Need Some Help - Shoe/Pedal/Cleat Combo Confusion??

[Kneedown19]

Hi Everyone

Need some help clearing up a bit of confusion about shoe/pedal/cleat combinations.

I've just picked up a few bits of gear and think I may have got them mixed up between road & mtb stuff.

I wanted some step in pedals to suit my new Avanti Blade Sport so I bought a set of these due to the fact that I could use cycle as well as regular shoes:

Shimano M324 which are for SPD cleats;

I then picked up a pair of these Shimano SH-R061 shoes which I now realise are SPD-SL cleats.

Does anyone know if I can fit SPD cleats to these shoes?

Also why do some SPD-SL cleats have two bolts and others have three (the cleats that came with the shoes only have two bolts even though there are three bolt holes)??

 

[artemidorus]

Cleats come with the pedals, not the shoes. The cleats you have are SPD, not SPD-SL. SPD-SL cleats always have 3 bolts. It looks like you will need to get shoes that take SPD cleats. If you bought those shoes at a shop, you just need to exchange them for MTB-type shoes. If you bought them on-line, you may have a problem.

 

[rparedes]

Hi Everyone

Need some help clearing up a bit of confusion about shoe/pedal/cleat combinations.

I've just picked up a few bits of gear and think I may have got them mixed up between road & mtb stuff.

I wanted some step in pedals to suit my new Avanti Blade Sport so I bought a set of these due to the fact that I could use cycle as well as regular shoes:

Shimano M324 which are for SPD cleats;

I then picked up a pair of these Shimano SH-R061 shoes which I now realise are SPD-SL cleats.

Also why do some SPD-SL cleats have two bolts and others have three (the cleats that came with the shoes only have two bolts even though there are three bolt holes)??

Shimano makes road shoe for SPD cleats (SH-RT50; look at their web site) or you could just get their sport shoe (SH-MT20D) which has SPD cleats and also you can wear as a regular shoe.
Most road shoes actually have an additional pair of holes near the center (kind of like a slot) so that you can install a SPD cleat. A SPD-SL only, shoe has the 3 hole pattern. I ride in road shoes (Pearl Izumi vagabond) with SPD cleats and SPD road pedals (PD-A520) (it's not easy to walk on them; the SPD cleats are actually meant to be recessed into the bottom of the shoe) but this arrangement allows me to use the same cleat on my MTB (When I wear my shimano MT20D sport shoe) and road bike. For some trips when i want to also walk around town I ride my road bike with the MTB shoes. If all you want is to ride on the road and not walk, then a SPD-Sl, Look compatible or other road pedal may work better for you.

 

[artemidorus]

You can't pull that plastic plate off the sole of your shoe, can you? There wouldn't be any SPD holes lurking under there?

 

[Rustyhole]

pretty sure SPD & SPD-SL are not compatible
SPD cleats will not attach to a shoe using SPD-SL
You either need new cleats or shoes

Note: I use M545 & M424 pedals (both MTB pedals with the cage) and I hope your cleat system is not dual sided as mine are. It makes it very hard to pedal without your cycling shoes as the mechanism sits above the plane of the pedal to allow for the shoe to attach, but without them, my feet are always sqirming around.

Happy cycling!