- Pro cyclists ride tens of
thousand of kilometres each
and every year.
So it's vital that their
cleats are set up correctly
to insure no injuries or any
problems with knees whatsoever.
But, what's talked about
less and less is actually
the choice of cleats by
the riders and how tight
their pedals are when
it comes to disengaging.
So let's ask some of
the riders what they use
and how tight their pedals are.
Come on.
(upbeat music)
- I use red cleats fixed so
I've been fixed my whole career.
It's more for the sprint,
it's more obviously
any amateur I wouldn't
recommend being fixed cleats.
You know, it's a bigger
risk of kind of injury
but in a sprint the
amount of, you wanna be,
you know fixed.
I've always wanted to feel
kind of one with the bike.
I'm from the track, when
you track you want to be
part of the bike
and fixed cleats are
the best way to do that.
- So for your mechanic, Kenny
you've got one of the best in
business there, when he's
got to change your cleats
that's quite an important job.
- I do it myself, I've
always done my cleats meself
that's something your touching.
You can measure it as much
as you want but even shoes
kind of change over time.
Cleats, they wear down, you know everytime
you clip in clip out they
wear so it's important
to kind of measure to about the same.
I always draw around them and
measure them, and put them on
and then you still have to micro adjust
so my first couple of rides I always take
a 4mm allen key with me
and adjust them there so.
- Now Bram, I've just noticed
you're using yellow cleats.
With a bit of black, is
that just to match the kit
or is that because
they're suitable for you?
- (mumbles), yeah
you see that?
- This guy can stretch can't he?
(laughter)
- Yeah only this side though,
that side is done, you know.
- So why have you gone for yellow cleats?
- They are more, they look a bit more like
you can move them a little bit.
So, I think for the most of
us, you know when you crash
or a little, you know, to
the left side of the bike
or to the right side?
- Yeah
- Still you can move your feet
so it's better for injuries.
- Yep
- And I want to have a little bit comfort.
- Yeah
- Have you ever tried the other colours?
- That's really a long time
ago, I think I tried them once
and then I got a knee problem.
- Ah Yeah
- But that was, that was
thirty years ago or something.
- Thirty years ago, he
doesn't look 30 does he?
(laughter)
- And then only, I'm 32 now.
(laughter)
- He started young, what can we say?
(laughter)
- So Toms, I've just had a
look, you're using yellow cleats
on your Shimano pedals.
Why have you gone for yellow?
- I like the float on the yellow ones
sometimes, especially
it's a little bit of pain
to get them precisely.
So if you have the reds you
have no float and it's a little
bit more risk of getting knee
injury or something so if you
have the yellows you have some
leeway and your knee feels
better, at least for me.
- Cool, and you've never tried
the other ones just to see
about that totally fixed position?
- I have, yeah, I have tried the red ones
and didn't love them.
(upbeat music)
- For me the best is the blue
one because for me the yellow
it moves too much for me and
the red one is not so good
because you need to put
really really perfect.
For me the best option is the blue one.
- Okay, and have you used blue
for a long time or have you
ever used the yellow or red?
Have you trialled with them?
- I try, I try in the beginning
with the red but the red is
impossible for me and then the
yellow I feel my power is not
so good in the pedal so I prefer definite,
I prefer the blue one.
- Okay, and how about the
tension of the pedals?
Are they quite tight or
loose or in the middle?
- Much as possible, not in the top,
but much is possible,
I feel better now with the,
I don't have afraid to pull out
when I make the spins.
- Why have you gone for
blue and not yellow or red
is it your favourite colour
or is there some science?
- It's the favourite colour of my son.
(laughter)
- No.
- It's just we made some
research with the bike
positioning guys and they
suggested me to change.
Before I was always with
red, so the fixed one
and now I have some clearance,
not too much but some opportunity to
choose the position.
The body can choose the
position he wants so.
- And how about the
tension on your pedals?
Do you have it quite high for
the sprints or do you keep
it in the middle?
- I have it really high,
almost as high as you can.
(upbeat music)
- So Nathan, I've just had a look.
You're using blue cleats,
why have you gone for blue?
- Because yellows are too soft
and I've tried the red ones
before and they gave me really
sore muscles everywhere.
They didn't really fits me
very well so I think it depends
from rider to rider for
which cleats you use.
