I’m wondering if someone can offer a few suggestions regarding reliable unclipping from Crankbrothers Mallet DH pedals.
As a long time flat (DMR vault) and SPD user I am finding it virtually impossible to unclip from either pedal when the cranks are pointing to the rear of the bike. The toe of the shoes presses against the crank as the heel attempts to swing outwards and prevents release. At any other point in the revolution the pedals release nice and smoothly.
I have even purchased some 0 degree cleats in an attempt to overcome this issue. They seem slightly better but I have now lost most of the free float which originally attracted me to these pedals. Another attempt was to install some extra spacers under the cleat but this then raises the shoe sole well above the pedal surface and causes quite a lot of rocking and loss of support – this does help somewhat with release (in that awkward rearwards position) as the shoe is now free to rock and aid release.
Note also that I have tried this with my old specialized trail shoes and new 2FO cliplites with the same results. I have also backed off all the screws on the pedal surface but nothing seems to really help.
I can see them going in the classifieds if I am unable to sort this….

Cleat too far inboard? How big are your feet?

All clipless pedals will be an issue if you are trying to rotate your foot against the crank. It sounds like a technique issue rather than a pedal problem.

Had this with most CB pedals. Not sure if its the way the release works bit its pretty normal.

Dont think its technique related (other than not putting foot in that position). SPD push a ramp against the release clip so when your toe hits the crank it pushes the pedal sideways and the ramps makes the spring open, CB require both springs to be pushed so push the shoe sideways doesn’t work.

Thanks for the replies so far..

I have tried cleats max’d out both inboard and out and my feet are big clumpy things – size 47.
I really think it is a design thing that requires a different technique in order to unlearn far too may years of SPD muscle memory.

I have a problem with them also

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cb-mallet-dh-pedals-spesh-2fo-shoes

I’m assuming that your cleats are in the 25° release mode

switch the cleats from one shoe to another, which should allow you to disengage at 15°

I had them at 15°

Yes, I had mine @ 15 degrees as well and even tried the 0 degree cleats.

Still will not release in that particular position…..

Sorry – I should have realised that.

Does slamming the cleats in the forward position help? I’d imagine that to be a bit better than slammed all the way back, and inboard, which is how I have them.

size 47.

ditto, maybe its just us with flipper feet that have the problem?

Well at size 47 I’d go with moving your foot up or down

STATO – yes I expect its something to do with our foot size.
Shimano M8020 trail pedals are back on and working just fine. I just know that I can always get out of them when I REALLY need to.
After a bit a clean the Mallets are going up for sale – anyone with normal sized feet interested? They have only been used on the streets trying to get used to them…

Are you using the Mallet E? I never had this problem with the Mallet DH, replaced them with Mallet E and suddenly had it. The Mallet E have a narrower Q factor than the Mallet DH, so my toe was hitting the crank before release. I’ve since put the Mallet DH spindle in the Mallet E and no longer have any problems..

CB do sell a long spindle kit for the Mallet E, but its really hard to find anywhere..

Hi philstone – No using the Mallet DH race so hence the wider Q factor.
I think its just that my huge feet are getting in the way of normal operations (plus years of SPD use and muscle memory being too stuborn to change).

I don’t have monster sized feet (45) but did have some issues unclipping with Mallet 1’s initially. I ended up setting the cleat pointing inwards so there is a little side play when rolling your foot outwards, but it made unclipping really easy.

This was with Specialized 2FO’s.

When I tried running the same pedals with my 5-10 Maltese Falcon LT’s I really struggled to unclip – caused some hairy moments. The wider sole made it real ballache, it kept catching on the crank arm, and no matter how I set them up it felt like I had to have a much to big, exaggerated movement to unclip.

Not much help, but you arn’t the only one who has had issues. If and when I clip in again it will be with 2FO’s and CB pedals again, but the setup has to be spot on. I really don’t like the Shimano system, and riding unclipped is hairy at the best of times, and downright lethal on a Shimano pedal.

No idea if this is relevant as have pretty old mallets ..but will chip in anyway.
I found with mine i also struggled to clip in as the depth of the tread on the shoes interfered too much…then once it was the rubber tread against the pins/pedal that made clipping out really tricky.
I just filed a very small amount of tread on the shoe way – maybe around a 1mm and that seemed to be enough.

Mallet dh? How much posted to oz?

Hi mikewsmith – I’ll be home in NZ for Christmas if you fancy a swim across….

I’m bringing this thread back because I’m having the same issue with my Mallet E’s and it’s getting quite annoying.

I’ve been riding Shimano pedals for years and when my Trail pedals got a bit banged up I figured I’d see what all the CrankBrothers hype was about and it seemed like I would really like the new Mallet E’s.

I’m running Specialized 2FO Cliplite shoes (size 45) with the 15 degree clips in the middle of my shoes. Clipping in is not a problem but unclipping in emergency situations has been a bit of a problem, so much so that it has caused me to fall it technical areas where I would have had no problems on my Shimano pedals, instead I’m getting one (or both) feet stuck and falling right over.

