This truly sucks...

[Cameron]

Yes, this sucks. As opposed to Shaun's off topic rants. ;-)

Ever notice how one problem balloons into a major problem? Case in point: I received a REI gift
certificate for Christmas, and I went shopping the other day. I have been thinking about new
shoes for awhile. My current shoes are Shimano MO36's. Nice and comfy, but I wanted a more
aggressive tread pattern. Plus, the Shimano's have enough tread to push up steep slopes, yet
grip platform pedal's good. Since I'm doing alot more DH riding and other types of riding where
I use flats frequently, I needed platform shoes. And I already have a pair that works... I found
a nice pair of Diadora shoes at REI, so I took them home and went to switch my Time cleats over.
I made sure to clean out the sockets well. The first two bolts came loose with abit of effort,
as to be expected. So I moved that cleat to the new shoe (remember that Times have a left- right
difference). The third bolt came loose with no problem, but the head of the fourth stripped out
easily. Didn't figure it would happen with brass screws. Duh, the plate inside the shoe is
steel. I tried a semi-successful technique of hammering in a flat screwdriver to get enough bite
to back out the screw, to no avail. So I decided to drill out the screw. Of course, I can't find
my easy-out set anywhere, and if I can find an appropriate size drill bit, I'll break it. Which
I did. So now I have one seized bolt, with a stripped out head and the tip of a broken bit stuck
inside. But on the bright side, I could remove the insole and get at the bolt from the inside. A
new easy-out and a new $4.59 carbide bit later, plus a hammer and punch, and the stupid bolt is
out. Now I just have to find replacements. Grrrrrrrr....

--
Cameron

 

[Simon]

"Cameron" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
| Yes, this sucks. As opposed to Shaun's off topic rants. ;-)
|
| Ever notice how one problem balloons into a major problem? Case in point: I received a REI
| gift certificate for Christmas, and I went shopping the other day. I have been thinking about
| new shoes for awhile. My current shoes are Shimano MO36's. Nice and comfy, but I wanted a more
| aggressive tread pattern. Plus, the Shimano's have enough tread to push up steep slopes, yet
| grip platform pedal's good. Since I'm doing alot more DH riding and other types of riding
| where I use flats frequently, I needed platform shoes. And I already have a pair that works...
| I found a nice pair of Diadora shoes at REI, so I took them home and went to switch my Time
| cleats over. I made sure to clean out the sockets well. The first two bolts came loose with
| abit of effort, as to be expected. So I moved that cleat to the new shoe (remember that Times
| have a left- right difference). The third bolt came loose with no problem, but the head of the
| fourth stripped out easily. Didn't figure it would happen with brass screws. Duh, the plate
| inside the shoe is steel. I tried a semi-successful technique of hammering in a flat
| screwdriver to get enough bite to back out the screw, to no avail. So I decided to drill out
| the screw. Of course, I can't find my easy-out set anywhere, and if I can find an appropriate
| size drill bit, I'll break it. Which I did. So now I have one seized bolt, with a stripped out
| head and the tip of a broken bit stuck inside. But on the bright side, I could remove the
| insole and get at the bolt from the inside. A new easy-out and a new $4.59 carbide bit later,
| plus a hammer and punch, and the stupid bolt is out. Now I just have to find replacements.
| Grrrrrrrr....
|
| --
| Cameron
|
Damn I hate days like that.

Simon

 

[Andy Chequer]

"Cameron" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Yes, this sucks. As opposed to Shaun's off topic rants. ;-)
>
> Ever notice how one problem balloons into a major problem? Case in point: I received a REI
> gift certificate for Christmas, and I went shopping the other day. I have been thinking about
> new shoes for awhile. My current shoes are Shimano MO36's. Nice and comfy, but I wanted a more
> aggressive tread pattern. Plus, the Shimano's have enough tread to push up steep slopes, yet
> grip platform pedal's good. Since I'm doing alot more DH riding and other types of riding
> where I use flats frequently, I needed platform shoes. And I already have a pair that works...
> I found a nice pair of Diadora shoes at REI, so I took them home and went to switch my Time
> cleats over. I made sure to clean out the sockets well. The first two bolts came loose with
> abit of effort, as to be expected. So I moved that cleat to the new shoe (remember that Times
> have a left- right difference). The third bolt came loose with no problem, but the head of the
> fourth stripped out easily. Didn't figure it would happen with brass screws. Duh, the plate
> inside the shoe is steel. I tried a semi-successful technique of hammering in a flat
> screwdriver to get enough bite to back out the screw, to no avail. So I decided to drill out
> the screw. Of course, I can't find my easy-out set anywhere, and if I can find an appropriate
> size drill bit, I'll break it. Which I did. So now I have one seized bolt, with a stripped out
> head and the tip of a broken bit stuck inside. But on the bright side, I could remove the
> insole and get at the bolt from the inside. A new easy-out and a new $4.59 carbide bit later,
> plus a hammer and punch, and the stupid bolt is out. Now I just have to find replacements.
> Grrrrrrrr....
>
> --
> Cameron

