Cleat Wedges

There are 3 types of Cleat Wedges: 2-hole, 3-hole, and 4-hole. Each corresponds to the type of cleat system you are using. Cleat Wedges are designed to match the pattern used to fasten your cleat to your cycling shoe.

The 3-hole Cleat Wedge works with Look Keo, Look Delta, Shimano SL road, Campagnolo, Time road and similar 3-hole cleat systems. The 4-hole Cleat Wedge is used with Speedplay X-Series, Zero and Light Action cleat systems. The 2-hole Cleat Wedge (one horizontal slot) is most often used with SPD and mountain biking shoes. Each Cleat Wedge has a one-degree slope (or angle) and can be stacked based on your needs.

Another good way to determine if you need Cleat Wedges is by looking at the wear on your cleats and/or most pedals. If you use Look road pedals, turn over the pedal to look at the underside and at the front of the pedal’s inner surface or “lip”. For example, in the photographs below notice how the pedal is worn in the area inside the red circle? This is VERY common. It is worn toward the inside because the inner part of the rider’s foot wants to be up higher than the outer part of their foot which you probably saw for yourself when you knelt on a chair.

If you use Speedplay pedals and cleats you may notice the wear on the outer part of the spring. It may wear some across but nearly every time the part that is closer to the outside of the foot will show more wear. Take a look at the Speedplay cleats on the right that show the fine-polished wear marks and the white imprint of the pedal. This is because the foot wants to be tilted and is not the fault of the cleat. Cleat Wedges are needed here because they allow the foot to connect at its natural tilt or angle. If you have Speedplay pedals look at the cleat and the inner circle for wear. You will almost always see more wear near the outer part of the circle because 87% of the world’s physique is this way. The clinical term for this is Varus. BikeFit originated both Cleat Wedges and In The Shoe (ITS) Wedges® to help address the aforementioned issues. ITS Wedges go inside the shoe, under your shoe’s insole and beneath the ball of your foot as shown in the Illustrations below.

Based on our years of experience we have found that Cleat Wedges should be the primary wedging option followed by ITS Wedges. There are several reasons for this including the amount of space in the toe box of the shoe and the fixed position and connection that Cleat Wedges enable. Some fitters may even use ITS Wedges as a way to determine if angling/tilting the foot is more comfortable without having to take off the cleat as required by Cleat Wedges. However, once the comfort is confirmed the first choice to correct your foot’s natural angle/tilt is almost always Cleat Wedges. That is not to say ITS Wedges don’t have a place. They do but usually as a “filler” Wedge. For example, if you are already up to three Cleat Wedges but you need more then add an ITS Wedge. If your shoes are very loose (sloppy) and you have a looser foot style (not rigid feet) then an ITS Wedge may be the best choice. Over 90 percent of the population’s feet tilt inward or outward so odds are you are in that percentage. Wedges are the answer!