Pedals and cleats compatibility

Question

I started riding road bikes seriously a couple of years ago at which point I acquired Exustar pedals and shoes. The pedals have kept up well, but my shoes are getting a bit tired and I'm wanting to get new ones. Seeing as I've ever only had one pair of shoes/pedals I don't really know how pedals and cleats compatibility works? Is there a standard shape for cleats? If I buy, Shimano shoes for example, will I be able to use them with my pedals? Or do I take the cleats off of my old shoes and put them on my new ones? How does it all work?!

I would appreciate it if someone could enlighten me!

Answer 1

Pedals and shoes come in two basic styles. While there are a few variations inside the style, since what you are looking at is shoes, that means your compatibility will rely one them being:

1. Road shoes:

   • These use the "Look system", which uses a 3 bolt cleat. Shimano SPD-SL, Look Deltas, Look Keos, ad the Exustar EPS-R and Exustar ARC pedals all fit this system. It looks essentially like this, and although the cleat is specific to the brand and in some cases the model of pedal, the shoes will work for any of them.

     

2. Mountain shoes:

   • With a smaller 2 bolt cleat, and more tread on the sole, these use the Shimano SPD, Time ATAC, or similar 2 bolt cleats.

     

Compare your shoes to these, and buy either a road or mountain shoe to match your pedals. You are not limited by brand at all.

Answer 2

Exustar road pedals are compatible with Look cleats, so you need to make sure any new shoes you consider are also compatible with Look cleats. Luckily, shoes w/ Look compatibility are very common, but you will want to check specifically when downselecting which ones you want to buy.

Generally, when you buy new shoes, you should buy new cleats; old cleats which are worn or stressed may crack and cause, at best, an unhappy ride home or, at worst, a crash. If this is not your style (for philosophical or monetary reasons), be sure to inspect the old cleats very carefully or, better, have your Local Bike Shop (LBS) mechanics check'em out.

One consideration when buying new cleats is float; this is how much your heels can move side-to-side without unclipping, and is designed to reduce stress on / fatigue of your knees. Look cleats come with three levels of float: none; 4.5 deg. or 9 deg. Non-Look cleats may have different float ranges. Which is best for you is a personal decision, based on riding style, experience, fitness, physical structure, etc.

Another consideration is the type of Look cleat: the "old" / non-Keo version (Delta?) or the Keo-version. These are not compatible, so be sure to understand which you need. If you are not sure which you have, take your old shoes with you when shopping for new cleats.

The last issue you'll have to deal with is installation; mounting the cleats is easy, but positioning can be very touchy. Here again, unless you have a lot of experience, I would recommend asking your LBS to assist in this; it may cost a little bit, but it should make your riding experience much better.

A few resources which may help in your efforts:

• Exustar cleats at http://www.exustar.com/product.php?t1s=13&level=1
• The authorized Exustar importer in the US is QCycle (qcycle.com)
• Look cleats can be found on their website (lookcycle.com)
• Sheldon Brown (the font of all cycling knowledge) on knee pain at http://www.sheldonbrown.com/pain.html#knees

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

The answers here are a bit unclear about one important point: Look Keo pedals & cleats are not compatible with Shimano SPD-SL pedals and cleats. The Look cleat is 4mm smaller from front to back, and will not properly engage with a SPD-SL compatible pedal.