Last couple of sets of cleats I've installed with plumber's (PTFE) tape and it's helped, for what
it's worth.

Andy Chequer

 

[Gmr2048]

Had the same problem with one of the bolts on my Times as well. I ended up taking my Dremel tool and
a metal cutting bit and cutting a slot in the stripped bolt. I tried using a bigass straigh
screwdriver to no avail. I then kinda angled the cuts to remove the head all together. Went to my
local Performance bike shop and bought a new set of cleats for about $14.

-gary

On Sat, 25 Jan 2003 17:53:19 GMT, "Cameron" <[email protected]> wrote:

> So now I have one seized bolt, with a stripped out head and the tip of a broken bit stuck
> inside. But on the bright side, I could remove the insole and get at the bolt from the inside.
> A new easy-out and a new $4.59 carbide bit later, plus a hammer and punch, and the stupid bolt
> is out. Now I just have to find replacements. Grrrrrrrr....

 

[Cameron]

"Andy Chequer" <bicycle.repair.man@(removethisbittosend)secretworldgovernment.org> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Cameron" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> > Yes, this sucks. As opposed to Shaun's off topic rants. ;-)
> >
> > Ever notice how one problem balloons into a major problem? Case in point: I received a REI
> > gift certificate for Christmas, and I went shopping the other day. I have been thinking
> > about new shoes for awhile. My current shoes are Shimano MO36's. Nice and comfy, but I
> > wanted a more aggressive tread pattern. Plus, the Shimano's have enough tread to push up
> > steep slopes, yet grip platform pedal's good. Since I'm doing alot more DH riding and other
> > types of riding where I use flats frequently, I needed platform shoes. And I already have a
> > pair that works... I found a nice pair of Diadora shoes at REI, so I took them home and went
> > to switch my Time cleats over. I made sure to clean out the sockets well. The first two
> > bolts came loose with abit of effort, as to be expected. So I moved that cleat to the new
> > shoe (remember that Times have a left- right difference). The third bolt came loose with no
> > problem, but the head of the fourth stripped out easily. Didn't figure it would happen with
> > brass screws. Duh, the plate inside the shoe is steel. I tried a semi-successful technique
> > of hammering in a flat screwdriver to get enough bite to back out the screw, to no avail. So
> > I decided to drill out the screw. Of course, I can't find my easy-out set anywhere, and if I
> > can find an appropriate size drill bit, I'll break it. Which I did. So now I have one seized
> > bolt, with a stripped out head and the tip of a broken bit stuck inside. But on the bright
> > side, I could remove the insole and get at the bolt from the inside. A new easy-out and a
> > new $4.59 carbide bit later, plus a hammer and punch, and the stupid bolt is out. Now I just
> > have to find replacements. Grrrrrrrr....
> >
> > --
> > Cameron
>
> Last couple of sets of cleats I've installed with plumber's (PTFE) tape
and
> it's helped, for what it's worth.

Good idea. Just so happens that I have teflon tape handy... Gonna try that out.

--
Cameron

 

[Cameron]

"gmr2048" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Had the same problem with one of the bolts on my Times as well. I ended up taking my Dremel tool
> and a metal cutting bit and cutting a slot in the stripped bolt. I tried using a bigass straigh
> screwdriver to no avail. I then kinda angled the cuts to remove the head all together. Went to my
> local Performance bike shop and bought a new set of cleats for about $14.

I wouldn't have been such a big deal if it wasn't for my tendency to break every drill bit I get
my hands on. When I get a chance there is a store about a mile from here that specializes in nuts
and bolts.

--
Cameron