{"id":2709,"date":"2016-06-29T22:13:17","date_gmt":"2016-06-29T13:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2016-06-29\/2709"},"modified":"2016-06-29T22:13:17","modified_gmt":"2016-06-29T13:13:17","slug":"making-shimano-spd-sl-cleat-covers-not-suck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2016-06-29\/2709","title":{"rendered":"Making Shimano SPD-SL Cleat Covers Not Suck"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n

When cycling, I use Shimano SPD-SL cleats and pedals. They're great on the bike, but when walking around,\nif one doesn't use cleat covers, they quickly get torn up and end up looking\nlike this<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

So, I use cleat covers whenever a stop<\/span> involves more than a little walking around...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 560 —\nimage data<\/a><\/span>\nShimano SPD-SL Cleat Covers<\/span>\nShimano SM-SH45\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 4500 —\nimage data<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 3200 —\nimage data<\/a><\/span>\nPop Right On<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

They're easy to pop on, but once on, to pull them off you have to grab a thin<\/span> tiny little tab of very hard rubber and pull out\nand away...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 2000 —\nimage data<\/a><\/span>\nPull Here<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Under the best of circumstances, they come right off. But with the<\/span> weird angle you have to reach to pull something from the\nbottom of your shoe, especially when you're tired and using your non-dominant hand (or when it's cold, or you're wearing gloves,\nor just having a bad<\/span> day), trying to pull them off can be an exercise in frustration. The little<\/span> tab is such<\/i> a stupid<\/span> design.<\/p>\n\n

But it's easy to fix.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 1000 —\nimage data<\/a><\/span>\nDrill a Hole<\/span> at an Angle<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 1100 —\nimage data<\/a><\/span>\nHole<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 800 —\nimage data<\/a><\/span>\nInsert a Zip<\/span> Tie<\/span>\nnote the orientation of the head... it's (sort of) important\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 1000 —\nimage data<\/a><\/span>\nTrim<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 1250 —\nimage data<\/a><\/span>\nVoil\u00e0<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Now it's easy-peasy to pull them off, even when you can't feel your fingers through heavy gloves.... just grab the loop and\nyank.<\/p>\n\n

There are four possible ways to install the zip tie... inserting from one side of the cover or the other, each combined with\nfacing the opening on the head one way or the other. I've found that the best is the way shown above, because that causes the\nloop to want to press up into the shoe, flattening itself out of the way. Otherwise, it can drag on the ground as you walk.<\/p>\n\n\n

Even if you trim the zip tie well, I've found that over time the tie can work its way farther through the head, making the loop\nincreasingly small, and also creating a poky<\/span> bit sticking out. To stop that<\/span>, you can just add a bit<\/span> of tape inside the loop before\ntrimming...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 450 —\nimage data<\/a><\/span>\nThis'll Stay Put<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

Normal zip ties one might have on hand are not generally very robust, especially in the cold, and I've had them crack and\nbreak often. So, I'm now using<\/span> special outdoor cold-weather ties:<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D4 + Voigtl\u00e4nder 125mm f\/2.5 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 280 —\nimage data<\/a><\/span>\nGood Down to 40 Below<\/span>\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n

I paid $7.99 for the pack of 100 at Amazon<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When cycling, I use Shimano SPD-SL cleats and pedals. They're great on the bike, but when walking around, if one doesn't use cleat covers, they quickly get torn up and end up looking like this.<\/p>

So, I use cleat covers whenever a stop involves more than a little walking around...<\/p>

They're easy to pop on, but once on, to pull them off you have to grab a thin tiny little tab of very hard rubber and pull out and away...<\/p>

Under the best of circumstances, they come right off. But with the weird angle you have to reach to pull [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2709"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2709\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}