Cycling Equipment · Public discussion

Shimming Shoes with SPD cleats

Paul Ries · 2004-01-05T23:02:47+00:00

I'm wondering if anyone has figured out a way to shim shoes with SPD cleats. I need a 5-6mm rise on one of my shoes but don't want to have the SPD cleat sticking out of the bottom of my shoe (and thus negating the advantage of recessed cleat shoes). I have a pair of SIDI Dominator shoes and took them to a cobbler who said that they couldn't easily add material to the bottom of the shoe to accomplish this. I've had people recommend custom footbeds, but don't believe this will help (even if I could fit them inside my existing shoes), as typically these will only add the height at the heel, and I need the additional 5mm added under the ball of my foot where the cleat attaches to the pedals. Any suggestions? Perhaps some other shoes would be easier for a cobbler to work on (SIDI uses a glued- on sole, whereas some other shoe may not)? Perhaps there is some other way of solving this problem? I've checked with some local bike shops but have not gotten much helpful advise (one shop wanted to fit me up with different length cranks....which I've since concluded was a REALLY BAD (TM) idea). For background: An ancient knee injury has over time resulted in a bow knee where there is an effective leg length difference. That difference has been measured by various practioners to be anywhere from 13 to 24mm: the problem being that to measure the difference by taking an Xray of me standing and as my right knee will no longer "lock", there is some variance caused by how much I choose to "lock" my good knee. The last time I had it measured (by bike fit guru, Dr. Andy Pruitt) he came up with the 13mm number, and I suspect I did not "lock" my good knee, which is probably more representative of bike riding. His philosophy is to correct half the difference (read his book if you are interested: http://www.roadbikerider.com/ap_excerpt.htm ). He was able to shim a pair of road- riding cleats (SPD-SL to be precise, but they are pretty similar in the way the cleat attaches to Look if you are not familiar) for me. I am now in a position (recently started riding a recumbent) where I am not comfortable using that style of cleat and eventually would want to solve this issue for mountain biking too. Note: I live in the SF Bay Area, so suggestions of helpful bike shops or cobblers in this area will be particularly welcomed. Thanks -Paul Ries

Started by Paul Ries · 5 January 2004 · Last activity 7 January 2004 · 7 posts · 1,052 views

← Back to Cycling Equipment

Thread navigation

Jump through the discussion

Go to the original post, the replies on this page, or the latest preserved contribution.

01 / Original postShimming Shoes with SPD cleatsPaul Ries · 5 Jan 2004 02 / This pagePosts 1–7Page 1 of 1 · chronological order 03 / Latest replyPost #7Andrew Bradley · 7 Jan 2004

Thread details

What we know about this thread

Original section: Cycling Equipment
Published: 5 January 2004
Last activity: 7 January 2004
Original author: Paul Ries
Posts: 7
Discussion status: Public discussion
Total views: 1,052
Views / 30 days: 0
Topics: Bike fit Crank arm length Cranksets

The navigation and discussion metadata provide context. Posts remain in their original chronological order.

Original post
Paul Ries
Archived post

5 January 2004, 23:02 UTC #1

I'm wondering if anyone has figured out a way to shim shoes with SPD cleats. I need a 5-6mm rise on
one of my shoes but don't want to have the SPD cleat sticking out of the bottom of my shoe (and thus
negating the advantage of recessed cleat shoes).
I have a pair of SIDI Dominator shoes and took them to a cobbler who said that they couldn't easily
add material to the bottom of the shoe to accomplish this.
I've had people recommend custom footbeds, but don't believe this will help (even if I could fit
them inside my existing shoes), as typically these will only add the height at the heel, and I need
the additional 5mm added under the ball of my foot where the cleat attaches to the pedals.
Any suggestions? Perhaps some other shoes would be easier for a cobbler to work on (SIDI uses a glued-
on sole, whereas some other shoe may not)? Perhaps there is some other way of solving this problem?
I've checked with some local bike shops but have not gotten much helpful advise (one shop wanted to
fit me up with different length cranks....which I've since concluded was a REALLY BAD (TM) idea).
For background: An ancient knee injury has over time resulted in a bow knee where there is an
effective leg length difference. That difference has been measured by various practioners to be
anywhere from 13 to 24mm: the problem being that to measure the difference by taking an Xray of me
standing and as my right knee will no longer "lock", there is some variance caused by how much I
choose to "lock" my good knee. The last time I had it measured (by bike fit guru, Dr. Andy Pruitt)
he came up with the 13mm number, and I suspect I did not "lock" my good knee, which is probably more
representative of bike riding. His philosophy is to correct half the difference (read his book if
you are interested: roadbikerider.comap excerpt.htm ). He was able to shim a pair of road-
riding cleats (SPD-SL to be precise, but they are pretty similar in the way the cleat attaches to
Look if you are not familiar) for me. I am now in a position (recently started riding a recumbent)
where I am not comfortable using that style of cleat and eventually would want to solve this issue
for mountain biking too.
Note: I live in the SF Bay Area, so suggestions of helpful bike shops or cobblers in this area will
be particularly welcomed.
Thanks -Paul Ries

