I recently picked up some new Speedplay Zero Chromoly pedals and Shimano cycling shoes. I went with Speedplay because I’ve previously ridden on them and enjoy the direct connection and slim look which allows for better cornering. They are fairly light as most of the weight is in the cleats, however it’s still not much. The cleats provide a very good platform when clipped into the pedals for direct power transfer. The 15 degree float is also a plus.
Kevin
I just bought the exact same setup (Speedplay Zero and Shimano R160G), but I’m having a really hard time getting the three screw heads to mount flush against the black base plate adapter. This subsequently prevents the yellow cleat from mounting flush against the bottom of base plate adapter. I’m thinking of machining either the screw or the base plate, but would prefer a simpler solution. How did you do it?
Austin Grade
Hey Kevin, I had no problem piecing it all together. The screws sit perfectly against the black plate, and the yellow cleat mounts perfectly above that. I took some pictures of my shoe and cleat to give you an example. In one of the pictures you can see one of the black screws sitting flush below the cleat against the black plate. Not sure why it’s not sitting flush for you, that’s odd. Let me know if you have any other questions or if I can take some more pictures for you. Let me know your solution as well.
Pictures – http://austingrade.com/speedplay
Kevin
Wow, thanks! You really went above and beyond with the pics. I’m still having problems. It seems that the screw threads in my shoes are not parallel with each other, so it is impossible for me to mount all three screw heads flush against the back plate. In addition, the front slot of my back plates seem “thinner” than the two slots in the back. This means that the front screws are physically unable to mount flush even if the threads were parallel. I called Speedplay; they told me that this is a common issue with Shimano shoes(?). They also recommended I install the cleats as-is and said I should not experience major problems. From what I understand about how these cleats work, I’m not so sure…
Austin Grade
That’s really interesting, I didn’t seem to have that problem at all. My screw heads mounted perfectly with the backing plate and against the shoe. Perhaps it’s a problem with the drilled holes on the bottom of the shoe?
The only problem I experienced with my install was the actual cleat to the backing plate. Speedplay and others at the shop said to screw them in until you heard a click, which I did. However, after my first ride I noticed screws missing and the cleat came off the backing plate at one point. So I screwed them into for quite a few clicks (with fear of stripping them of course) but they seem to have stayed on tight now. I do check them every so often though.
I would probably just go with what Speedplay said and install them as is. You could also take them into a local bike store and see what they recommend. As long as they are ‘installed’ and work fine/comfortable while riding I would just check them every few rides to make sure everything has stayed the same. Let me know if you figure out a solution.