- I'm using the black ones from Look.
- They give me just the best hold
and as a sprinter that's very important.
- Have you ever used grey or
red or have you always used
the black ones?
- I've used grey but for
my feeling it's not really
you know, I prefer to have
less comfort and more hold
in the cleats than the other way around.
- Now I've just looked at your pedals.
I can't see how many newton
metres the release is on them.
Do you know what it is?
Is it quite a strong hold?
- These ones should be around
22 or 25, I'm not sure anymore but yeah.
- That's important for a guy like you
kicking out a lot of watts.
- Exactly
(upbeat music)
- So Elia, first of all Happy
Birthday and I notice you're
using yellow shoe cleats.
Why do you use yellow and not blue or red?
- I become pro in 2010 and from that year,
for 8 years I use Speedplay.
Speedplay if you know, also if put all
if you try to close as
much as possible you have
a little bit of small movement.
So for that, after 8 years,
I always tried with a little
bit of movement
the only way
go back to normal pedal
from Speedplay is to use the yellow cleat.
So maybe now I can step
to the blue one next year
and but the first step from
Speedplay to Shimano is
the only way for me is use the
yellow cleats with a little
bit of move so it's the move
I don't feel on the sprint.
- And when you want to take
your foot out of the pedal,
is it quite tight or do you
have it medium or loose?
- I have medium, so on the
freeline of the pedal I put on
medium you don't go out with
the pedal during the sprint,
for example but it's always
a good one if you need to
take off the shoes quickly you can do so.
Yeah (mumbles) is my choice.
- [Interviewer] So Bert let's
have a look at your shoes.
You're using black cleats, Why
have you gone for that one?
- It's very stiff and you don't
have movement when you touch
the pedals so it's good for me.
- Have you ever used any of
the other colours to try them out?
- Yeah 4 years ago I used the grey ones
but black ones I prefer.
- And do you have quite a
lot of tension on the pedals
as well to keep you in there?
- Yeah, I think just normal
but it's good because when you
crash you don't have a lot of tension
because otherwise you
stay on the bike and it's
- Not good.
- No
(upbeat music)
- So Alex, What cleats are you using mate?
- The Look grey ones
- Why have you gone for
grey and not black or red?
- I sort of swap between black and grey.
It doesn't really, the float,
I don't ever use the float
actually because I actually
ride with my heel pressed in
so I pedal like a duck so for me
it's about having my heels
as close to the crank as possible
without touching the crank.
- Cool, and would you ever
be tempted to go to the black
ones then because you do don't
use the float so it's quite
interesting that you don't.
- I have used the black ones
but it's whatever, I've got
some at home, to be honest.
That doesn't sound very
professional but it doesn't make
a blind bit of difference
whether they're grey or black.
It really like,
I could use the red
and it wouldn't make a difference either.
- So you're just fixed in that
position really aren't you?
So Julien, I've seen you
on the front of a peloton
for I don't know how many
hours, I dread to think.
But what I don't know about
you is what cleats you use.
Which one's are you using?
- I'm using the blue
ones, the blue Shimanos.
You can rotate them a little
bit so I feel a little bit
more comfortable with them
because otherwise I have also
the other ones that are really fixed.
But then I need to get used
to the knees and all that
because then it has to be
perfect and I prefer to have
a little bit of tension
for the joints and all that
they're just a little better.
- Have you ever used the
totally fixed ones or not?
- Maybe a long time ago I did
but then I was still riding
Look and now I feel
comfortable with these ones
and I know when you get older
for the messes and all that
it's
- He's not that old.
- Not yet but I'm riding already
a while with these type of shoes.
But I'm good with them and I
always give them to my brother
to fix them.
He puts the cleats on that and
so I'm fine and I'm relaxed.
- Cool, so your brother, he's
the guy who sets them up for
you, he does all the measuring?
- Yeah he does the bike
fitting and the measuring
of the cleats so it's really
important because I don't
like to change a lot because
it's always milimeters
and your body is used to it
because your riding hours
and hours on the bike and
if there's a little bit
of difference you feel it straightaway.
So it's really important
that it's doing quite well
and it's easy that I've
got my brother now.
(laughter)
He does it now so I don't
have to go far for that.
I trust him 100%.
- Cool, So there we are, brotherly love.
