Shoe stuck

DaveB said:

Ok I admit that when it comes to clipless shoes I'm very much a novice.
But near the end of my ride this morning I came to a red light and
couldn't get my left foot out (which is always my first to come out, too
many years of motorbike riding). Luckily the lights changed before I
came to grief, and by the end of the ride two blocks later I had the
right foor out. But no matter what I did with the left I couldn't get it
to release. In the end I had to take the shoe off and it is still
stuck to the pedal. I tried loosening the adjustment on the pedal as
much as possible but still no go. So what's the best way to get the
damned thing off??

DaveB (a bad end to what was otherwise a really good ride)

think i mentioned you aint a 'real' cyclist til lyou have fallen over at lights! 🙂

try lubeing the thing. might be a case of things being a bit ruff being new and all.
Mine ar so darn worn and found out today that they aint serviceable so looks like more bike-related-expenditure coming up (not smiling. honest...).
Perhaps the 'problem' is with the cleat and not the pedal if the adjustment didnt make a diff?

flyingdutch said:

think i mentioned you aint a 'real' cyclist til lyou have fallen over at lights! 🙂

try lubeing the thing. might be a case of things being a bit ruff being new and all.
Mine ar so darn worn and found out today that they aint serviceable so looks like more bike-related-expenditure coming up (not smiling. honest...).
Perhaps the 'problem' is with the cleat and not the pedal if the adjustment didnt make a diff?

Fall over... heh heh, I've been there...

If you have SPDs, then it is possible that the cleats aren't tight enough and are moving in the shoe so that if you twist the shoe, the cleat doesn't go with it. If this is the case, the cleat can only twist so far before it runs out of room and you will be able to release the shoe by twisting even further.

Otherwise I'm afraid I'm stuck for an idea...

Ritch

DaveB said:

Ok I admit that when it comes to clipless shoes I'm very much a novice.
But near the end of my ride this morning I came to a red light and
couldn't get my left foot out (which is always my first to come out, too
many years of motorbike riding). Luckily the lights changed before I
came to grief, and by the end of the ride two blocks later I had the
right foor out. But no matter what I did with the left I couldn't get it
to release. In the end I had to take the shoe off and it is still stuck
to the pedal. I tried loosening the adjustment on the pedal as much as
possible but still no go. So what's the best way to get the damned thing
off??

Don't know about getting it off, but is it possible the cleat attached to the
shoe has twisted, stopping you from correctly twisting enough to get it out?

If it is loose, you might be able to twist it back before normal removal.

Otherwise, you'll have trouble trying to dismantle it, because you only
really have access to the screws that hold everything together when they're NOT
clipped in. :-(

--
Linux Registered User # 302622 <http://counter.li.org>

John Tserkezis said:

DaveB said:

Ok I admit that when it comes to clipless shoes I'm very much a novice.
But near the end of my ride this morning I came to a red light and
couldn't get my left foot out (which is always my first to come out, too
many years of motorbike riding). Luckily the lights changed before I
came to grief, and by the end of the ride two blocks later I had the
right foor out. But no matter what I did with the left I couldn't get it
to release. In the end I had to take the shoe off and it is still stuck
to the pedal. I tried loosening the adjustment on the pedal as much as
possible but still no go. So what's the best way to get the damned thing
off??

Don't know about getting it off, but is it possible the cleat attached to the
shoe has twisted, stopping you from correctly twisting enough to get it out?

If it is loose, you might be able to twist it back before normal removal.

Otherwise, you'll have trouble trying to dismantle it, because you only
really have access to the screws that hold everything together when they're NOT
clipped in. :-(

Sometimes I've had trouble unclipping because I just couldn't generate
force in the right position - try unclipping by flicking the heel
inwards instead of outwards - I thought it was just a mtb thing, but
I've done it accidentally a few times on the roadie.

T

ritcho said:

Fall over... heh heh, I've been there...

If you have SPDs, then it is possible that the cleats aren't tight enough and are moving in the shoe so that if you twist the shoe, the cleat doesn't go

confirmed - I had exactly this problem when one SPD cleat bolt fell out - I assume this meant the cleat was loose.

"DaveB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Ok I admit that when it comes to clipless shoes I'm very much a novice.
But near the end of my ride this morning I came to a red light and
couldn't get my left foot out (which is always my first to come out, too
many years of motorbike riding). Luckily the lights changed before I
came to grief, and by the end of the ride two blocks later I had the
right foor out. But no matter what I did with the left I couldn't get it
to release. In the end I had to take the shoe off and it is still
stuck to the pedal. I tried loosening the adjustment on the pedal as
much as possible but still no go. So what's the best way to get the
damned thing off??

