Filling in the holes in shoes after cleats removed

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Rcartes
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Filling in the holes in shoes after cleats removed

Post by Rcartes »

I have a slightly odd question, I hope someone who knows more about chemistry than I do can answer it.

I have a perfectly decent pair of cycling shoes but have removed the cleats since I've gone back to flatter pedals. But when sliding the foot on them, the holes left by removing the cleats tens to catch on the pedal, which can be slightly awkward.

So what I want to do is to fill in the holes with something that will set hard: presumably, there's something that, when mixed with a catalyst, will set hard. Does anyone have any recommendations for what to sue?
Last edited by Rcartes on 7 Dec 2018, 9:44am, edited 1 time in total.
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Brucey
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Re: Filling in the holes in pedals after cleats removed

Post by Brucey »

if they are two-bolt SPD -type shoes, you can get SPD blanking plates

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Airsporter1st
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Re: Filling in the holes in pedals after cleats removed

Post by Airsporter1st »

Rcartes wrote:I have a slightly odd question, I hope someone who knows more about chemistry than I do can answer it.

I have a perfectly decent pair of cycling shoes but have removed the cleats since I've gone back to flatter pedals. But when sliding the foot on them, the holes left by removing the cleats tens to catch on the pedal, which can be slightly awkward.

So what I want to do is to fill in the holes with something that will set hard: presumably, there's something that, when mixed with a catalyst, will set hard. Does anyone have any recommendations for what to sue?


Araldite or similar epoxy will do the trick - but Brucey's suggestion is more elegant.
resus1uk
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Re: Filling in the holes in pedals after cleats removed

Post by resus1uk »

My Shimano shoes came with the covers. I had to remove them to fit the cleats. I've not seen them sold separately.
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Mick F
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Re: Filling in the holes in pedals after cleats removed

Post by Mick F »

resus1uk wrote:My Shimano shoes came with the covers. I had to remove them to fit the cleats. I've not seen them sold separately.
Ditto.

I wonder if car body filler would do it?
Isopon perhaps?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&key ... 1954083107
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Rcartes
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Re: Filling in the holes in pedals after cleats removed

Post by Rcartes »

Mick F wrote:
resus1uk wrote:My Shimano shoes came with the covers. I had to remove them to fit the cleats. I've not seen them sold separately.
Ditto.

I wonder if car body filler would do it?
Isopon perhaps?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&key ... 1954083107


Yes, I'm sure that's the kind of thing I was looking for.

Incidentally, re resus1uk's suggestion, the shoes would have had covers but they were taken off and thrown away. Memo to self: never throw anything away....
"....And Umpire Bucknor's trousers are filling with the wind." - Jonathan Agnew, TMS, November 2006.
thirdcrank
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Re: Filling in the holes in pedals after cleats removed

Post by thirdcrank »

I've used ordinary bathroom mastic to fill holes in cycling shoe soles. BTW, your title says filling holes in pedals which might not attract everybody with a suggestion for shoe soles.
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Rcartes
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Re: Filling in the holes in shoes after cleats removed

Post by Rcartes »

thirdcrank wrote:I've used ordinary bathroom mastic to fill holes in cycling shoe soles. BTW, your title says filling holes in pedals which might not attract everybody with a suggestion for shoe soles.


Yes, the title was wrong! I'll try to change it...
"....And Umpire Bucknor's trousers are filling with the wind." - Jonathan Agnew, TMS, November 2006.
Airsporter1st
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Re: Filling in the holes in pedals after cleats removed

Post by Airsporter1st »

resus1uk wrote:My Shimano shoes came with the covers. I had to remove them to fit the cleats. I've not seen them sold separately.


I don't think it would be beyond the capability of most people to knock a pair up from a suitable piece of plastic or hard rubber. A piece of paper over the existing recess, rubbed around the edges will provide a template. An old pair of shoes would provide the hard rubber and the only tools required would be a stanley knife and a bit of sand paper. I wouldn't bother with screw holes/screws - just a bit of glue.
alexnharvey
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Re: Filling in the holes in shoes after cleats removed

Post by alexnharvey »

Sugru might work, or shoe goo. I would think isopon might set too hard and crack or be slippy.
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squeaker
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Re: Filling in the holes in pedals after cleats removed

Post by squeaker »

resus1uk wrote:My Shimano shoes came with the covers. I had to remove them to fit the cleats. I've not seen them sold separately.
Nor I, but if someone asked nicely on here I'm sure that an unwanted pair of covers would be offered by someone ;)
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landsurfer
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Re: Filling in the holes in shoes after cleats removed

Post by landsurfer »

Your local Timpsons shoes can fill the gap and attach a rubber sole foe easier walking ... they did for me ... good job well done.
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ChrisButch
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Re: Filling in the holes in shoes after cleats removed

Post by ChrisButch »

Worth trying ShoeGoo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe_Goo

Used to use it a lot for repairing running shoes. Not sure it would be abrasion-resistant enough for the constant scraping in your application, but worth a try. Several UK suppliers
backnotes
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Re: Filling in the holes in shoes after cleats removed

Post by backnotes »

The OP would be welcome to these.

They came off some Shimano SPD sandals, and I put them in my bar bag in case the sandals didn't work well with my SPD pedals on a first ride, and I forgot and I've been carrying them around for a year or so. Amazed all 4 screws were still there, wedged under the stiffening plate at the bottom of the bag.

These look slightly different from the ones shown further up the thread, so no idea if the plates vary slightly by Shimano shoe they come off. If the side view looks thicker than the recess on the shoes you are trying to fix, then they won't work.
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backnotes
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Re: Filling in the holes in shoes after cleats removed

Post by backnotes »

Re-reading the original post, I am not convinced the shoes in question are SPD 2 bolt as these tend to have the plates with holes that the cleats screw into recessed behind a hole in the sole, with an MTB tread pattern that stands proud around them. If they are 3 bolt for "road" cleats with 3 holes that catch the pedal left in an otherwise flat and hard sole, then it's back to finding a way of filling the holes with resin etc. A photo would help.....

Looking in my SPD 2 bolt cycling shoe archive, there seem to be as many patterns as shoes anyway, so the covers shown above will most likely not fit. The first below had a moulded pattern I now remember I had to cut around with a knife to remove a cross-shaped bit of sole and access the mounting holes, the second (sorry - upside down) is the sole the covers above came off, and the third had no covers or anything to cut out and the cleat mounts direct onto a plate in the sole through a pre-cut hole. All 3 have a loose metal plate that the cleats screw into so filling the (multiple) threaded holes themselves won't help as there will still be a hole in the sole and a loose plate.

Anyway, best to find out what soles are being discussed here first!
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