictR1
Posts: 1878
Joined: Sun Jun 10, 2012 1:11 am

by addictR1

Wish they have these covers for X series


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

by TheKaiser

Hexsense wrote:
Mon Jul 16, 2018 6:26 pm
On Speeaplay, no matter how much or little i open up the heel-in limiter on Speedplay cleats, my foot seems to rest at all the way heel-in position even if it hit crank arms. My feet also doesn't seem to be rock stable. I feel like my pinky toe sits lower than big toe rather than having foot level to the ground. Anyone had experience about this and want to share some solving experience and info?
Regarding the heel-in limiter, do you mean that adjusting the screw makes no difference in where your foot stops, or do you mean that your foot always floats to the inside stop rather than staying more or less centered in the range of float?

If it is the former, and the screw is having no effect, then it sounds like what another poster above mentioned about the "W" bit, where the cleat spring engages the pedal. If that bit is excessively worn, then the cleat spring can have so much wiggle room that you may be reaching the end of the heel-in screw's range without it actually having an effect. I haven't tried this, but, if you want to avoid buying new pedals, you could pick up some longer grub screws and see if the additional adjustment range compensates sufficiently for the wear. Oh, and before doing all that, I'd clip your shoe into the pedal without your foot into it, and then get under the pedal to give it a good look and see if you can see what's going on, how much more length you'd need on the screw for it to engage properly, and of course, make sure you have been turning the correct screw. :wink:

If the latter, and the screw works but your foot just keeps moving inward to whereever the stop is, then it is probably what another poster said, which is that your legs have become used ot the greater drag and slight self centering action at the margins of a Shimano's float range. It could also have to do with the pinky toe issue you mention. If your foot is canted in one direction, that can cause compensatory effects in the float. There is a whole thread on here taling about Speedplay "rocking" with play between cleat and pedal. On my speedplays, even with new cleats, I have a fair bit, and if you look at the outer edges of my pedals, where the letters "L" and "R" are imprinted in the plastic, you can see that the plastic is heavily worn away. Unfortunately, there isn't much to be done about this, other than try to compensate with a BFS speedplay wedge kit, or buy new pedals. Trying to precisely wedge in that environment isn't ideal, as the play means you have a bit of a moving target, but if you can get it just right, then weight should be evenly distributed across the pedal platform rather than concentrated on the outer edge. That can have effects higher up the leg too, which could also be good, but that's no guarantee, so having new pedals and then wedging if needed is really a better way to go.

Hexsense
Posts: 3270
Joined: Wed Dec 30, 2015 12:41 am
Location: USA

by Hexsense

Thank you.
my foot rotate in, hit and rest at the stop limit. I can add extra force to rotate it a bit further in than the stop (which i have no reason to do so).
My feet auto rotate heel in, I have to exert some force to rotate heel out, so i thought it's because they rotate toward natural position. But as i keep undoing the limit screw, i don't find the neutral position even with my feet well rubbing the crank, it still want to heel in when i exert the force. From all the reply I think my feet not level have a lot to do with it. I'll try to solve unlevel feet first.

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