SPD-SL Pedal's Lateral Movement???

Ryan Bates said:

hi, just started riding the newer shimano spd-sl pedals.
seems that even though my cleats are secured well in
position on my shoes, there is still the ability for the
cleat to slide sideways 1 or 2 centimeters. i'm not
talking about the small amount of float, i'm talking about
the entire cleat shifting from one side of the pedal to
the other.

[...]

I had the same impression- not really two centimeters, but
it might feel that way on the down stroke. The fixed,
"zero float" cleat solved this problem for me. The fixed
cleat is visually distinguished by red rubber tips,
instead of yellow.

Shimano part number SM-SH10

Nicholas Grieco

[email hidden] (Nicholas) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Ryan Bates said:

hi, just started riding the newer shimano spd-sl pedals.
seems that even though my cleats are secured well in
position on my shoes, there is still the ability for the
cleat to slide sideways 1 or 2 centimeters. i'm not
talking about the small amount of float, i'm talking
about the entire cleat shifting from one side of the
pedal to the other.

[...]

I had the same impression- not really two centimeters, but
it might feel that way on the down stroke. The fixed,
"zero float" cleat solved this problem for me. The fixed
cleat is visually distinguished by red rubber tips,
instead of yellow.

Shimano part number SM-SH10

Nicholas Grieco

Yeah, but even with the float model, shouldn't it just be
the rear of the cleat that floats, not the entire cleat?
Even on Speedplay that has tons of float, the cleat itself
does not move laterally. (ie it floats in a circular motion,
rather than a lateral side-to-side cleat movement). why on
earth would you want your cleats to slide to the outside of
the pedal axel??? thanks much

Ryan Bates said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

hi, just started riding the newer shimano spd-sl
pedals. seems that even though my cleats are secured
well in position on my shoes, there is still the
ability for the cleat to slide sideways 1 or 2
centimeters. i'm not talking about the small amount of
float, i'm talking about the entire cleat shifting
from one side of the pedal to the other.

[...]

I replied:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I had the same impression- not really two centimeters,
but it might feel that way on the down stroke. The
fixed, "zero float" cleat solved this problem for me.
The fixed cleat is visually distinguished by red rubber
tips, instead of yellow.

Shimano part number SM-SH10

Ryan:

Quoted message said:

Yeah, but even with the float model, shouldn't it just be
the rear of the cleat that floats, not the entire cleat?
Even on Speedplay that has tons of float, the cleat itself
does not move laterally. (ie it floats in a circular
motion, rather than a lateral side-to-side cleat
movement).

[...]

What can I tell you? Shimano designed the SPD-SL float to be
different.

For people who haven't tried these pedals with floating
cleats: The front of the cleat can move side to side,
relative to the front of the pedal, and the back of the
cleat can move side to side, relative to the back of the
pedal, independently. This gives your entire foot the
freedom to move laterally.

When I first got them, I rode the floating cleats for about
ten miles- felt like I had a layer of ice between my shoe
and the pedal, and the shoe tended toward the outside of the
pedal, as you describe. I swapped them for fixed cleats, and
haven't worried about it since.

[...]

Quoted message said:

why on earth would you want your cleats to slide to the
outside of the pedal axel???

It's possible that not everyone experiences this problem. My
feet are in mild supination. Riders with neutral or pronated
feet, or riders who have shoes with different support, might
not have a tendency to slide to the outside of the pedal.

Different people like different float. I ride Looks with the
floating cleats, and SPD-SL with fixed.

I hope this helps. If you try the SPD-SL fixed cleat, please
post a follow up.

Nicholas

[email hidden] (Ryan Bates) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (Nicholas) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Ryan Bates said:

hi, just started riding the newer shimano spd-sl
pedals. seems that even though my cleats are secured
well in position on my shoes, there is still the
ability for the cleat to slide sideways 1 or 2
centimeters. i'm not talking about the small amount of
float, i'm talking about the entire cleat shifting
from one side of the pedal to the other.

[...]

