# Eggbeater Cleats???



## markaitch (Feb 17, 2010)

i am on the verge of needing to get my 2nd set of new cleats for my Crank Brothers Eggbeaters in only about 9 months. while i like the pedals very much, needless to say, i am less than happy with how poorly the brass cleats hold up.

i've been shopping around & found what are being sold as "premium" Crank Bros cleats but nothing in their description says what is premium about them. does anydody know anything about this, are they actually an upgrade, in hopefully how long they last, over the stock ones?

or, is anybody aware of any steel eggbeater cleats out there?

thanx for any assistance...


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## Le Duke (Mar 23, 2009)

Think about what you're saying.

Do you want the cleats to wear out, or the cleats to be made out of a harder material, and thus increase wear on the pedals?

You can't have it both ways.


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## shiggy (Dec 19, 1998)

markaitch said:


> i am on the verge of needing to get my 2nd set of new cleats for my Crank Brothers Eggbeaters in only about 9 months. while i like the pedals very much, needless to say, i am less than happy with how poorly the brass cleats hold up.
> 
> i've been shopping around & found what are being sold as "premium" Crank Bros cleats but nothing in their description says what is premium about them. does anydody know anything about this, are they actually an upgrade, in hopefully how long they last, over the stock ones?
> 
> ...


The premium cleats have more angle adjustment, and are slightly harder.

Having the cleat angle set to minimize them working against the springs is key to longevity. If the cleat is constantly opening the wings as you pedal the wear rate is high as you grind away at the cleat. Set right, movement and wear is minimal.

I get 1-2 years from a set of cleats, though I do have several pairs of shoes (and ride a lot).

You do NOT want to cleat to be harder than the pedal. Better to wear out cleats than the pedal wings. I have done the latter, but it took 5-6 years of muddy gritty riding.


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## markaitch (Feb 17, 2010)

i do have my cleats postioned to be harder to unclip but i admit that i had not really thought about steel cleats possibly wearing out the pedals. i use eggbeater 3's, which have cast steel wings, so i wonder if that would be such a worry.

i run the same pedals on both my mtb & my road/commuter bike so i wear the same shoes almost everyday & i probably walk on them too much, which may account for how i wore out the cleats so quickly.

guess i'll just give the premium cleats a try & hope for the best 

thanx for the couple replies...


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## shiggy (Dec 19, 1998)

markaitch said:


> i do have my cleats postioned to be harder to unclip but i admit that i had not really thought about steel cleats possibly wearing out the pedals. i use eggbeater 3's, which have cast steel wings, so i wonder if that would be such a worry.
> 
> i run the same pedals on both my mtb & my road/commuter bike so i wear the same shoes almost everyday & i probably walk on them too much, which may account for how i wore out the cleats so quickly.
> 
> ...


Cleat adjustment is far from just how much rotation is needed to release.
Rather than just bolt it on, you need to set the rotation angle of the cleat on the shoe--whether the shoe naturally sits heel in, heel out or straight when clipped it. It needs to match your natural foot/leg angle.
There is no free float in CB pedals. Screw up the angle adjustment and you are always working against the springs and wearing the cleats.


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## Saul Lumikko (Oct 23, 2012)

shiggy said:


> There is no free float in CB pedals. Screw up the angle adjustment and you are always working against the springs and wearing the cleats.


Wow, I have been using Egg beaters for seven years and could have sworn there's float. So I went to check this, clipped a lone shoe (sans foot) in and carefully looked at it from different angles while wiggling. And as you said there is no float!

I have been very careful about the angle adjustment because I was looking to get my natural foot angle in the middle of the (imaginary) float of the pedal for riding comfort, but my cleats have had long service life as well and I never realized it could be because of this. So I've been doing the right thing for the wrong reason. 

You learn something new everyday.


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## markaitch (Feb 17, 2010)

i was aware there is no float on eggbeaters & always thought that as little as it seems to be on the race cleats that came with the pedals, i had the angle adjusted right for me.

since, as you pointed out @shiggy, premium cleats have more angle adjustment - hopefully fooling around with that will get me longer cleat life.

thanx & any other words of wisdom in this matter are greatly appreciated...


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