Modifying shoes for Speedplay?

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Monkeyfudger
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Joined: Thu Apr 11, 2013 7:26 pm

by Monkeyfudger

It annoys me that my “aero” cleats stick out so far, I know it won’t make a difference to the actual aero but it looks rubbish and I’m bored. Has anyone ever modified a carbon sole to directly mount the cleat to the shoe like a proper Speedplay compatible shoe?

It should be easy but......

Image

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Frankie - B
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by Frankie - B

It cannot be easily done as the sole is arched and the speedplay cleat is flat. Shoes that are directly compatible with speedplay have a flat part in the sole.
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sungod
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by sungod

there's an add-on bit you can get that fits around the 3-hole adaptor to fill the gap...
https://www.excelsports.com/main.asp?pa ... =5&minor=6

i never bothered as i need a cleat shim on one foot plus wedges, so i'd still end up with gaps, but if you've no shims/wedges they should fit fine

Monkeyfudger
Posts: 318
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by Monkeyfudger

Never seen those add-on adaptors before, cheers for that!
Last edited by Monkeyfudger on Sat May 12, 2018 9:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

tabl10s
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by tabl10s

Frankie - B wrote:
Sat May 12, 2018 8:03 am
It cannot be easily done as the sole is arched and the speedplay cleat is flat. Shoes that are directly compatible with speedplay have a flat part in the sole.
I always wondered what the difference was.
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TheKaiser
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by TheKaiser

Monkeyfudger wrote:
Fri May 11, 2018 9:36 pm
It annoys me that my “aero” cleats stick out so far, I know it won’t make a difference to the actual aero but it looks rubbish and I’m bored. Has anyone ever modified a carbon sole to directly mount the cleat to the shoe like a proper Speedplay compatible shoe?

It should be easy but......

Image
I've modified soles to mount speedplay cleats further rearward, but used their aluminum 3-hole baseplate adaptor. The process is similar to what you are asking, as the adaptor is flat, and I had to drill out the shoe for the 3 hole pattern and then build up the sole such that it had a relatively flat surface. I considered skipping the adaptor altogheter and just doing a direct 4 hole mount, but went this route as it allowed more for/aft adjustability. Might do a direct mount next time around though.

Basically, it could be done, but would require a high comfort level with a dremel, drill, and some sort of expoxy or heat moldable plastic to create the flat platform on the sole. I prefer the heat mold stuff as you can more easily rework it if you dont nail the alignment the first time around.

eric01
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by eric01

I think by the time you're done with all of the mods you'll have a protrusion as tall as what you have today.
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shimmeD
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by shimmeD

Back in the days I bothered with Speedplay I used the Northwave Speedplay Adaptor Kit quite successfully (for the low stack). There is a post right here on WW: search! :welcome:
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