I had the same impression- not really two centimeters,
but it might feel that way on the down stroke. The
fixed, "zero float" cleat solved this problem for me.
The fixed cleat is visually distinguished by red rubber
tips, instead of yellow.

Shimano part number SM-SH10

Nicholas Grieco

Yeah, but even with the float model, shouldn't it just be
the rear of the cleat that floats, not the entire cleat?
Even on Speedplay that has tons of float, the cleat itself
does not move laterally. (ie it floats in a circular
motion, rather than a lateral side-to-side cleat
movement). why on earth would you want your cleats to
slide to the outside of the pedal axel??? thanks much

A lot of Tour de Frances were won on pedals where the cleat
is free to move laterally. First one may have been LeMond in
1989. I think he switched to the lateral pedal in 1989. And
Indurain used those lateral pedals for 5 consecutive Tours.
Plus a Giro in there too. And then along came Riis and Jan.
I think Riis used the lateral pedal. And Jan used the pedal
to win the Vuelta too. Even Marco used the lateral pedal.

The pedals with lateral moving cleats are well proven
performers in professional racing.

[email hidden] (Russell Seaton) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (Ryan Bates) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (Nicholas) wrote in message news-
:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Ryan Bates wrote:

> hi, just started riding the newer shimano spd-sl
> pedals. seems that even though my cleats are secured
> well in position on my shoes, there is still the
> ability for the cleat to slide sideways 1 or 2
> centimeters. i'm not talking about the small amount
> of float, i'm talking about the entire cleat
> shifting from one side of the pedal to the other.
[...]

I had the same impression- not really two centimeters,
but it might feel that way on the down stroke. The
fixed, "zero float" cleat solved this problem for me.
The fixed cleat is visually distinguished by red
rubber tips, instead of yellow.

Shimano part number SM-SH10

Nicholas Grieco

Yeah, but even with the float model, shouldn't it just
be the rear of the cleat that floats, not the entire
cleat? Even on Speedplay that has tons of float, the
cleat itself does not move laterally. (ie it floats in a
circular motion, rather than a lateral side-to-side
cleat movement). why on earth would you want your cleats
to slide to the outside of the pedal axel??? thanks much

A lot of Tour de Frances were won on pedals where the
cleat is free to move laterally. First one may have been
LeMond in 1989. I think he switched to the lateral pedal
in 1989. And Indurain used those lateral pedals for 5
consecutive Tours. Plus a Giro in there too. And then
along came Riis and Jan. I think Riis used the lateral
pedal. And Jan used the pedal to win the Vuelta too. Even
Marco used the lateral pedal.

The pedals with lateral moving cleats are well proven
performers in professional racing.

good point Nicholas, my feet supinate quite a bit, probably
pushing the pedals to the outside. thanks for the answers, i
didn't realize that on the floating model, with shimano
anyway, that the whole cleat actually had the ability to
move. think i'll switch to fixed position! i have to pairs
of the floaters in perfect condition, so if anyone wants to
trade for fixed let me know! thanks much

On 16 Mar 2004 05:48:49 -0800, [email hidden] (Ryan Bates)

Quoted message said:

good point Nicholas, my feet supinate quite a bit, probably
pushing the pedals to the outside. thanks for the answers,
i didn't realize that on the floating model, with shimano
anyway, that the whole cleat actually had the ability to
move. think i'll switch to fixed position!

You may be able to modify fixed cleats to float the way you
like. Based on the pictures at bike.shimano.com, it appears
that the front float is controlled by the red bit, and the
rear is controlled by some black protrusions. You may be
able to file the rear-float-tabs on a fixed cleat to match a
float cleat, possibly resulting in rear float.

Doing so may require some modification to the front-float
bit, too, which may not even be able to rotate-in-place. I
have no idea how SPD-SL pedals work or look, having never
seen or used one.

Quoted message said:

i have to pairs of the floaters in perfect condition, so if
anyone wants to trade for fixed let me know! thanks much

We don't want your stinking floaters! Gross! <G>
--
Rick Onanian