what's the point of recessed cleats...

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
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sandytracker
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what's the point of recessed cleats...

Post by sandytracker »

...when they still click and scratch the floor while walking? (shimano mt21)

i appreciate that if they were too recessed then the surrounding shoe sole would rest on the pedal, but...they could at least be sufficiently countersunk not to tickle the floor!!!

:(
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EdinburghFixed
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Re: what's the point of recessed cleats...

Post by EdinburghFixed »

Depends on your shoe - I don't notice my cleats at all (in fact I prefer to wear my SPD shoes over normal shoes if I'm going outside to do something practical, because they're well made).

I was going to say that there are lots of different types of cleat, but you probably are using actual SPDs, in which case you'd expect the recessions to be deep enough, on a Shimano shoe. Hi ho.
reohn2
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Re: what's the point of recessed cleats...

Post by reohn2 »

The alternative is far worse, ie; the LOOK/Keo etc, duck walk :)

Seriously though I know what you mean.When soles are getting worn the cleats tend to scratch ploished floors but so can small stones stuck in the sole of ordinary shoes.
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sandytracker
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Re: what's the point of recessed cleats...

Post by sandytracker »

These are brand new shoes and brand new fh-51 shimano cleats.

It's not a BIG deal but it's definately noticable. And annoying. And often slippery....

I guess I just ASS-U-ME-D that recessed mean't completely recessed.

So which shoes are you using EdinburghF?
PW
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Re: what's the point of recessed cleats...

Post by PW »

If you have Time ATACs the cleats are a lot slimmer.... :wink: :twisted: :twisted:
If at first you don't succeed - cheat!!
workhard

Re: what's the point of recessed cleats...

Post by workhard »

I managed to scratch a mates wooden kitchen floor in my spesh mtb shoes with shimano cleats, Being a mate he took the blame. The don't sound to clever on our slate tiled floor either. You have been warned.

But surely you've put the cart before the horse, or at least the cleat before the shoe. If they weren't recessed at all like road shoes, you'd die the first time you had cause to get off and push your bike on wet slickrock up in the mountains. If fully recessed the cleat would not be able to engage with the pedal. So they are a compromise.

Shimano didn't make them recessed to avoid scratching floors but you knew this. Right?
sandytracker
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Re: what's the point of recessed cleats...

Post by sandytracker »

I guess I didn't explain my concern very well; I'm not bothered about scratching anyone's floor; I'm more worried about wearing the cleats out.
They're already pretty scratched up. I bought this shoe to use as an off-the-bike walking shoe while touring, so it bothers me that they are hitting the floor.

Recessed obviously doesn't mean countersunk. If I'd have realised this I might have bought a superlight racing shoe for touring with the idea of carrying some more practical walking shoes with me.
Last edited by sandytracker on 21 Jan 2010, 12:47pm, edited 1 time in total.
PW
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Re: what's the point of recessed cleats...

Post by PW »

Specialized BG with ATAC cleats will last a tour and a lot of leisure riding afterwards. If you want shoes to look "normal" then Exustar Stelvios do the same job.
If at first you don't succeed - cheat!!
workhard

Re: what's the point of recessed cleats...

Post by workhard »

sandytracker wrote:I guess I didn't explain my concern very well; I'm not bothered about scratching anyone's floor; I'm more worried about wearing the cleats out.
They're already pretty scratched up. I bought this shoe to use an off-the-bike walking shoe while touring, so it bothers me that they are hitting the floor.
Obviously recessed doesn't mean countersunk. If I'd have realised this I might have bought a superlight racing shoe for touring with the idea of carrying some more practical walking shoes with me.


I see. As I type I'm wearing a pair of 10+ year old Spesh MTB boots with cleats fitted when they were new. They work fine and I've used em all over the UK and Europe. Cost so much new I swore I would wear them to destruction and, like a lot of Spesh kit of that era, they are bombproof and will not die.

The cleats are scratched up but not worn out and wont come off without drilling but on and off bike are fine. I have been tutted at in NT properties when walking on stone flag floors, v noisy, and I was asked to take them off on a tour of the top bit of Mont St Michel. Good for sparking though!

TBH I find the soles too stiff for any long walks.
sandytracker
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Re: what's the point of recessed cleats...

Post by sandytracker »

I'm wearing a pair of 10+ year old Spesh MTB boots with cleats fitted when they were new. They work fine and I've used em all over the UK and Europe.


That's reassuring. I don't have much experience with clipless, in fact this is the first pair I've owned. I guess I'm not sure how much abuse SPD cleats can take.

Just to clarify: I'm not dissing the MT21 shoe, in fact they're very comfy, and the cleats are recessed to probably just around or just below surface level, but my point is that I can still hear them clicking when walking (on concrete), so they must still be contacting the surface. I guess I just wasn't expecting that from a shoe that's described as being as 'comfy for walking as it is for cycling '. I thought they would be completely countersunk, well below the surface, so I wouldn't even notice them.

Thanks for the comments
Last edited by sandytracker on 22 Jan 2010, 3:32pm, edited 1 time in total.
grw
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Re: what's the point of recessed cleats...

Post by grw »

workhard wrote: I type I'm wearing a pair of 10+ year old Spesh MTB boots with cleats fitted when they were new. They work fine and I've used em all over the UK and Europe. Cost so much new I swore I would wear them to destruction and, like a lot of Spesh kit of that era, they are bombproof and will not die.


Similarly, I'm still using a pair of Specialized shoes I bought in 2000. They are now lookig a bit tatty, but I've used them for mtb, regular commutes, touring. They cost me about 40 gbp back then. If I could find some more of teh same, I'd buy them again. Still using the same cleats too. And yes, they click clack too!
grw
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Deckie
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Re: what's the point of recessed cleats...

Post by Deckie »

My wife and I both have Specialized BG shoes with recessed cleats, although of different designs. I certainly find mine comfortable (a real plus for me as I have wider than standard feet).

I just had a good look at both pairs and the cleats appear to befully recessed (looking side on I could not see the cleat).

However: The rubber sole to the shoe that is in contact with the floor is a softer compound on my shoe than my wife's, so the rubber compresses allowing the cleats on mine to make contact with the ground, while my wife's don't.

I suppose it has to be a compromise in the end, the softer rubber compound probably makes the shoes more comfortable for walking in (once you've got used to the very low heel, and you start to walk on the outside edge of your feet on polished/cared for surfaces).
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sandytracker
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Re: what's the point of recessed cleats...

Post by sandytracker »

I was just thinking about this again. Would I be right in saying that the important parts of the cleat, the bits that keep it secure in the pedal and cause the pedal to open when the foot is twisted, are actually the upper and side sections of the cleat - i.e. the bits that wouldn't contact the floor anyway when walking?
:oops:
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Deckie
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Re: what's the point of recessed cleats...

Post by Deckie »

Yes, well the upper front and back parts. You would have to wear down a couple of mills of steel first to damage those.
Richard & Joules JoGLE for Marie Curie - 14 to 28 May 2010
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