My metal's wearing away!

November 1, 2007 9:15 PM

BikeFilter: How long do SPD pedals typically last?

I have SPD pedals on my bike. I've noticed, in the last week or so, that it's much easier to unclip my left foot than my right - I use my left foot at stops, so it unclips a lot.

I know that metal-on-metal interaction will cause the metal to wear away over time, and I don't really have a problem with it. I'm just curious - how long typically do cleats and pedals last? I've had these on my bike for about two years, and I commute to work so I ride about 12 miles a day, every day; is that a fairly typical lifespan for a cleat/pedal, or is two years longer or shorter than I should expect?

Also, what wears when this happens - the cleat, the pedal, or both equally?

posted by pdb to sports, hobbies, & recreation (8 comments total)

Have you tightened the tension spring yet?
posted by tumble at 9:39 PM on November 1, 2007

I had SPD-SL's on my road bike and the cleats began to grind away after about a year, from walking on pavement. It made unclipping significantly easier.

Now, I have Look pedals, with a plastic cleat, and they grind away after just a few months! Looks even have an 'indicator strip' to let you know when it's time to get a new cleat because of wear; they just seem to mush against the pavement. (But I still love them so much more than my old Shimanos, even at the rate I replace cleats)

I would take a look at your cleats and see if they seem significantly thinner at the edges than a new set does. If so, replace them. You could try to up the tension in the pedals first. But I err on the side of caution here, because the last thing you want to happen is have your foot unexpectedly come loose while beating a car across an intersection or stomping out a big hill (a serious nut-buster!)...

From my own experience, two years is one year too long for the cleats, especially with the miles you're logging. But the pedals themselves should last nearly forever, I think. Perhaps someone else has a more informed opinion?
posted by jstef at 9:41 PM on November 1, 2007

What tumble said. There's a little hex bolt on the face of the body. Tighten that, you can get pretty locked down with SPDs, so have at it!
posted by rhizome at 12:43 AM on November 2, 2007

cleats wear out. how quickly depends on how many cycles of engagement/disengagement they go through, and how much you walk on them. two years of daily commuting is a very impressive lifespan. cleats are deliberately made of softer metal than the pedals so that they wear out before the pedals do. cleats are cheap -- just replace them when they don't engage tightly anymore.
posted by randomstriker at 1:26 AM on November 2, 2007

oh and I have had pedals last for more than 10 years. me and all my bike-geek friends have never replaced pedals because we actually needed to, only because we got the occasional (and unnecessary) itch to "upgrade".
posted by randomstriker at 1:32 AM on November 2, 2007

pdb: Most manufacturers of SPD-style pedals including Crank Brothers and Shimano make the cleats from a softer metal than the pedal retention system. The theory being that it's cheaper to replace the cleat than the internal gubbins of the pedal. My advice would be: buy some new cleats. Throw out the old left-hand cleat, and put the right hand cleat somewhere for safekeeping. In a couple of years time when you notice a significant disparity in clipping tension, take your old right-hand cleat out of storage and replace your now worn left-hand cleat. Sort of like rotating tyres on your car. Did that make sense?
posted by tim_in_oz at 2:05 AM on November 2, 2007

There's a recessed bolt on either side of the pedal, in the center of it's width, on a surface angled to the pedal's retention mechanism. There's a picture on the right of this diagram showing how to tighten that bolt to increase the tension in the retention mechanism and hence ease, or otherwise, of release.

As others have already noted, cleats are generally designed to wear much faster than the pedals. My oldest pair of spds are probably about 10 years old and still going strong. Very approximately, daily commuting I might expect a year or two from the cleats, but I tend to have my pedals set for fairly soft release. A tighter setting (more force required to release) will wear out cleats more quickly.
posted by normy at 5:55 AM on November 2, 2007

I've adjusted the tension a few times, so I think it's probably time to replace the cleats...thanks all!
posted by pdb at 6:54 AM on November 2, 2007