[Fwd: Re: [CR]Re: attaching cleats]: notes by article Author

(Example: History:Norris Lockley)

Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2007 21:51:59 -0400
From: "Harvey Sachs" <hmsachs@verizon.net>
Subject: [Fwd: Re: [CR]Re: attaching cleats]: notes by article Author
To: Classic Rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>, schubley <schubley@aol.com>


This just in from John Schubert, author of the article on cleat attachment that Robert Broderick posted on wool jersey at http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/broderir/Catalogs-Posters/Maintenance-Repair-Manuals/Bicycling-1980-03-B/

John said:

Harvey, if you deem appropriate, forward this note to the classicrendesvous list.

There's a reason why the article whose scans you posted shows a homemmade shoemaker's anvil (by clamping a big hammer in a vise). I had a lot of trouble finding a shoe repair dude who would do the job correctly. So I started doing it myself. If you're mildly proficient with a hammer and nail, you can do as good a job as any shoemaker. And you'll probably obsess over exactly correct placement of the cleat more than the shoemaker will.

Harvey's description of how to figure out where to place the cleat is good. He must have studied my article. (insert winking emoticon here.)

One additional thought I have, with the benefit of 27 years between publication of that article and now: your foot position on the pedal _does_ change as you age. When I wrote that article, my toes pointed straight forward. Now my toes point outward, more so on the right leg. Today's soul-deprived SPD pedals have enough float to accommodate this difference, but classic cleats don't. So don't just assume that the way you've always oriented your cleats will always work. Let your feet seek _today's_ natural orientation and make your marks on the shoe soles from there. This is most easily done with the bike on a wind trainer and a helpful friend with a felt tip marker.

I own a shoemaker's anvil that I picked up at a garage sale back in that era. Anyone who wants to journey to Coopersburg PA is welcome to borrow it.

Also: I was greatly amused to see the photo of all the different kinds of cleats back in 1980. Two thoughts come to mind: One, back then, most of Bicycling Magazine's readers did not use any kind of cycling shoes (or so they told us in our surveys), and I was on a mission to get them to see the benefits of good shoes. Two, I still own most of the cleats in the photo. They're in a shoebox in the basement. And if it'll pay for the next kid's college tuition, they're for sale. Or trade for a classic 54 cm Cinelli... or an all-chrome Paramount... such a deal!

Regards to all,

John Schubert
Technical Editor, Adventure Cyclist Magazine
++++++++++
good night, all
harvey sachs
mcLean va