Report
Bill Bushnell
Archived post

5 January 2004, 23:02 UTC #2

Paul Ries said:
I'm wondering if anyone has figured out a way to shim shoes with SPD cleats. I need a 5-6mm rise
on one of my shoes but don't want to have the SPD cleat sticking out of the bottom of my shoe (and
thus negating the advantage of recessed cleat shoes).
Quoted message said:
I have a pair of SIDI Dominator shoes and took them to a cobbler who said that they couldn't
easily add material to the bottom of the shoe to accomplish this.
Quoted message said:
I've had people recommend custom footbeds, but don't believe this will help (even if I could fit
them inside my existing shoes), as typically these will only add the height at the heel, and I
need the additional 5mm added under the ball of my foot where the cleat attaches to the pedals.
Paul:
If your shoes are sufficiently oversized you may be able to add one or more extra insoles to your
shoes. The best kind are made of black closed-cell foam. You could also try making your own insoles
out of cardboard or plastic board.
I have found that my ideal leg extension on the bike varies, that my right leg prefers more
extension than my left, although I am told that my left leg is the longer by about 6mm. One
experiment I may try one of these days is to vary the fore/aft placement of the SPD cleat. Moving
the cleat forward will effectively decrease leg extension. Moving it aft will increase it. Moving
the cleat fore/aft will affect the comfort of other muscles and tendons around the ankle and any
pressure sensitivity at the ball of the foot, but perhaps these side-effects are manageable.
--
Bill Bushnell

Report
Clarke White
Archived post

6 January 2004, 15:02 UTC #3

footfoundation.comfootfoundation.com These folks make an insole system that takes care of this problem.
Works great!

Report
Dale B
Archived post

6 January 2004, 23:03 UTC #4

Bill Bushnell <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:
Paul Ries said:
I'm wondering if anyone has figured out a way to shim shoes with SPD cleats. I need a 5-6mm rise
on one of my shoes but don't want to have the SPD cleat sticking out of the bottom of my shoe
(and thus negating the advantage of recessed cleat shoes).
Quoted message said:
I have a pair of SIDI Dominator shoes and took them to a cobbler who said that they couldn't
easily add material to the bottom of the shoe to accomplish this.
Quoted message said:
I've had people recommend custom footbeds, but don't believe this will help (even if I could fit
them inside my existing shoes), as typically these will only add the height at the heel, and I
need the additional 5mm added under the ball of my foot where the cleat attaches to the pedals.
Paul:
If your shoes are sufficiently oversized you may be able to add one or more extra insoles to your
shoes. The best kind are made of black closed-cell foam. You could also try making your own
insoles out of cardboard or plastic board.
I have found that my ideal leg extension on the bike varies, that my right leg prefers more
extension than my left, although I am told that my left leg is the longer by about 6mm. One
experiment I may try one of these days is to vary the fore/aft placement of the SPD cleat. Moving
the cleat forward will effectively decrease leg extension. Moving it aft will increase it. Moving
the cleat fore/aft will affect the comfort of other muscles and tendons around the ankle and any
pressure sensitivity at the ball of the foot, but perhaps these side-effects are manageable.
I have just had Total Knee Replacement and have one leg that is noticably (at least to me) longer
than before. Not often you get taller as you age! However, I can really feel the difference
walking, and will need a lift in my shoe. Just wondering if anyone has had to adapt his bike for
this problem.