Sounds like your pedals have the new "Auto Trackstand" mode...

Check release tension.
Spray WD-40 on it?

hippy ;-)

DaveB said:

Ok I admit that when it comes to clipless shoes I'm very much a novice.
But near the end of my ride this morning I came to a red light and
couldn't get my left foot out (which is always my first to come out, too
many years of motorbike riding). Luckily the lights changed before I
came to grief, and by the end of the ride two blocks later I had the
right foor out. But no matter what I did with the left I couldn't get it
to release. In the end I had to take the shoe off and it is still
stuck to the pedal. I tried loosening the adjustment on the pedal as
much as possible but still no go. So what's the best way to get the
damned thing off??

DaveB (a bad end to what was otherwise a really good ride)

Ive had this before. As mentioned the screws holding the cleat in loosen up and the cleat gets stuck in position. I just took my shoe off, pulled out my screwdriver and levered the retention "claw" at the back and it will pop out without too much trouble.

byron27 said:

Ive had this before. As mentioned the screws holding the cleat in loosen up and the cleat gets stuck in position. I just took my shoe off, pulled out my screwdriver and levered the retention "claw" at the back and it will pop out without too much trouble.

and last night my right cleat stuck - fished some dry grass out from underneath, maybe that was the culprit.

flyingdutch <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

snip>>>

Quoted message said:

think i mentioned you aint a 'real' cyclist til lyou have fallen over
at lights! 🙂

Try falling over at the lights with an ABC film crew making a docco on
the race your riding in!! Not only singular embarrassment but
recorded for all posterity... And on a recumbent.

Felt real dumb about that one!

Tom

(Perhaps it makes me a "really 'real'" cyclist??)

Still have the sticking SPD, maybe now the Olympic cycling is finished I can find the time to swap the cleats before the other one dies.
It's the back of the cleat that seems to be worn, and thinking about that I tried pulling back on the pedal before twisting - disengaged.

the rain washed the mud out of the pedal - no more sticking cleat!

maybe I should clean my bike occasionaly?

aeek said:

the rain washed the mud out of the pedal - no more sticking cleat!

maybe I should clean my bike occasionaly?

a radical theory.....
try it out and let me know if it works.😉

byron27 said:

a radical theory.....
try it out and let me know if it works.😉

nah, never catch on!
Maybe if you marketed a product, preferably painted black or better yet CarbonFibre, use images of a top Euro Pro who 'wins bcos he uses it', or better still is made of Tyler Hamilton's dog's remains (maybe call it 'The Tugboat'😉, make it compatible with only a few bikes, Needing different models for 'Rain', 'Mud', 'roadgrime', 'Sportsdrink', 'Sweat' .
Then overprice it and you'll soon be raking it in 😄 😄 😄

flyingdutch said:

Maybe if you marketed a product, preferably painted black or better yet CarbonFibre, use images of a top Euro Pro who 'wins bcos

I am thinking about a Specialized Roubaix Pro
specialized.comSBCBkModel.jspOpen ↗

So you reckon that since its black and CarbonFibre its also self-cleaning ?

aeek said:

I am thinking about a Specialized Roubaix Pro
http://www.specialized.com/SBCBkModel.jsp?minisite=10085&spid=6777

So you reckon that since its black and CarbonFibre its also self-cleaning ?

Method 1 for well-behaved cleats:

Mark cleat position (if not self marking)

Remove bolts and screws. Centre-punch and/or Drill out heads of recalcitrant bolts/screws. Remove remains with FBM (f#$%'n Big Multigrips). Nonchalantly and gleefully discard remains of FBMed recalcitrant bolts.

Obtain replacement bolts for FBMed bolts.

Chase cleat plate threads with M5 thread tap (I firmly and ardently believe everyone should own at least one of these, preferably three - leading, intermediate, and bottoming - yes, I am an anal mechanic nerd)

Apply sparingly grease on cleat bolt threads, and on underside of bolt heads.

Screw bolts/screws in, and torque them up rather hard.

Scrub all clean (pedals AND cleats AND soles of shoes) with HSW (Hot Soapy Water - the best cleaning technology ever invented) and liberally wax . . . with candlegrease.

(looks ashamed and shuffles to the corner mumbling as laughter, led by suzyj, humiliates the former advocate of a teflon-led push for a better tomorrow).

It seems to work, and candle stubs are free. Just raid a hippy's porch after a party (No offence, Hip).

Mutter, mutter.

'What?'

Teflon mutter mutter.

'Speak UP!'

