Tag Archives: cleats

I tried several brands of cycling cleats for my road shoes and I decided that Look Keo cleats were best suited to my needs. The original non-grip Look Keo cleats offered tremendous power transfer from your feet to the pedals, but they were downright dangerous to walk in—the first time I wore them I fell down just walking across my garage. Look Keo 2 cleats introduced a traction pad which made it easier to walk with, but these pads wear out rather quickly if you walk in them very much. Look sells a pair of covers for their cleats and while they do an excellent job of protecting the cleats, they material is so hard its make it difficult to walk in (and even more difficult to put on). The good news is that Cleatskins has recently introduced their new Cleat Grips For Look Keo Cleats and they not only protect your cleats but make it very easy to walk on pavement (or even gravel) while in your road shoes.

Cleat Grips For Look Keo Cleats

Cleat Grips For Look Keo Cleats are made of lightweight Skintek—a durable material that is softer than normal cleat covers and is very flexible. If you look on the left hand side of the above photograph you will notice the grooved pattern on the bottom of the covers—this provides great traction even on wet pavement. In addition to allowing you to walk in your road shoes, Cleat Grips also protects floors from marring (this will make the folks at the convenience store happy).

A pair of Cleat Grips will easily fit in one of your jersey pockets with room to spare. They are machine washable, but I’ve found them to be very easy to clean with just a wet cloth. The Cleatskins Website says that these covers are available in either black or orange, but at the moment it seems that they only have black in stock.

Cleat Grips retail for $18 a pair and are available from the Cleatskins Website. Cleatskins also has covers  available that are specifically designed for Shimano, Time and Speedplay cleats. This review was based upon a pair of Cleat Grips that was sent to me for review from Cleatskins.

Among my bad habits is the fact that I am sometimes an impulse buyer—which is how I purchased a pair of Cleatskins Bikeskins, a product designed to go over your road shoes. Cleatskins make it easier for you to walk while in your road shoes and protect floors from the damage that would normally be caused by your cleats.

Cleatskins Bikeskins For Cycling Road Shoes

Cleatskins Bikeskins are made of compressed molded rubber and easily fit over your cycling shoes so on your next ride you can go into a convenience store without walking like a cow on ice. They have a strap that goes over the heel of the shoes so the covers will not fall off. These shoe covers offer double-duty protection: they protect your expensive cleats from being damaged by hard surfaces and they also protect floors from being damaged by your cleats. The first time I wore these covers it took me a few seconds to get used to them, but they are easier to walk in than the other covers you can buy for cycling shoes. I use Look Keo 2 pedals on my road bikes, and while Look makes great pedals their covers are pretty difficult to walk in. Cleatskins Bikeskins are much easier to walk in than the standard Look cleat cover and they provide a tremendous amount of traction as you walk (even on wet pavement).

Bottom View Of Cleatskins Bikeskins

If you like to express yourself with your footwear, Cleatskins Bikeskins are available in several colors, including Red, White, Black, Yellow and True Blue. You have these color choices an all four of the available sizes (S, M, L, and XL).

My only problem with Cleatskins Bikeskins is that they take up too much room in my jersey when they are not in use. When I am on the road I like to travel as light as possible, so I don’t have anywhere to put the Cleatskins expect my jersey pocket, and a pair of these things takes up an entire pocket. However, if you are a commuter or ride with panniers these covers could save your life (or at least save you from the pain and embarrassment of falling inside a convenience store). I am not sure that they were available when I bought my Bikeskins, but they now have a model called ProBikeskins, these are specifically designed for Shimano, Look and Speedplay cleats. ProBikesins are much smaller and you don’t even have to take them off your shoe when they are not in use.

Cleatskins Bikeskins retail for $20 a pair and are available from the company Web site. Cleatskins also has products available for the cleated shoes worn in many other sports, including soccer, baseball, football, rugby, softball, field hockey, lacrosse, and track and field.