Report
Chuck Davis
Archived post

7 January 2004, 02:04 UTC #5

How about:
murraytourdeforce.co.zapagina1cranks.html
Chuck Davis
"Dale B" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Bill Bushnell <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
Paul Ries said:
I'm wondering if anyone has figured out a way to shim shoes with SPD cleats. I need a 5-6mm
rise on one of my shoes but don't want to have

the
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
SPD cleat sticking out of the bottom of my shoe (and thus negating the advantage of recessed
cleat shoes).
Quoted message said:
I have a pair of SIDI Dominator shoes and took them to a cobbler who

said
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
that they couldn't easily add material to the bottom of the shoe to accomplish this.
Quoted message said:
I've had people recommend custom footbeds, but don't believe this will

help
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
(even if I could fit them inside my existing shoes), as typically

these will
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
only add the height at the heel, and I need the additional 5mm added

under
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
the ball of my foot where the cleat attaches to the pedals.
Paul:
If your shoes are sufficiently oversized you may be able to add one or more extra insoles to
your shoes. The best kind are made of black closed-cell foam. You could also try making your own
insoles out of cardboard or plastic board.
I have found that my ideal leg extension on the bike varies, that my

right
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
leg prefers more extension than my left, although I am told that my left leg is the longer by
about 6mm. One experiment I may try one of these days is to vary the fore/aft placement of the
SPD cleat. Moving the

cleat
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
forward will effectively decrease leg extension. Moving it aft will increase it. Moving the
cleat fore/aft will affect the comfort of other muscles and tendons around the ankle and any
pressure sensitivity at the ball of the foot, but perhaps these side-effects are manageable.
I have just had Total Knee Replacement and have one leg that is noticably (at least to me) longer
than before. Not often you get taller as you age! However, I can really feel the difference
walking, and will need a lift in my shoe. Just wondering if anyone has had to adapt his bike for
this problem.

Report
A Muzi
Archived post

7 January 2004, 04:07 UTC #6

Paul Ries said:
I'm wondering if anyone has figured out a way to shim shoes with SPD cleats. I need a 5-6mm rise
on one of my shoes but don't want to have the SPD cleat sticking out of the bottom of my shoe (and
thus negating the advantage of recessed cleat shoes).
I have a pair of SIDI Dominator shoes and took them to a cobbler who said that they couldn't
easily add material to the bottom of the shoe to accomplish this.

-snip-
You're exactly right in your analysis. What you need is just a piece of aluminum or leather or some
such nylon about the size of a cleat and as thick as your correction. Drill two holes in the piece (
or layers) and fit it between the cleat and your shoe with bolts the length of your present bolts
plus the thickness of the shim(s). This isn't rocket science. Yes, a cobbler should be able to
fabricate something from shoe sole material for you (leather or nylon or whatever)
--
Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Report
Andrew Bradley
Archived post

7 January 2004, 15:03 UTC #7

[email hidden] (Paul Ries) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:
I'm wondering if anyone has figured out a way to shim shoes with SPD cleats. I need a 5-6mm rise
on one of my shoes but don't want to have the SPD cleat sticking out of the bottom of my shoe (and
thus negating the advantage of recessed cleat shoes).
Have you tried a 5mm crank-length differential? People have found this preferable to an all
shim approach.
At first glance it seems the leg with the shorter crank will have to "push harder", but with that
leg being shorter and more stretched the overall leverage may well even out. In any case there are
plenty of riders who have used odd cranks without noticing.
Bit of crank, bit of cleat fore-aft, bit of shim, bit of put up with it is what I'd be trying.
Andrew Bradley

Report

Active in the last 60 minutes

Active in this thread

0 users · 0 guests ·0 bots ·0 total

No signed-in users are active right now.

No known search crawlers active right now.

Jump through the discussion

What we know about this thread

Continue through CyclingForums

Active in this thread