clipless

Broke my 661 Filter shoes the other day…Lace grabbed against a log of some sort and ripped itself out of the holes.

How do you like the filters generally?

Broke my 661 Filter shoes the other day…Lace grabbed against a log of some sort and ripped itself out of the holes.

How do you like the filters generally?

They fit really nice, super stiff and cool great. They were hard to get into the pedal at first but I guess that's because it was my first time using SPD's. Would recommend to anyone.

Jesus (pronounced Hey Zeus!) my admittedly lower end shimano shoes have laces (and velcro) and I can't stand having laces. Next shoes are no laces.

I like clips but the cleats move my feet a little further forward from the spot where they'd naturally sit with flats on a descent

I drill new holes in my shoes so I can run my cleats a little further back than the stock position allows. I've been doing this for about 7 years and have just recently done it again on my 6th pair of shoes and none have had problems related to the drilling.

I did it because I used to have bad ankles and would often hyperextend on hard landings and I'd be limping around for a week afterwards. I have never once had that problem again since relocating my cleats.

A side effect is that getting into the pedals is much more natural and easier. The position that I stand on the pedal when I'm in a scramble and can't get in right away is almost where the cleat/clip is, so often it just pops in when I'm not trying. I like to stick a foot out here and there like the flat pedal riders, and I have no hesitation doing so as I almost always clip back in as soon as my foot hits the pedal. I could not do this anywhere near as well with the cleats in the 'factory' position.

I'm amazed that I've never met anyone who's tried the same, and even more amazed that the shoe manufacturers limit the postion so far forward. If you have an old pair of shoes, give it a try. I think you'll like it.

There's a road physiologist type guy, Steve Hogg, who is experimenting with "arch cleat" position. I've been running all my shoes with the cleat mounting as far back as it goes for a long time. I figured it would be easier on the calves which is why Hogg advocates that position. His theory is that the calf muscles don't provide much propulsion but mostly just hold your ankle in position. Decrease the amount of work the calf muscles do and you have more energy for the real propulsive muscles.

I've always run my cleats in the farthest back position mainly because its how I step onto flat pedals as well - on the balls of your feet.

I also found that riding with your cleats set back helps your DH'ing by helping in 'pushing' into your pedals for turns and such. It also helps you ride like you are on flats without the drawbacks of riding flats. That in turn helps your bike control overall.

"arch cleat position" is only 7 years behind "kram cleat postion". If this guy writes a paper on it and calls it revolutionary, be sure to let him know.
Seriously though, you guys should try it if you already like it in full back position. I put them about 5 to 7 mm back from the full back position (currently on shimano DX shoes).

On the topic of spd's…

I want a pair of these for commuting

5.10 Maltese Falcon spd shoe. Can't find much info on these, but look like a promising AM shoe.

The Minnar is coming in an all black version called the Hellcat next year.

"arch cleat position" is only 7 years behind "kram cleat postion". If this guy writes a paper on it and calls it revolutionary, be sure to let him know.
Seriously though, you guys should try it if you already like it in full back position. I put them about 5 to 7 mm back from the full back position (currently on shimano DX shoes).

I have 2 pairs of shoes, an XC pair (Bontrager RL), where the cleat is under the ball of my foot for max pedalling efficiency, and an AM pair (Shimano, can't remember the model), where I put the cleat farther back, and apart from being more comfortable with the cleat more rearward, I don't like anything else about that position. With the forward position, I just feel more connected to the bike.

I drill new holes in my shoes so I can run my cleats a little further back than the stock position allows. I've been doing this for about 7 years and have just recently done it again on my 6th pair of shoes and none have had problems related to the drilling.

I did it because I used to have bad ankles and would often hyperextend on hard landings and I'd be limping around for a week afterwards. I have never once had that problem again since relocating my cleats.

A side effect is that getting into the pedals is much more natural and easier. The position that I stand on the pedal when I'm in a scramble and can't get in right away is almost where the cleat/clip is, so often it just pops in when I'm not trying. I like to stick a foot out here and there like the flat pedal riders, and I have no hesitation doing so as I almost always clip back in as soon as my foot hits the pedal. I could not do this anywhere near as well with the cleats in the 'factory' position.

I'm amazed that I've never met anyone who's tried the same, and even more amazed that the shoe manufacturers limit the postion so far forward. If you have an old pair of shoes, give it a try. I think you'll like it.

This was covered years ago in some kind of "what the Pros do" article by MBA. I did it to one pair of what became my favouritest shoes, but never bothered since then.

My SPD shoes are by Diadora. They only have velcro closures: which never seem to tighten enough or stay tight. It doesn't seem to matter on my road bike but they feel noticeably less tight on my MTB.

My next pair of SPD shoes will have buckles and/or laces in the hope they stay tighter…

Those maltese falcon 5.10's look awesome. I think that will be my next shoe.

So I've been running my M540's in lowest tension possible for months now but yesterday evening tightened them up a few clicks. Question: Am I gonna die?