[Zaph]

Has anyone tried these?

http://www.crankbrothers.com/shoe_shields.php?itemId=

I have, and I thought I would relay some interesting experiences. I have Candies on my mtb and eggbeaters on my road bike. With the tread on my shoes, (Shimano SH-M181) there wasn't enough clearance. I could click in, but it took a lot of pressure and then they were rigid. These spacers were just the ticket and I now have enough clearance to click in easily.

Now the interesting part: these shoe shields improved the feel of the pedals, even on the road bike where they weren't needed. Rather than a loosey-goosey feel, there's solid contact and a mild amount of rotation friction.

These shoe shields seem to be marketed at people with road bikes who are afraid to scratch their carbon fiber shoes. But as a spacer they do the job and improve feel.

 

[Chris130]

Yeah, a product similar to these was sold on eBay for a long time ("Beater Blockers"), I've always used them - they are lifesavers for any shoe. The dude who sold them was a great guy to work with; I don't know if the fact he's not selling them anymore and Crank Bros releasing these is a coincidence or not. I'm sure the dude did quite well when he was selling his version.

It's about time Crank Bros started offering something like this themselves. Now if they would only include these things and the "premium" cleats with every pedal set, I'd think Crank Bros was the greatest thing ever.

Cheers, Chris

 

[JmZ]

+1

Bought a set of those Beater Blockers from Ebay myself. The Eggies were starting to groove the shoes, put these on, took a single ride to get used to the slightly different feel. Don't much notice them anymore, but the shoes and eggies are playing well together months later.

JmZ

 

[Motivated]

Agree -

I've had the Crank Bros. steel shields for a few weeks now. I've been using the premium cleat on and off for a few years. #1 both of these should be standard with new pedals. The plastic shields wear very quickly and gum up and give inconsistent release. The standard cleats also wear very quickly and begin to release early and even earlier when pulling. #2 the steel shields make the interface between pedal and shoe more slippery - increasing that unstable feeling in the foot. This is due to the fact that there is slop in the fit in the shoe/cleat/pedal interface (to account for shoe variances I assume) and that all the contact is metal to metal. But they are very consistent and most important elliminate any hot spot I used to get. Once worn in a bit I'm more accustomed to fit and float issues. The steel shields and premium cleats are an improvement, but not enough . . .

So, after 5 years of using eggbeaters and candy pedals I'm ready to switch. Sounds like Time might be a good next step. But I might also try a road cleat. I am looking for more stability to keep my right heel from wiggling. My left leg naturally travels in a metronomic path, but my right doesn't. Under power the eggbeaters allow too much freedom and I think it actually ends up being bad for my right knee. So, I'm ready to try something new and see how it goes.

Yeah, a product similar to these was sold on eBay for a long time ("Beater Blockers"), I've always used them - they are lifesavers for any shoe. The dude who sold them was a great guy to work with; I don't know if the fact he's not selling them anymore and Crank Bros releasing these is a coincidence or not. I'm sure the dude did quite well when he was selling his version.

It's about time Crank Bros started offering something like this themselves. Now if they would only include these things and the "premium" cleats with every pedal set, I'd think Crank Bros was the greatest thing ever.

Cheers, Chris