Creaky shoe!

[JessicaAlba]

I have a pair of Specialized BG Elite shoes, that are about 5 months old.

The left one has recently taken to creaking like an old leather chair whenever I put power through it. Seems ok when pedalling steadily, but if I get into it, the creaking is very loud and distracting.

Any experiences on this?

[MarkG]

I get this from time to time - could be a bit of crap on your pedal or even the cleat screws being loose

[hannos]

I experienced similar once. Turns out the creaking was caused by rubbing of the cleat and pedal. a clean and a lube and it stopped

[Kenzo]

I experienced similar once. Turns out the creaking was caused by rubbing of the cleat and pedal. a clean and a lube and it stopped

me too...

I use the one pair of MTB Shoes and use MTB clip in pedals (Shimano SPD) on all of my bikes.

[Mulger bill]

I experienced similar once. Turns out the creaking was caused by rubbing of the cleat and pedal. a clean and a lube and it stopped

me too...

I use the one pair of MTB Shoes and use MTB clip in pedals (Shimano SPD) on all of my bikes.

And another one...

Scrub the bindings, apply some light lube to the springs and a whiff more to the contact points of the pedal and you should be right.

[jasonlheath]

I also had a creaky shoe when they were relatively new (1-2 months old) and especially when going up a hill out of the saddle... I found doing them up 1-2 clicks tighter removed the creak.

[InTheWoods]

I have to grease my spd's every couple of days to make the creaking go away

That is with 2 different pairs of shimanos, and 2 different sets of shimano spd pedals...

Dunno what I'm doing wrong.

[Rex]

I use speedplays with a pair of Diadora shoes and the creak pretty badly. I've greased just about everywhere on the cleats, pedals and shoes and still finding it difficult to get rid of the creak completely.

[JessicaAlba]

Seems that the noise is cleat rubbing on pedal, and its also getting worse... When riding around on an otherwise well tuned, expensive looking, $5K bike, the sound is really quite embarrassing.

With regards to lubing up, which surfaces will I lube? I'd rather not a grease covered pedal when trying to clip in, not to mention collecting dust and dirt and becoming even noisier...

[Mulger bill]

Start with the surface of the pedal where the bottom of the cleat contacts it, not the interface with the mechanism. Test ride and so on...

[MarkG]

Hey Jessica are you 100% sure it's your pedal / cleat?

I had a fellow rider who was sure his pedal was stuffed as it made a moaning sound while he was pedalling.
Turned out his head set was lose, and the pressure he placed on the bars was causing it.

[kb]

Try silicon spray for stuff like cleat/pedal interface. It attracts much less grit and dust. Less long lasting though.

[JessicaAlba]

MG, yeah, pretty certain mate. I can stop pedalling and just move my left foot around with a squeaky response.

I have some Teflon lube, would that be an option?

[Kenzo]

Any lube will work... It will come off with use and in rain... It'll be a repeat offender too.

What sort of pedal are you using?

[JessicaAlba]

Kenzo, using Shimano '105' SPD-SLs

[Kenzo]

Cheers, I'm considering getting road shoes and pedals... I was hoping my creaking Mtb spd issue would go away but it seems it won't then

[mrgolf]

I have shimano shoes and look keo blade pedals which don't have a spring. The creak is definitely clear and pedal. I use candle wax on the pedal. I rub it on like a surfer and surfboard once a week or whenever i chain lube and it is fine. Unconventional, but it lasts longer than lubes and is not chemical based. I have also tried silicon lube.