Cleats

[mfoga]

How do you know when they need to be replaced? As they wear out what are the side effects, harder to clip, harder to unclip, etc..

I have the crank bros eggbeater style pedals.

[allison]

They'll look pretty worn and you will hardly be able to keep your feet clipped in, essentially.

[NO GO]

I notice more "play" between the peddle and cleat.

[BoingBoing]

To put it another way, when you start unclipping when you don't want to, it's time for new cleats.

[mfoga]

Ok then mine aren't bad, it just seemed like lately it was getting harder to unclip
then before.

Unclips easier with worn out cleats anyone have some worn out crank bros cleats I can have

[onegymrat]

I have SPDs, but I think the idea is the same. You unclip without trying, like hopping over something and landing with one foot clipped. It happened to me worse last year at the most inopportune time. I was descending on some switchbacks in Demo Forest up in Santa Cruz. I was behind the seat and my left foot unclipped. I hit my twig and berries hard on the saddle. I found a way to stop and was doubled over. My cousin, who was ahead of me, was wondering what the heck I was doing up there.

So what I'm trying to say is that it's more than just unclipping easier...it could be painful.

[SnookDawg]

I think some pedal systems can become harder to unclip as well when the cleats are worn. This is counter-intuitive, but basically the worn cleat doesn't exert pressure on the spring mechanism as reliably or with out exerting more force, making it harder to unclip.

[bobcat38]

Originally Posted by mfoga

Ok then mine aren't bad, it just seemed like lately it was getting harder to unclip
then before.

Unclips easier with worn out cleats anyone have some worn out crank bros cleats I can have

When my cleats get hard to unclip I just take an old toothbrush and drop a little lube on it and then brush the cleats with just a little lube.

[2wheel_lee]

Originally Posted by SnookDawg

I think some pedal systems can become harder to unclip as well when the cleats are worn. This is counter-intuitive, but basically the worn cleat doesn't exert pressure on the spring mechanism as reliably or with out exerting more force, making it harder to unclip.

I use SPDs exclusively, and although most of the time when the cleats wear out, they release easier, but I've had worn cleats that were in fact more difficult to release.