Love that.
(upbeat music)
- What colour cleats do you use?
- Yellow on the Shimano pedals.
- Okay and why have you
gone for yellow and not red
or blue, it's not just because
you like the colour is it?
(laughter)
- No.
It's because I can still
can move my feet a little
bit during training and races.
Because if it's forced,
your legs into a not a good
position for like 6 hours long
maybe then I think it's not so good.
So now I still can move it but
I put my pedals on the
most firm stance and then
so it's not too loose but it's
firm and I can still move it.
- What's your reason for choosing those?
- Black just fits me the best.
- And have you ever used any
of the different options to
see about some extra float
or are you just happy
with the black ones?
- Well see Mano was using
the one with three degrees.
- Yeah
- I think like the the middle
version but with Look here
like the mid option is even more a float
and here I find the black one better
which for me I would call it a one degree.
- Okay there we are, a one degree float.
- Why are you using the blue ones?
- If gives a little bit of
range and a bit of movement,
but it's still fixed and yeah
I think we don't have to talk
much about it, it's like, it
is the best pedal out there.
And the best system.
And I prefer blue ones, if you
have a little bit of float,
go to yellow and then there's still red.
So I go in the middle and
I've never had any issue.
- There we are Middle of road.
But he's certainly not in
the middle of the road rider.
So here at the Divide Tour
the most popular pedal types
we have seen in the peloton
are from Look and Shimano.
So let's go and take a
look at the pedal cleats
as well as the tension release systems.
Come on.
(upbeat music)
So riders who are using Look's pedals
either go for the blade model
or the Keo classic really.
Now the blade doesn't use a
traditional spring to maintain
pressure on a riders cleat.
Instead it uses a blade of carbon.
So how does that work?
Well the blade is inserted
into the bottom of the pedal.
And that essentially keeps
the cleat in tension.
So basically there's
two separate tensions,
either 12 or 16 newton metre,
that comes as standard,
however there is a 20 newton
metre additional piece
that you can purchase.
So that determines really,
how much force is required
to enter as well as exit the pedal.
Whereas the Look Keo pedals,
they actually use a spring
to maintain the tension of the cleat,
both entering and releasing
from the pedal and it's adjusted
by our hex wrench here on the back plate.
Now the tensions that you can
adjust are between 8 and 12
newton metres.
(upbeat music)
And the most popular models
of Shimano pedals that we see
are the spd-sl and in particular
the Dura-Ace 9100 model.
How do they work?
Well they are very similar to
that of the standard look KEO,
in that the tension is
adjusted with an allen key
to increase or decrease
the tension required
to either enter or exit the pedal.
How much torque is required though?
I don't know.
As Shimano don't actually list
that that on their website.
(upbeat music)
So now for the actual cleats.
Look offer three different types of cleat.
But what does that really mean?
Well with Look it means you
have a certain amount of degrees
of heel movement or float per cleat.
So in turn that really
allows you to move your knees
a small amount.
So let's start actually
with the black cleat.
That actually has zero float
so you are going to get totally
locked into position there.
So that's the sort of cleat
you'd expect a sprinter to use
for instance.
And then with the grey cleat
they give 4 1/2 degrees
of float at the heel.
And the red cleat finally, that
give 9 degrees of movement,
which is quite a lot.
The Shimano they offer
three cleat options too.
Firstly the Shimano red cleat
their totally into position
and with no heel movement whatsoever.
Then we have a blue
option which they offer
2 degrees of float in the
heel and that is something
that actually professional
riders requested.
So that comes as standard
with the R9100 pedals
that we were looking at.
Yellow cleats, they allow
some lateral movement and
the pivot point of these cleats
is actually in the centre
of the cleat.
They do this by having a narrower
front section of the cleat
where it engages into the pedal.
The amount of float in
those cleats is 6 degrees
so that allows you basically
to have some movement
in front of the shoe, as well as the rear.
So they we are.
Some interesting choices
by the riders there.
And I never knew that
Mark Cavendish, fitted
and replaced his own cleats.
Learn something new every day.
Let me know though, what cleats
you use and why down there
in the comments below.
And also I want to know how tight
you have your releases set.
And remember as well
to like and this video
with your friends and for a video
on why pro riders don't slam their stems.
Click down here.
