Squeaking shoes / cleats

Joel said:

Ever since I bought new shoes and cleats I have had chronic squeaking
that is worse when I stand.
The old shoes were Sidi Genius 3 with standard red look cleats which
never ever squeaked.
The new shoes are Sidi Genius 5 with the newer red/white look cleats.
Rubbing candle wax on the cleats helps but not for long, sometimes less
than 1 ride. Walking in dirt makes it worse. It behaves the same on
several different bikes with different Look pedals.
Is this a cleat problem or shoe problem or both?
I have heard of all kinds of possible temporary fixes like armour all,
wax, etc.
Is there a permanent solution that does not require reapplying
something all the time?

Beeswax - stays on *lots* longer because of its gummy consistency.

Cleat covers - keeps the dirt out. Dirt makes the squeaks a lot worse.

Dunno if there's a better idea (short of changing pedal type), but this
works for me.

Mark J.

Are you sure it's the cleats squeaking not the shoes?

I had very similar symptons and spent a couple of months trying
different lubing metods before someone suggested getting a stanley
knife to the shoe rubber. Basically it was part of the sole making
contact with the pedal. As you can imagine when rubber is rubbed for
a period of time on metal it starts to squeak - having a bit of mud in
there makes things worse.

Joel said:

Ever since I bought new shoes and cleats I have had chronic squeaking
that is worse when I stand.
The old shoes were Sidi Genius 3 with standard red look cleats which
never ever squeaked.
The new shoes are Sidi Genius 5 with the newer red/white look cleats.
Rubbing candle wax on the cleats helps but not for long, sometimes less
than 1 ride. Walking in dirt makes it worse. It behaves the same on
several different bikes with different Look pedals.
Is this a cleat problem or shoe problem or both?
I have heard of all kinds of possible temporary fixes like armour all,
wax, etc.
Is there a permanent solution that does not require reapplying
something all the time?

http://bike.shimano.com/catalog/cycle/products/component.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441770660&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302050755&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395181674&bmUID=1168704380280

Let's hear it one more time for Tiny: http://tinyurl.com/yazsxr

I have a friend who used a Dremel tool w/grinder or "sandpaper" bit to
lightly buff off the "squeak points" on his Look cleats. (Obvious from
dark discoloration. Old Look pedals may benefit from this, also) "Works
for a day" or so. At least as good as the various other
cures/palliatives.

Our new Shimano fleet <g> has been squeak-free so far. The supplied
cleat screws don't seem to work with Sidi shoes, Gen III/IV's at least.
Using items from the Look/Sidi/Campy grab bag. Otherwise, good results,
and the cleats make store-stop walking more secure, too. It's possible
to occasionally get a "false entry" but you can tell 100% when that
happens. Not a "mud" pedal but then neither are the Looks. --D-y

Quoted message said:

I have a friend who used a Dremel tool w/grinder or "sandpaper" bit to
lightly buff off the "squeak points" on his Look cleats. (Obvious from
dark discoloration. Old Look pedals may benefit from this, also) "Works
for a day" or so. At least as good as the various other
cures/palliatives.

Just a square inch of medium sandpaper in the toolbag (such as is found
in Rema patch kits) will do fine, but I use this only in a pinch
becauses I don't like the thought of sanding away my cleats for a squeak
solution that, as you say, only lasts for a day or so.

It seems one only needs to "roughen" the contact points.

Mark J.

Joel said:

Ever since I bought new shoes and cleats I have had chronic squeaking
that is worse when I stand.
The old shoes were Sidi Genius 3 with standard red look cleats which
never ever squeaked.
The new shoes are Sidi Genius 5 with the newer red/white look cleats.
Rubbing candle wax on the cleats helps but not for long, sometimes less
than 1 ride. Walking in dirt makes it worse. It behaves the same on
several different bikes with different Look pedals.
Is this a cleat problem or shoe problem or both?
I have heard of all kinds of possible temporary fixes like armour all,
wax, etc.
Is there a permanent solution that does not require reapplying
something all the time?

Thanks - Joel

synopsis: switch to Time:

I struggled through transient Look cleat noises (w/ Sidi shoes) far too
long with lubricants/waxes/sandpaper/you-name-it, and am probably still
somewhat shell-shocked and in need of therapy. In fact I went straight
to Look when clipless first came to market, but switched entirely to
Time 2 years ago and couldn't be happier. They have a dintinct click
in/out that leaves no doubt about where you are, click in really easily
and never out when you don't want out, have better adjustments, have
perfect range of motion, the cleats are far easier to walk on (they call
them "cafe" cleats), and they last about 8 times longer because your
click-in/out is metal-on-metal, rather than Look plastic. Last, but not
least: they are silent. The only problem is the newest generation is
not servicable, but they look like they'll never really need it (like
King headsets, which I regularly service anyway), and you can send them
to QBP and they have the special tool. I had to send them in for recall
already and QBP was very good about it. But the lack of servicability is
an issue in particular for me because I have a "need" to disassemble all
these things on a regular basis. Maybe Park will make the tool to open
them up some day.

Bill Westphal

Mark said:

Quoted message said:

I have a friend who used a Dremel tool w/grinder or "sandpaper" bit to
lightly buff off the "squeak points" on his Look cleats. (Obvious from
dark discoloration. Old Look pedals may benefit from this, also) "Works
for a day" or so. At least as good as the various other
cures/palliatives.

Just a square inch of medium sandpaper in the toolbag (such as is found
in Rema patch kits) will do fine, but I use this only in a pinch
becauses I don't like the thought of sanding away my cleats for a squeak
solution that, as you say, only lasts for a day or so.

It seems one only needs to "roughen" the contact points.

Lightly buff = lightly buff. Not much material removed, at all. Dremel
offers a rechargable unit; very handy and when used before a ride, you
don't have to listen to a squeak part way through or stop to de-squeak.

IME, if the pedal is worn enough (old Alu style body), the "fix" is
short-lived, even after a pretty good attempt to clean pedal and cleat.
One more advantage of the Shimano-- contact plate is replaceable. Yes,
they're kinda cheesy, just thin, hard plastic, but replaceable. Haven't
crossed that bridge yet but they just snap in there and you get a
replacement set in the new pedal box. --D-y