My Kingdom for a Cleat... and a Pedal!

[HoosierGiant]

Am posting here instead of the Gear and Accessories section because I want to maximize the number of readers/riders who see this. (You women are amazing and always seem to have an answer.) After a six-month search for new cycling shoes, I finally found a pair that would work for me. (Yes, only one.) Life should be ohhhh so good, right? Well, in theory. In reality my shoes are still sitting in the corner, and they're none too happy about it. Hitting the roads without them results in sad-faced pouting on their part, but I'm afraid that response will escalate to outright mutiny if I don't take them out to play soon. I fear for my life in fact! :eek:

Here are the details...

Current road bike set-up: Shimano SPD pedals (M505)
Current shoes: Answer MTB with SH51 cleats
New road shoes: Shimano R085

Info with the shoes indicates I need to use cleat SH70/71, which incorporates a pontoon system for road shoes. But, I can't seem to find a definitive answer as to whether that cleat system will work with my 505 pedals. All the compatibility charts I've seen are missing one of the components I'm looking for -- show the cleats but not the pedals, etc. Help!!!

I like my SPDs and am loathe to switch to road pedals since I've never had an issue with them. And, in a perfect world, the new set-up will work exactly like the old... same degree of float, same release maneuver, etc. (I don't like change.) :)

[roadie gal]

Have you tried writing or calling Shimano? You could also go into your LBS and ask them if they know or if they have any resources to find out.

[Grog]

Here is the compatibility chart from Shimano:
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcycle.shimano-eu.com%2Fpublish%2Fcontent%2Fcycle%2Fseh%2Fnl%2Fen%2Ftechnical_service%2Ffaq_s%2Fspd_faq_s%2Fcan_i_use__-cleat.-MainContent-0002-DownloadFile.tmp%2FSPD-SPD-R_SPD_SL_cleats.pdf.pdf&ei=2NxTSND7IZC-pgS-05D4Ag&usg=AFQjCNFXs7wBtSduGmDUrDeJdrkJTkrUMA&sig2=tv7ieMedP_d7sZ3iy3AM5Q

According to that chart, SH70 (no float) or SH71 (float), both with pontoons, would be usable with your M505. However they are in the "usable" category, not "recommended." So it will work, but perhaps not as well as other systems would.

The complex bit is that the chart does not include compatibility between your shoes (which would be in the road category, probably a model that came after the chart was made) and the cleats + pedals. I don't think you'll get a definitive answer to that unless you call Shimano's customer service. This being said, the cleats are $30 and you can probably return them if they are not compatible.

Let us know how this turns out. I am curious about those pontoons things.



Current road bike set-up: Shimano SPD pedals (M505)
Current shoes: Answer MTB with SH51 cleats
New road shoes: Shimano R085

Info with the shoes indicates I need to use cleat SH70/71, which incorporates a pontoon system for road shoes. But, I can't seem to find a definitive answer as to whether that cleat system will work with my 505 pedals. All the compatibility charts I've seen are missing one of the components I'm looking for -- show the cleats but not the pedals, etc. Help!!!

I like my SPDs and am loathe to switch to road pedals since I've never had an issue with them. And, in a perfect world, the new set-up will work exactly like the old... same degree of float, same release maneuver, etc. (I don't like change.) :)

[Zen]

What are these pontoons of which you speak?
Can you see them here?
6258

[Eden]

Those are just pedals... the "pontoons" are probably a piece that adapts the 2 hole cleat to a 3 hole shoe and in effect recesses it on a road shoe. My Crank Bros pedals (even the road specific ones) use a similar system so that all of their pedals and cleats are compatible. My cleats come mounted on a 3 hole adapter and a U shaped piece of plastic snaps over that.

[HoosierGiant]

Here's a link to the listing for the SH71 road cleats w/pontoons: http://www.performancebike.com/shop/Profile.cfm?SKU=348&item=62-4067&slitrk=search&slisearch=true

Most of the info I've seen says they are a multi-release cleat with 8 degrees of float, compared to the single-release, 4-degree SH51's I'm currently using -- I just don't want to get them and then discover my current pedals aren't usable. :(

[SouthernBelle]

I have some 505s which currently reside on my mtn bike. I use the A520 touring pedal on the road bike which will also take the SH71 cleat. I wanted to be able to use the same cleat on different pairs of shoes.

I have the cleat attached to my PI road shoes with no adapter. I do have some open holes :o but that has never bothered me. But I gather the spacing is the issue.

Just make sure where ever you buy, you can return. If you like the pedal, go for it.

[HoosierGiant]

Finally had my new cleats installed on my new shoes last week! After much research it was determined that, yes, the SH-71 cleats with pontoons would fit on my Shimano R085 road shoes and would work with my 505 pedals. Then I just had to wait for the bike fitter we use to come back from vacation. :(

Part of the difficulty in verifying that the set-up would work was that my shoes have both a 2-bolt and a 3-bolt pattern. But, all the ones I've seen on-line, and the pairs I'm seeing at the bike shops, have only a 3-bolt pattern. Go figure.

Anyway, I got in one short ride in the new shoes before RAIN last weekend, but switched to my old shoes for the 160-mile trek across Indiana. Now that that's behind me, I can finally (months after the initial purchase) start breaking in the new shoes. Life is sooooo good!:)

[mimitabby]

maybe it's just too early. what are the pontoons for?

can someone show me an MTB pedal that works with the SPD cleats? (might be something better than the road bike "pedals" on my bike!)

[aicabsolut]

Hmmm..I looked these up online, and it seems they are supposed to just have the 3 bolt pattern...

If yours do have the 2-bolt plate also, then you don't need the adapter. Just install the SPDs like you did on your other shoes.