Repairing cleat damage to SPD shoe midsole?

I’ve got a pair of 2 year old Spesh Recon 3s, which I use (in summer) on my gravel bike.

Unclipping is getting a bit precarious and I’m 99% sure its down to the big trench worn in the midsole just behind the cleat where they midsole rests on the pedal (its about 3mm deep on the left shoe, a bit less on the right)

The rest of the shoes are in good condition, they’re comfy and they were not a cheap purchase, so only getting 2 years out of them would be rather poor. (I got 7 or 8 years out of the previous Terraduros and they were used for MTB too)

So is there a suitable epoxy type material to repair them with. I can’t see araldite sticking well enough or having enough flex. It needs to make a really strong bond with the (nylon?) midsole, have some flex, yet be very wear resistant. Or is it more likely to be plastic welding type thing?

(I have in the past tried those thin steel sole-saver plates. Not a fan – they make the stack height of the cleat taller so there’s only the cleat contacting the pedal, not the outsole of the shoe, so it feels very unstable “dancing on icecubes”, plus I have bent the plate before (into the gouge previously worn) and been absolutely unable to unclip without taking the shoe off first).

Ideas and experiences?

Thanks!

I’m surprised the shoe has worn anywhere near the cleat – certainly hasn’t done on any of my SPD shoes ? I’d try a new cleat first before any other ‘repairs’.

The cleats are a bit tired, its true – and I will swap them), but they’re not that bad (been using SPDs since the mid ’90s so have a good idea what shagged ones look like!), but its definitely a sole problem – if you plan the unclip and unweight the pedal its all fine. If you have any load on the shoe pushing it into the pedal I can only move my foot a couple of degrees before it all jams up.

Read the whole Op…

ignore me

Crank Bros do a thin metal plate to go between the shoe and cleat to prevent wear. Might still work for spd cleats too.

@mjsmke – something tells me you didn’t read my last paragraph in the OP 😉

I don’t think the mechanism should be making contact there? i know you’ve said you’ve tried spacers, but to me that looks like the cleat is far too into the soul of the shoe

on my clipless shoes the only damage seems to be where the pins from my platforms gouge slightly twisting in and out, certainly no evidence around the cleat slot.

on the cheapy shimano 520’s the only interface to the shoe is the mechanism, and to the sides of the cleat box along the axle

Must say, I’ve never had any wear their from my SPD’s on any of the shoes (currently SPD on 3 bikes, Look Delta on two). I’d clean up the cleat as a minimum.

The basic issue is that from new the outsole was too thin, so that the cleat protruded by a mm or so (when walking I walked on the metal cleat not the rubber sole). When riding, all the load is taken by the cleat mechanism resting on the midsole, not the pedal body onto the outsole.

They were hideous to use on a mountainbike where I do more walking and the instability/standing on icecubes feeling was more prominent which why I turned them over to gravel use and bought some Shimano AM9s for MTB which were night & day nicer.