Friday, May 31, 2013

How to remove a "stuck" cleat

It's common knowledge that one should occasionally check the screws that attach the cleat to a cycling shoe.  However ...
It is human nature to think wisely and act in an absurd fashion.
... which led me to this.

Truth-seeker discovers his own humanity.  Notice that
access to the remaining screw and cleat is limited by the pedal.  
What happened here is after ignoring the cleat for well over a year, one of the screws came loose and fell out during a ride.  With only one screw holding the cleat, as the shoe twists the cleat stays locked inside the pedal.

After removing the insole, one can see that a second
screw is missing in the hole on the right. 
You might notice in the first picture that there is too little space to fit another screw and screw driver.  Once you remove the insole, the solution is obvious.  Stick a screw into the right hole ...
Screw partially inserted.
... and twist the shoe off the pedal.
Woo hoo!
Obviously, I had a sandal here which made inserting a screw into the loose cleat a simple task.  Different shoes could limit access making the process more difficult.

1 comment:

  1. I wonder if you clipped another shoe in the opposite side if you could then pull them both off when the 2nd shoe is unclipping.

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