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Anyone dremel the bottom of their shoe to get more toe-out angle for their SPD?

1017 Views 10 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Cleared2land, Jan 24, 2022

howardv

Discussion Starter · Jan 21, 2022

I have a weird stance. My left foot needs more toe-out than what the standard SPD allows. I'm using 20mm spacers and have knee pain cause I feel the need to angle my toes just a bit further (to the point where my heels will almost touch the crank). I'm about to take a dremel and try to widen the mounting space on the bottom of my carbon shoes. Has anyone ever done this?

Last year, I spend $350 on a bike fit on my gravel bike. I went to a highly reviewed bike fitter who said I have a weird stance and recommended the 20mm spacers and tried a lot of different positions. On long rides, I still get left knee pain. So I ended up buying dual sided pedals (one side flat), so when I only clip-in when climbing. But I just got some new shoes and want to always clip in, so as a desperate attempt, I'm thinking about widening the rails on my shoe.

Anything else I can try before I proceed with this micro surgery on some expensive shoes?

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1 - 11 of 11 Posts

127.0.0.1

· #2 · Jan 22, 2022

do it on cheap shoes first

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plummet

· #3 · Jan 22, 2022

Yep, pretty much every spd shoe i've owned.

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plummet

· #4 · Jan 22, 2022

Mount your cleats. Then clip the shoe in, if possible, mark out where the pedal is touching the shoe. Then slowly start the Dremel process. Take a little bit of material. The clip back in..... check out the interference, take a bit more if needed. Keep going until you have clear space and can clip in and out.

Just nibble a bit at a time. Don't take big chunks. Its easy to nibble more, but hard to put back material if you have nibbled too much!

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OneSpeed

· #5 · Jan 22, 2022

I'd be curious to see a picture of the area your thinking about modifying, but if you only need 1-1.5mm of clearance for the cleat I think there's enough material in that area generally that you'll be OK. I wouldn't think it would take much to gain 2-3 degrees?

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Cleared2land

· #6 · Jan 22, 2022

Photo would be nice.

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howardv

Discussion Starter · #7 · Jan 22, 2022

Thanks everyone. I'm glad to know I'm not the first person to try this. I'll take before and after photos when I try it tomorrow. I can't believe that after all these years, these darn things aren't more adjustable.

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upstateSC-rider

· #8 · Jan 22, 2022

Utility knife works me, Time pedals but same reason.

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Preston67

· #9 · Jan 22, 2022

yeah I usually have to trim just a bit, I wouldn't worry about it. You have to be comfortable pedals.

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howardv

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jan 24, 2022

To keep this thread updated, I found another solution than dremeling the shoe. I took the sole out and found what you see on the left side of the picture. The base (not sure what it's called) is much larger and has 4 mounting holes. The cleats mount to either the top or bottom two holes. In my bag of old cleat supplies, I found what you see in the right. Not sure where I got those, I think they came with some shoes I had purchased a long time ago and never used. I replaced the original with the one on the right side and this allowed the cleats to tow-in/out much more than with the original! Went on a long ride yesterday and today, tweaked it during the ride, and now it's perfect! I am a bit concerned that the support may not be enough, but it seems to have held up pretty well in my two test rides.

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Cleared2land

· #11 · Jan 24, 2022

It's not adequate if your are using you cleats as designed.

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