merbella, I have no advice, but I can sympathize. In the past week I went from Shimano 2-bolt mtn SPDs to road SPD-SLs and had a tip, yesterday. Even on the very loosest tension I REALLY struggle to get my feet unclipped (I have no clue how anyone could possibly ride with the tension set high). I've put >2500 on my "new" bike and yesterday was the first fall I've had on it. Now I'm feeling gunshy. I LOVE the road pedals while riding and the hot spots I'd get on the outside of my feet during long rides is no longer an issue with the larger pedal/cleat, but getting in and out is starting to stress me out. If I have to stop fast I'd certainly crash hard.

One thing I read was that some road shoe soles are especially curved and can make a cleat bend a bit, making it not seat well in the pedal and causing it to be especially difficult to release. I'm suspicious that this is the issue I'm running into, especially since I have my cleats attached a few degrees outward/lateral for knee comfort. What can help in this instance is a very small shim around the medial/inside rear bolt (helping to raise the cleat off of the shoe in that spot), which can help flatten-out the cleat and make it seat better. We're going to try that with my cleats. LOOKs are similar, so maybe that would help you, too.