8/23/15 9:44 AM

looking for suggestions on materials/techniques to shim modern cleats to work with older curved cycling shoe soles.

trying to get speedplay cleats to mate properly with my NOS lace-up vittorias, the soles have a pronounced curve -- way more than the oem shims are designed to handle. thankfully the vittorias are 3-bolt compatible, so there's no need to retrofit threaded inserts.

i read about a guy using bondo to build up the sole. that sounds extreme. wondering if there are other well-proven alternatives that arent so permanent. maybe there are good candidate materials i can grind/sand and affix to the speedplay base-plate that arent permanently bonded to the shoe.

8/23/15 12:36 PM

How about shims cut from plastic milk jugs? I've often seen this recommended for leg length shims. (I use BikeFit shims myself.)

8/23/15 12:47 PM

JB weld? Although bondo seems a good choice. It you do not let it harden all the way before working it with a cheese grater/file type tool it can be quick work to shape.
Do you want to breath that shit is the real question.

You could use layer of plastic as suggested. I have used pieces of the thicker 5 gallon bucket plastic to fabricate stuff many time over the years.

Depending on what you need for the thickest part, layers of milk container CA glued together seems doable.

What is the max and min thickness needed?

8/23/15 3:14 PM

Milk jug plastic. Works great. CA glue on plastic gets brittle in no time and often won't glue plastic at all.

8/23/15 3:53 PM

Thin washers for structural elements and plastic for stability?

Any old shoes you can sacrifice?

How about taking a belt sander to a Look cleat?

Horror: toe clips and straps! Good luck, send pictures.

8/23/15 5:00 PM

I keep forgetting I have non end user CA glue in a few viscositys and aerosol accelerator/hardener for my guitar work etc. Most folk think Crazy glue when I say CA glue. That is crap at 300.00+ a gallon.

8/23/15 5:47 PM

is the amount of shimming necessary.

i need a solid 1/8" thickness of filler, at least, at one end of the cleat.

using milk-jug plastic seems pretty mickey-mouse, as i'd need so many layers.

whats a readily available and cheap plastic-like stock thats reasonably thick and easy to grind down but still stiff/firm enough?

8/23/15 6:51 PM

Who do you know with a 3D printer?

8/23/15 7:18 PM

...there should be some smaller wedges in the shim kit. I've stacked these with the snap shims with good results.

If you decided to try building up the sole, cover it and the underside of the cleat with masking tape first. That way, you can remove the shims if they don't work out. Once you're satisfied with the shape, peel/pry them off and reattach them with double-sided tape or glue.

8/23/15 7:55 PM

i'll do some noodlin on this when i have some spare time to focus.

8/24/15 6:43 AM

I have a pile of them from other Speedplay cleats, so I usually manage to dig something up that will do the job.

8/24/15 6:50 AM

...the shims will be workable. i have like 5 complete sets of shims, which is a good start.

then i realized the shims include both std and thick options. the thick options help alot. i can use extra shims, ground down to fit, to fill the remaining gap for the back-half of the baseplate.