Reminder: Check your Cleats...

I got a new set of look keo cleats off ebay and they came with the covers in the pack - I have never used them before.

Marvellous! Should extend the life of the cleats by ages!

Jaguar27 said:

...I find it's always best when checking a screw or bolt to unscrew it a couple of turns FIRST, then re-torque it...don't simply crank on an already tight Screw/Bolt because eventually, something will give!!

Disagree. This is only true if you keep cranking until the fastener turns, after it's already tight. If you only apply the correct torque to make sure it's not loose, there will be less wear and failure potential than if you perpetually loosen then tighten fasteners.

The act of relaxing then stressing the threads weakens them. Threaded fasteners which are made to be frequently removed for service, like lug nuts, have extra strength designed into them because of this.

I use red loctite on my cleats, and more than once I have had to walk 2-3 miles on them because I left my pump somewhere else or I tore up a sidewall. There is no loosening, although I agree it is best to check.

garage sale GT said:

Disagree. This is only true if you keep cranking until the fastener turns, after it's already tight. If you only apply the correct torque to make sure it's not loose, there will be less wear and failure potential than if you perpetually loosen then tighten fasteners.

The act of relaxing then stressing the threads weakens them. Threaded fasteners which are made to be frequently removed for service, like lug nuts, have extra strength designed into them because of this.

I use red loctite on my cleats, and more than once I have had to walk 2-3 miles on them because I left my pump somewhere else or I tore up a sidewall. There is no loosening, although I agree it is best to check.

I'm running speedplay x5's and 3 of my 4 cleat screws came out on my right shoe while riding last week. It freaked me the hell out. I though I broke the cleat when my foot just ripped off of the pedal with a popping sound on the up stroke. I found some new bolts at the local hardware store and used red loc-tite on them this time (when the LBS put 'em on, they used blue). Hopefully they'll hold this time. They didn't have too many miles on them. I will be checking them periodically in the future though.