Viewing 31 posts - 1 through 31 (of 31 total)
  • Getting cleats out
  • rocky-mountain
    Free Member

    Time to change my cleats, cannot undo them with Allen keys.
    Time for something more brutal, any advice?

    singlecrack
    Free Member

    Sharp drill bits I’m afraid

    cchris2lou
    Full Member

    drill them out if really stuck .

    but first clean the bolt with a needle and try again with a newish allen key .

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    igm
    Full Member

    Drills and/or screw extractors

    lyrikal
    Free Member

    I always fill the head of the bolt on my cleats with silicone, it stops the build up of stuff in the bolt and picks out easily when it comes time to change

    Won’t help remove it this time but worth doing when you do get it sorted

    leffeboy
    Full Member

    Drill, but I find I usually need to cool the bolts with water or the drills don’t cut.

    bigG
    Free Member

    Sharp drill bits are your only option IMHO

    Similar to lyrikal whenever I fit new cleats I fill the Allen key holes, but I use melted candle wax as it can be removed easily with a match, I usually melt wax in and around the base of the cleats too.

    G

    robido
    Full Member

    if you have a welder put a dab of weld on screw head and build it up till you can get molegrips on.i found that it did not need to much as the heat had freed it

    rocky-mountain
    Free Member

    May have to be the angle grinder, been in for 6 years at least!

    carlos
    Free Member

    Dremmel or angle grinder to actually get the main body of the cleat off, bit of a soak with WD40 than get the mole grips on the stud. Never fails if I’ve had a rounded off/stuck fast cleat bolt

    theblackwidows
    Free Member

    Hammer the biggest Torx impact bit you can in, then a ratchet and socket on the end of that. works every time.

    rollindoughnut
    Free Member

    Wd40 from inside and out worked for me.

    theotherjonv
    Full Member

    No help now but I undo my cleats after every ride and tighten them up again next time (just back the bolts off, not take the cleats out)

    30s each ride saves a lot of stress later…..

    JoeG
    Free Member

    ^^
    Every ride??? 😯

    I’ll bet that you also follow the recommended service intervals on your fork; stopping mid-ride if needed! 🙂

    somafunk
    Full Member

    Hammer the biggest Torx impact bit you can in, then a ratchet and socket on the end of that. works every time.

    Good bit of advice by the blackwidows, if a larger torx bit will not fit then enlarge the hole very slightly by drilling out then hammering in the torx bit, the hammering or “direct applied percussion” in engineering terms will most likely shock the initial seized head/thread and it will come loose. By use of torx bit i mean an actual hex drive torx bit not those crap angled soft cheese L-shaped things you get free with brake rotors, they’re only fit for the bin. When you fit new cleats slather the bolts in coppaslip or another such antisieze compound.

    theotherjonv : Be careful as you will eventually stretch the bolt threads to such an extent that they will become loose in the cleat plate as fitted in the shoe, coppaslip or another antisieze compound will do a better job and torque the bolts to 5-6 Nm or 3.5 to 4.5 lb-ft (shimano specs).

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    theotherjonv

    im picturing you doing exactly what mrs tr did the other day ….

    she got winter boots , and i put some cleats loosely on – then told her i needed to get her to sit on the bike to set them up correctly.

    To which i got – im busy

    Fastforward 2 weeks – i get an email. she had been out for a ride and about 3 miles from the house discovered she couldnt unclip !

    i laughed alot – is that evil ?

    kiwijohn
    Full Member

    Drill the bolt head off.
    Cleat falls off.
    What’s left unscrews by hand.

    mattsccm
    Free Member

    He hasn’t said his allen keys have rounded yet. If not more force, having used some WD or something to soak in a bit. when keys round try the torqs method then drill. Use copper grease on new bolts!

    Rich
    Free Member

    I got my last ones out using an electric impact driver.
    Rattled them right out it did.

    bigyinn
    Free Member

    Other top tip is to slightly tighten the cleat bolts first before trying to undo them. Sounds counter intuitive, but you break the rust seal and you dont mash up the hex head trying to get the bolt moving.

    martymac
    Full Member

    drill.
    theres other ways, but they aint any easier, and they will probably be slower as you may end up drilling them out anyway.
    nice sharp bit.
    whats left in the shoe will probably come out by hand, as someone noted above.

    muppetWrangler
    Free Member

    I had exactly the same problem on Saturday, used a dremmel to cut a slot in the head of the bolt and used a flat blade screwdriver to undo it. Start to finish was about three minutes.

    easygirl
    Full Member

    I loosen all the bolts on my bike after every ride, only takes a few minutes and stops them seizing over time 🙁

    rootes1
    Full Member

    and next time a bit of coppaslip on the threads etc

    float
    Free Member

    no one mentioned plusgas yet?

    rangerbill
    Full Member

    I spent ages trying to carefully take out my old cleats, then I realised that its quicker to drill the heads off and change the cleat nuts and cleats
    http://www.ukbikestore.co.uk/product/118/40n_0100/shimano-a100-spd-cleat-nut–plate.html
    The old cleat nuts were rusted badly and stripped when the new cleats were fitted 🙁
    For the sake of £4 quid its worth fitting new ones with your new cleats

    MostlyBalanced
    Free Member

    An angle grinder is quick and easy but stop frequently to let the heat subside or you’ll melt/burn the soles of the shoes.

    andyl
    Free Member

    Drill the bolt head off.
    Cleat falls off.
    What’s left unscrews by hand.

    +1

    rocky-mountain
    Free Member

    angle grinder sorted it out, got carried away, melted some of the shoe, but great fun, cooled them off with a watering can, felt like a blacksmith.

    MostlyBalanced
    Free Member

    You’ll make a neater job next time!

    rocky-mountain
    Free Member

    In about a few years time, I think the shoes may fall off the cleats before the next set are needed

Viewing 31 posts - 1 through 31 (of 31 total)

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