Sh51 cleats – Fake or defective? Overreacting?

Just fitted a pair of cleats to new shoes and had difficulty clipping in or out.

Literally 4 or 5 attempts to clip in/out and they look like this –

Old well used cleats for reference used with same pedals, note lack of gouges;

Quite glad I was trying them on the turbo as it would have been a safety issue if I had tried them on a ride

Seems even the packing isn’t sure if they are genuine

I’d go fake. Just google the cleats, and genuine packaging doesn’t say ‘authentic’

Where did you buy them from?

They look sh1te. And fake.

Where did you buy them?

I’ve never seen sh51 cleats gouged like that.

I’d suggest those are fake.

I had some fake cleats during covid times when stuff was hard to get and they lasted ages, certainly not like that. I’d say those are fake and not good ones.

Thanks for confirming my thoughts.

They were from an alleged bike shop on Ebay – never had an issue before.

I have messaged them for a refund.

Even a ‘pattern’ SPD cleat (sold as pattern) I have one one set are better than those fakes.

They look like the fakes in this thread.

https://www.mtbr.com/threads/counterfeit-shinano-cleats.1197987/

I think I had similar from ebay, pretty sure they were fakes. Never did anything about it though, apathetically.

Sooo fake! Good clues on ebay include anything Shimano that’s shipping from China, or from a seller with a Chinese sounding username, or the word “for” before the product name. I won’t buy Shimano on ebay from retailers I’ve never heard of or can’t find elsewhere online now.

I unintentionally bought a fake 105 chain last year. 300 miles and it was so far beyond worn out it didn’t even sit on the chainring properly. With a genuine one side by side it’s very difficult to see any difference, never mind tell which is genuine.

I’d assume fake too.

I’ve used spds for like, 25 years, and the corners wear eventually, but I’ve never managed to actually take chunks out of them, even with significant hike a bike sections.

Happened to have a packet lying around. I’d say that the dash in SM-SH51 on yours looks a bit weird.

The “Authentic?” text means they’re supposedly verifiable with an app or something…

https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/information/anti-counterfeit.html