I rode some ridgeline stuff on Colorado and Utah last fall with my Shimano pedals and would think twice about doing so with these Mallet E’s.

Is there anything I can do with these Mallet E’s to make them easier to unclip???

Use the shoe shield/spacers to lift space the cleat is one option, play with the pins. Which grip pads are you using on the pedals.
Biggest question why can’t you unclip – whats actually happening that will provide the actual answer.

Simple process
Wind the pins all the way in.
Still got problems fit the spacer/shoe shield
After that clipin take shoe off and see whats catching – may need a slight mod to the tread of the shoe

The problem is your toe rotates into the crank stopping your foot from rotating enough to unclip, nothing to do with spacers or pins on the pedal.

I recently made a thread about the same thing with my mallet e’s, the only thing you can do is move your cleat as far inboard as possible (pushing your feet outwards on the pedals) and/or get the long spindle kit. However I’ve found that it’s only an issue when I’m messing about in my garage, if I step off the back of my bike and leave one foot on the pedal perfectly inline with the cranks level I can’t unclip. But in practice while sat or stood on the bike I can unclip with the cranks at any position. In fact yesterday I was glad of the lower Q factor at Coedy with rock strikes galore.

I remember your thread, and that was your problem (though with size 10 2FO – non cliplite it wasn’t an issue at all for me.
I did have a problem when a couple of pins were too far out with it not freeing up. Slight tweak and it was fine.

Ah yeah you’re probably right mikewsmith, I skimmed through jcway16’s post the first time and saw shoe size and assumed he was having the same issue as the OP.

It’s definitely worth spending some time looking at how the shoe/cleat interfaces, there’s a good chance you need to use the spacers provided underneath the cleat, I do with my AM9’s. Same reason the new mallets come with the interchangeable “traction pads” to get that interface just right. In my experience crank bros are easier to unclip from than SPD’s so play with the spacers/pins and you shouldn’t have any issues getting out.

I forgot to note that I actually do have the CrankBrothers metal shoe shields/spacers installed. My pins have been at stock height, I’m running the stock/thinner traction pad and my cleats are in the 15 degree configuration.

Today I screwed the pins in 1 full turn, but it’s hard to tell what difference that may have actually made as I did not have any emergency unclip situations on the trail today.

Screwing the pins in so they don’t touch the base of my shoes seems to defeat the purpose of running these pedals. At that point I should just run eggbeaters.

I feel like it’s an issue with the design of these pedals. The extra float/release angle may just be too extreme.

I can still return these (thank you Amazon), I’m considering doing so and picking up the newer XT or XTR Trails. My previous Shimano M530’s were never a problem and unclipped when I didn’t want them to very very very rarely.

I had the same problem causing great hilarity to my riding mates as I kept landing in a clipped in heap. I gave up on cb pedals in the end.

Used older mallets and now mallet E’s with Shimano MT91 boots and 661 Filter shoes, size 9/44 and never had a problem clipping in, or out, even when going over the bars and not even conciously thinking about unclipping

OK but the question still remains, what is stopping you unclipping, as the other post is it the toe hitting the crank? The reason for winding the pins in was to see if they are gripping the tread in one place too much. It was a step by step process.

I’m honestly not sure what the issue sounds as it’s only an issue in emergency ‘oh shit’ situations, which was never a problem with Shimano pedals. It’s hard to say what exactly is going on, it may just be the extreme float/release angle???

15 degrees isn’t really extreme, you do have them the right way round don’t you?

Similar to Shimano SPD their cleat is compatible with the standard two hole pattern. However the cleats are only compatible with Crankbrothers pedals. The pedals feature 6 degrees of float and a 15-20 degree release angle depending on what side you put the cleats. For an earlier 15 degree release, place the cleat with the two dots on the right shoe and vice versa for the 20 degree release.

As I say personal experience is turn and get out, only issue was pins gripping the shoe too much when everything was brand new.

I do have them in the correct orientation for a 15 degree release.

The only time I really have an issue is in ‘oh shit’ emergency unclip situations, which is the worst possible time to worry about trying to get my foot out. This was never a problem with my Shimano pedals.

The CrankBrothers pedals have 6 degrees of float and a 15-20 degree release angle. Shimano Trail pedals have 4 degrees of float, but what is there release angle???

I’m now wondering what the advantage and allure is with these Mallet E’s can Shimano Trail pedals?

but what is there release angle???

Unpublished… I think it really depends on the amount of tension you have in them (and as the cleats wear they come out much easier)

For me the advantages are clear, support, platform, pinned platform, consistent and very predicatble release, 3 way engagement. Perhaps your just not used to the extra few degrees, the feel I have and I remember when I switched was your foot is IN all the way until 14.9 degree’s then it’s out. With shimano I remember it feeling more gradual.

If it’s not foot clipping the crank etc then maybe it’s something with the channel in the middle
It’s bigger than a lot of shoes I’ve used in the past.