Oh, Ok. TEFLON-FORTIFIED OIL DEGRADES THE LOCKING COMPOUND ON PEDAL PLATFORM SCREWS, WHICH ARE UNOBTAINABLE AND IRREPLACEABLE EVEN FROM CAMPAGNOLO, EVEN THEY DO NOT LIST THEM AS A SEPARATE PART, AND SHOULD NOT BE USED ON YOUR PEDALS TO STOP SQUEAKS, OIL SPRINGS, FREE ADJUSTMENT SCREWS OR FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE WHATSOEVER, WHETHER OR NOT CONDONED BY LOCAL, STATE OR FEDERAL LEGISLATION, CUSTOM, TRADITION, OR IT SEEMING LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME. HAPPY NOW?!?!?!!?

thankyou.

M "closet luddite" H

"mfhor" <[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

It seems to work, and candle stubs are free. Just raid a hippy's porch
after a party (No offence, Hip).

None taken ;-)

Cool post! :-)

Quoted message said:

Teflon mutter mutter.

'Speak UP!'

Oh, Ok. TEFLON-FORTIFIED OIL DEGRADES THE LOCKING COMPOUND ON PEDAL
PLATFORM SCREWS, WHICH ARE UNOBTAINABLE AND IRREPLACEABLE EVEN FROM

Does WD40 include teflon? I've been spraying this
on pedals (and lots of other stuff) for ages..

Oh, regarding the cleat install.. I don't know what
problems you guys have had but I installed the
SPD cleats on my Nike shoes when I bought them
(00/01??) and after one repositioning I've not
touched them since. I don't know what you lot are
doing?!
I just got them in the right spot (guess and check)
and tightened the little [censored].. no lube, no drills,
nothing funky..
Not a trouble in the world. Of course, now that
I've said this, they will fail tonight and leave me in
a world of hurt.. but I expected nothing less from
Mr. Murphy and his lawyers.

hippy

Well said mfhor. I have recently lived the 'how-not-to-fit-lceats-and-then-discover-after-5+-years-they-wont-come-off' nightmare when i 'upgraded' to the eggbeaters.
Had to soak the bolts with any/everything that came to mind overnight, after which they almost unscrewed themselves! (this after an evening with Peter Moore who even got out his spinny-bladey-thingy to produce many sparks and make a large Screwdriver fitting in the head of the bolt. to no avail tho...).
Am gonna lube more often. honest. really. oh screw it...

do they make black lube?

flyingdutch said:

Well said mfhor. I have recently lived the 'how-not-to-fit-lceats-and-then-discover-after-5+-years-they-wont-come-off' nightmare when i 'upgraded' to the eggbeaters.
Had to soak the bolts with any/everything that came to mind overnight, after which they almost unscrewed themselves! (this after an evening with Peter Moore who even got out his spinny-bladey-thingy to produce many sparks and make a large Screwdriver fitting in the head of the bolt. to no avail tho...).
Am gonna lube more often. honest. really. oh screw it...

do they make black lube?

Black lube? Sure you're not watching too many of them 70s blaxploitation nudie movies? 😉

No, unless you ride through salt water a lot, the grease should stay where it was put, and not give you a hard time next time you need to change the little suckers.

I gave up trying to persuade bolts to come out a long time ago, unless by rational, sensible, refined means (what could be more rational and elegant than a good quality 5mm Allen key?), and now just resort to brute force and intelligently applied mechanical violence when thwarted. Some people call this torture . . . (MH has gone to places in his psyche that he really didn't want to go at this point . . . ) but I call it getting the result I wanted.

Don't think WD 40 (RP7, CRC etc) has any teflon or locking-compound dissolving solvent in it - industrial chemists out there . . . ?

M "Mr Jones, we are not thirsty" H

mfhor said:

Black lube? Sure you're not watching too many of them 70s blaxploitation nudie movies? 😉

No, unless you ride through salt water a lot, the grease should stay where it was put, and not give you a hard time next time you need to change the little suckers.

I gave up trying to persuade bolts to come out a long time ago, unless by rational, sensible, refined means (what could be more rational and elegant than a good quality 5mm Allen key?), and now just resort to brute force and intelligently applied mechanical violence when thwarted. Some people call this torture . . . (MH has gone to places in his psyche that he really didn't want to go at this point . . . ) but I call it getting the result I wanted.

Don't think WD 40 (RP7, CRC etc) has any teflon or locking-compound dissolving solvent in it - industrial chemists out there . . . ?

M "Mr Jones, we are not thirsty" H

Not an industrial chemist, but I am wondering why there is so much fuss about unremovable items on a bike... I'm definately not an expert mechanic, but a pretty good rule of thumb is that if it has threads, it needs grease. If there is any doubt about the materials, find out which grease to use _before_ application!

Ritch - who uses Look cleats, so they don't last long enough to find out what happens when I get a stuck cleat bolt after five years...