Stuck Cleat, rider publicly toppled...

[Karma007]

So I was riding this weekend whe my right cleat (normally looser than my left, so naturally my first food down) stuck! All I could do was slow to a stop, and quietly topple to a stop. Upon review, there is no obvious reason why this is happing suddenly. The cleat now sticks fiercely, requiring help on occasion to dislodge my foot.I rode 15 miles home, unclipped in fear of being unable to stop. I got home and checked my shoes and pedals carefully and can't see a problem. Any ideas? I want to get back on and try to figure it out in time for my next ride (Saturday) despite a pretty bruised knee.

My pedals are Shimano A530, with mtb shoes. They've worked great until now, and the pedals only have 120 miles on them. They're set very loose (while I break them in). I have no trouble clipping in.

Any ideas?

[smilingcat]

Are your cleats secured tightly on your shoes?

If its loose, cleets would just stay put while you wiggle your shoe thus giving you the "locked" feeling. Most common problem BTW...

[spokewench]

It's hard to tell from your post; but check your cleats on your shoe again. Is it loose? That will cause your foot to stick in the pedal cause it just turns on the shoe instead of turning to release.

Check very carefully on the pedal for a small piece of gravel in the place where the cleat attaches.

That's all I can think of right now without looking at your setup.

If you can't find anythink like the above, spray some pam on the cleat on your shoe and see if that helps. I used this trick when I used to do cyclocross

Finally, start learning to get on the other side. Just practice a bit as you are slowing down to pull out of the other side. You should always have an option to get out on both sides.

spoke

[OakLeaf]

"normally looser than the left" suggests you replaced the pedals recently, but the cleats are old? Sometimes they won't release when they're too worn?

[Norse]

Try spraying a little WD-40 on the cleat.

[Karma007]

Thanks! I'll give everything a good look tonight, incl. the possible loose cleat. Spray a little WD40, and try a lap around the parking lot, with bf on standby, just in case.

[VeloVT]

I've got one cleat on my road shoes that keeps losing one screw. I have to keep replacing the screw as well as the little metal piece of hardware that goes under the screw. Frustrating. Loose screws are no fun.

If you think there's any possibility that you might have cleat issues, relax and give yourself a little more time to stop, so you can clip out on the other side if you have to.

I guess I should try lock-tite or something :o.

[Karma007]

I gave everything the once over last night and it looks good. The cleats are tight in the shoes, nothing is worn out, I even used a toothpick and a flashlight. Tomorow night I'll head to the parking lot (with bf in attendance) and try some wd 40. The pedals only have 120 miles on them, and there's little wear on the cleats. Maybe it was just a freak thing.