A Bolt Out Of The Shoe

One of the supposedly inevitable rites of passage for a road cyclist is tipping over at an intersection after failing to unclip from the pedals. This had never happened to me … until Monday. And yes, it’s as humiliating as everyone says. But I have a really good excuse.

First, I was legally stopped on Indiana Avenue, waiting for the traffic signal to allow me to cross Washington Street. So, for all of those who say cyclists never obey traffic laws, I say, “Bite me.” Now, back to our story …

My Shimano SPD pedals are set for very light tension. It doesn’t take much force to clip out. And as I was falling unceremoniously to the street, I couldn’t understand what had gone wrong. Can you imagine how many thousands of times I have clipped out over the years? Anyway, I quickly dusted myself off and got going again, but one city block later I still couldn’t clip back in. I stopped and looked at the pedal, but I found nothing wrong. I then looked at the bottom of my shoe and the problem became obvious: one of the two bolts was missing.

With only one bolt to hold it, the cleat was badly misaligned. The twisting motion I used to try to unclip had caused the shoe to pivot on the cleat, while the cleat itself had remained aligned and engaged with the pedal. I used my multitool to loosen, realign, and then retighten the cleat, then I headed for home to complete the repair. I have spare bolts, so it took only a few seconds to make everything right again.

But what a weird and unexpected incident. Late Wednesday night I found the original bolt—stepped on it with a bare foot, thank you very much—lying on the floor near my downstairs bathroom. So, now I know not only where the failure occurred but also when: it was right before Monday’s ride. I was 70 minutes into the ride before I knew (too late) that I had a problem. What I still don’t know is why. The bolt shows no signs of damage, so my best guess is that it simply worked itself loose over time. That’s one more thing to check before each ride, I suppose.