Generally speaking, any type of sport we can think of needs some equipment to fully and securely work it out.
Talking about cycling brings a lot of things to your head, such as a good bicycle either the indoor or outdoor one with its pieces of equipment.
Namely, we should have first good pedals and good cleats, which will be our subject in this article, and answer anyone who wonders about the SPD cleats and how they work in addition to what cleats you should get, and more information about the SPD cleats.
What are SPD cleats?
First, SPD stands for Shimano Pedalling Dynamics. These cleats were released by Shimano in 1990 and they are the most popular in the entire world. They are used to fix the feet in the pedal to prevent any foot slip, it has two bolts that can provide a secure ride without any worries.
For sure, we cannot think of the cleats before the shoes first, and Shimano has both the shoes and the cleats, but still to know whether they come together or not.
We have already mentioned this on our website, you can have the entire cake here: “Do Shimano shoes come with cleats?”
How do SPD clips work?
This is a very good question, and we are happy to help. The spd clips are there to secure your feet so that they cannot come off the pedals and get you injured.
To place your feet on the pedals:
Once the clips are installed in your pedals, try to step on the pedal to click your feet in place, you will hear a “click” once your feet are secured as most systems do.
To place your feet off the pedals:
On the other hand, when you want to step out of the pedals, you have to swing your feet heels first to the outside getting ready to put your feet down, then the pedals release.
It is so beneficial to practice this before you decide to hit a long road. You will train your feet on how to get in and out of the pedals, you can have sufficient time practicing this indoors, then to test yourself try to go around the neighborhood from 5 to 10 times to make sure you are adapted to it perfectly.
What do SPD clips look like?
These are the spd clips, they are used to clip your feet on the pedals so that they cannot slip off. You can see they resemble the delta cleats, so here you are getting curious about the difference between them. To fully read on this subject you can enter this link: “Delta VS SPD cleats”
What are SPD SL cleats?
The SPD SL cleats stand for Shimano Pedalling Dynamics SuperLight. They are the popular choice of most professional cyclists, thanks to their stable platform, easy operation, and long-lasting performance. In addition, they are not heavy, because they are made out of plastic with three bolts on the underside.
The SPD SL pedal system is designed for riders who take long roads, without putting their feet down or walking for a long time because this will ruin them and they will have to be changed.
How long do SPD SL cleats last?
Generally, to guarantee your safety you have to replace your SPD SL cleats every 3000 – 5000 miles.
There are some marks you will see telling you to have new cleats. For instance, when your foot drops out the pedal without you trying to, or when you try to release your foot but u realize it is stuck in there.
As you are a professional or a long road taker, you should take a look on them every six months.
Which SPD cleats to buy?
Shimano designed three types of cleats, each of them taking a different color. There is the red one, it has no float but it is 100% fixed in place, but you have to be comfortable adjusting your cleats into the perfect position.
The blue one has two degrees of float, which prevent any foot slipping while riding. The yellow cleats have six degrees of float (three degrees in each direction), which means if you are new to cycling and do not have experience in this, you suffer from knee pain or you do not know where to start, Shimano’s yellow cleats are the best for you.
What is float?
The cleat floats are the ones that allow the foot to take the right position depending on every person.
They are used either by crank brothers’, so let us see if you can use Shimano cleats with crank brother’ pedals and SPD VS crank brothers’ for you to have a full idea about them both and if we can use them together or not.
Before coming to conclusion, let us answer some frequently asked questions:
What are SPD cleats?
Shimano pedaling dynamics are made to not let the feet slip from the pedals during road cycling.
How do SPD cleats work?
You have just to put your foot on the pedal and click it in place, when it is done you are going to hear the click.
What are SPD SL clips?
Shimano pedaling dynamics superlight, are cleats which mostly used by professionals, they are made out of plastic to not be heavy and they have three bolts instead of two.
Which SPD SL cleats do I need?
You need the yellow SPD SL cleats because it is so comfortable and let the feet have their natural position, in addition, if you are a new cycler this is the right choice for you.
How do SPD SL cleats work?
They are the same as the SPD, you have just to put your feet on the pedals to click them in position.
How long do SPD SL cleats last?
You have to replace your SPD SL cleats every 3000 – 5000 miles.
Which SPD cleats to buy?
If you are new to cycling, try the yellow ones because they allow your feet to take their natural position.
final thought
Working out can be in different ways, and each one of us prefers to do it his own way. Biking is one of the best sports that exist, so the need for SPD cleats is so crucial for our safety, we just need to follow the instructions given to us and of course, using the convenient cleats for us.
