How to Adapt Look Shoes to SPD Pedals for Spin Bikes

Most dedicated cyclists are aware that there are two standards for mounting cleats to the soles of cycling shoes – face facts: if you don’t know what “cleats” are, you probably aren’t a dedicated cyclist. All snarkiness aside, the Look® standard attaches with three bolts in an equilateral triangle and the Shimano SPD® (SPD stands for Shimano Pedaling Dynamics) standard attaches with two bolts in a line. Some shoes accept both styles, some accept only one (usually Look).  Cleats from other manufacturers, like Crank Brothers and Time, are compatible with one  standard or the other – as a general rule (but not hard and fast), SPD cleats are used with MTB shoe/pedal combinations and Look cleats are found on road bikes.

For unknown reasons, makers of spinner bicycles – the modified stationary bikes used in exercise classes – have invariably made their products SPD-compatible. Cyclists who're spending their off-season in a spin studio and want to use their cycling shoes, as opposed to sneakers and toe clips, must install SPD cleats at a cost of $15 to $25.

Adapters on size 41 Sidis: they look
HUGE! but they work for spin class...

I thought that would be easy – until I took a look at the sole of the old shoes I’d intended to use in spin class: they were Look compatible, but there was no way to mount SPDs. What to do, what to do???

What to do was find a pair of SPD to Look adapters, available as part number Shimano SM-SH85. They’re marketed as SPD to Shimano Road Shoe adapters, but will work on any Look-style mounts (I’m using them on Sidi shoes; they’d also work on the Mavic and Fizik shoes in the household). For about thirteen bucks, you get a pair of adapters and the hardware needed to mount them. You also get a wallpaper-sized sheet of (poor) instructions in about forty languages – well, I only know they’re substandard in English… You’ll need a 2.5mm hex (Allen) wrench to put on the adapters and a hex wrench that fits the bolts that came with your set of cleats. 

To mount, place the loose L-shaped metal plate between the adapter and sole of the shoe with the “bumps” facing out; the short side of the L goes under the shorter slot in the adapter plate. The adapter has a rounded edge and a square edge; the instructions don’t say which is which but I mounted them so that the rounded edge was on the outside. Attach the adapter with the three bolts supplied – crank them down tight. Then mount the SPD cleats to the metal plate using the bolts that came with the cleats. Hint: if you don’t have the bolts any more, ask for replacements at your local bike shop: they’re a standard size.

Shimano says the adapters are compatible with their SH70- and SH90-series road cleats, both of which have pontoons to make walking safer. Of course, Shimano doesn’t sell either series any more, but if you have some old ones (as did I) they’ll work. Otherwise, you can use the SH50-series cleats, but you may well find yourself a bit unsteady on your feet.

All in all, a not-great solution to a problem caused by the manufacturer. They're nominally one-size fits all, though they seem awfully large on the size 41 shoes the lady of the house wears. They're also rather heavy and raise the front (but not rear) of the foot about half an inch. They're a partial solution that's a lot less expensive than shelling out for new shoes, but it could be better.

copyright © 2016 scmrak