I’m not proud of myself, but the cleat bolts in my shoes are corroded in due to sweat. What’s the best way to get them out? I’m pretty sure the 4mm bolt is starting to get stripped out.Trying to post a picture below:
Soak them in penetrating oil over night. Remove the 2 that look like they may come out. Twist the cleat counterclockwise to see if it will break the stripped one loose hopefully. If not it’s drill bit time. Good luck.
You can cut a straight slot across the bolt head with a dremel tool and use a screwdriver to remove it.
Triathletes are awesome
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Soak them in penetrating oil over night. Remove the 2 that look like they may come out. Twist the cleat counterclockwise to see if it will break the stripped one loose hopefully. If not it’s drill bit time. Good luck.
Above is the correct SoP. A last step - between "twist cleat" and "drill bit" is wedge a flathead screwdriver under the cleat ; apply sufficient leverage to break the cleat; twist each of the remaining parts of the cleat to see if it will break the bolt loose. Failing that, completely hack away at the cleat (again, a flathead screwdriver is best) to bust off all the parts of the cleat. This will leave the bolts stuck, but the bolt head will be protracting by about 1/4" from the sole. From there, Get a pair of vice grips (or even a bench vice), lock in laterally on the head of the bolt, and twist the shoe.
I’ve never had a cleat that hasn’t ended up like that. As a result I’ve needed to do the above maybe a dozen times over the years.
Soak them in penetrating oil over night. Remove the 2 that look like they may come out. Twist the cleat counterclockwise to see if it will break the stripped one loose hopefully. If not it’s drill bit time. Good luck.
+1. Also IF you can access the tapped plate from the inside of the shoe, get some penetrating oil in from that side too.
Beyond that, as Jim@beyond says, dremmel a slot.
Ive also had sucess dremmelling a couple of flats and getting hold with a pair of mole grips
And next time… some copperslip on the threads ! (Mountain bike SPD cleats are even worse after a year or two of salty roads etc).
I doubt a slot-head screw driver will work particularly well (they aren’t that great at applying torque to fasteners that are DESIGNED for it)…I would resort to a tool made for that job:
Definately get some penetrating oil, PB blaster or similar (WD40 is NOT penetrating oil).
Also, potentially sacrifice the cleat, and cut it out of the way so you can get vice grips around the bolt head.
Pray the captive nut in the shoe can be salvaged or replaced.
Agree on soaking in oil and above SOP. Another “trick” that I learned lately, before cutting with dremel, is to insert the allen bit (hex head) and give it a small, but precise knock with a hammer. Worked like a charm a few times here.
Who makes corrosive steel hardware for cyling anyway?
I’ve had a lot of success with Boeing’s Rust Off. I forget where I got it but found it online HERE. I think they call it Rust Free now. Works great but you have to let it sit a bit to loosen the rust up.
If that ends up not working then yeah you’ll need to slot it with a dremmel & then try a flathead screwdriver.
I had the same problem but not so corroded.
My local mechanic had an impact driver drill that creates a slight vibration while unscrewing. This worked like magic and problem solved! Good luck!
Hi.
Forget all the penetrating oil etc. It’s not going to get down rusted threads and is faffy and messy and time consuming.
As I have to remove bolts like these on a daily basis, the easiest and best solution is to smack in a splined hex bit with a hammer and then unscrew it with a ratchet handle.
A torx hex bit often works if you’ve not got any splined bits to hand.
Rarely fails and get bolts out in seconds.
New bolt required though.
Pat.
Agree, the slot does work sometimes but you need a really large screwdriver with a wide head to apply enough torque. And it’ll likely slip anyways.
Those bolts look stripped out so the easy out linked is probably your best bet.
If you spray PB Blaster or something similar, you’ll never get the residue/smell out of your shoe. That stuff gets everywhere. It does work though. I’ve used it on much higher torque stuck engine bolts on a car and it worked very well.
Hammering a torx socket in there might work but it also will likely destroy the torx head and they’re not that cheap.
I have a cordless impact screwdriver. Works great when the head isn’t stripped.
I doubt a slot-head screw driver will work particularly well (they aren’t that great at applying torque to fasteners that are DESIGNED for it)…I would resort to a tool made for that job:
https://www.amazon.com/...678154454&sr=8-5
Definately get some penetrating oil, PB blaster or similar (WD40 is NOT penetrating oil).
Also, potentially sacrifice the cleat, and cut it out of the way so you can get vice grips around the bolt head.
Pray the captive nut in the shoe can be salvaged or replaced.
Success…for now. Used the JB Blaster, chopped away at the cleat, put in a groove for a large flat head and it came out. We’ll see if the smell ever goes away and if it can take a new bolt. I put grease on the threads but I’ll need to check them regularly and take them out each month or two to regrease and clean. Thanks for all of the advice.
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I hate to be the I-Told-You-So ass but, don’t let bolts for anything related to your bike and ancillary equipment like cycling shoes get this far gone to begin with! With all the indoor riding that’s going on, on Zwift parts and places that get sweat on regularly need to get cleaned regularly! And that includes shoes!
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I would strongly suggest complete replacement of the female parts of the cleat shoe interface. If you pull out your insole and look at the bottom of your shoe, there are often cuts made by the shoe manufacturer already put into the bottom of the shoe, to access these parts. Once you have the new female inserts in hand it’s easy to do - if you feel handy enough to do it - or just take to your LBS
Boeshield Rust Free is really good stuff, and I’ve used it to bring more than one set of shoe inserts back from the dead.
Glad you got that sucka out of there!
I’m a little disappointed in the responses.
The correct reply was- New shoes.
Let’s focus people!
Burn them 🔥
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I had multiple pairs in various shopping carts!
Next step is protecting the bottom bracket and brake on the trainer. So much sweat.
Soak them in penetrating oil over night. Remove the 2 that look like they may come out. Twist the cleat counterclockwise to see if it will break the stripped one loose hopefully. If not it’s drill bit time. Good luck.
This has worked for me, along with drilling off the bolt heads to take off the cleat and then use a pair of vice grips on what remains of the screw to turn it out.
I’m not proud of myself, but the cleat bolts in my shoes are corroded in due to sweat. What’s the best way to get them out? I’m pretty sure the 4mm bolt is starting to get stripped out.Trying to post a picture below:
Soak in a 50/50 mix of acetone and automatic transmission fluid. If you strip the 4mm jam a torx bit in there. Guaranteed success.