How to Install Bike Cleats and Start Riding Clipless Without Falling

Getting your cleats right comes down to three things: choosing the system that fits your bike and shoes, positioning the cleat with its center under the ball of your foot and turned to your natural foot angle, and starting with a cleat that has float and the pedal spring tension at minimum. Do that and most people get used to clipless pedals within two or three rides.

Clipless pedals (the name is confusing: you actually clip in) hold your shoe to the pedal through a piece bolted to the sole, the cleat. Your foot stays in the right position on every pedal stroke, and you release it by twisting your heel outward.

Which system to choose: SPD, SPD-SL or Look

• SPD (2-bolt): the cleat sits between the lugs on the sole, so you can walk normally. It’s the obvious choice if you ride mountain or gravel, stop a lot (commuting, touring) or have trouble unclipping. Many SPD pedals are double-sided and easier to clip into.
• SPD-SL and Look Keo (3-bolt): the cleat sticks out and rests on a wider platform, which spreads pressure better on long road rides. Walking in them is awkward and slippery.
• SPD-SL and Look Keo use the same 3-bolt pattern on the shoe, so any road shoe works with both, but the cleats aren’t interchangeable: each pedal needs its own. If you don’t have shoes yet, the cycling shoe size chart gives the foot length for each size from Shimano, Sidi and Fizik.

Cleat float: what each color means

Float is how many degrees your heel can rotate while clipped in before the cleat releases. With float, your knee follows its natural path; without it, your foot is locked in place and any positioning error goes straight to your knee.

Sources: Look product pages and Shimano retailers.

Careful with red: for Shimano it’s the fixed cleat, and for Look it’s the one with the most float. When you buy replacement cleats, check the brand and model, not just the color.

For SPD, Shimano makes two versions that differ in how they release:

• SM-SH51 (single release): only releases when you twist your heel outward.
• SM-SH56 (multi-release): releases when you twist or tilt your heel in several directions. It’s the easiest to start with and the best for commuting.

For road beginners, the usual advice is the widest float: yellow 6° for Shimano or red 9° for Look. If over time your foot feels like it’s wandering, you can move to a cleat with less float.

How to install cleats step by step

You need a hex key that fits the cleat bolts, a marker and, if the bolts are stiff, a little grease on the threads.

1. Find the ball of your foot. Put the shoe on and feel for the bone that sticks out at the base of your big toe (the head of the first metatarsal). Mark that spot with a marker on the inside edge of the shoe. Do the same with the ball of your little toe on the outside edge.
2. Connect the two marks with a line across the sole. That line shows where the widest part of your foot is.
3. Fore-aft position. Place the cleat so its center (the mark that lines up with the pedal axle) sits right under that line or a few millimeters behind it. Further back takes load off your calves; further forward does the opposite.
4. Rotation. Sit on a table with your legs hanging and look at where your feet point without forcing them: most people’s toes point slightly outward. Rotate the cleat to match that angle. On the bike, your heel shouldn’t hit the crank arm or the chainstay.
5. Side-to-side position. Start with the cleat centered. Moving it inward moves your foot away from the bike, and vice versa. Look Keo cleats have 4 mm of lateral adjustment and 12 mm of fore-aft adjustment.
6. Tighten the bolts in a crisscross pattern, a little at a time, without overdoing it: follow the torque given in the cleat or shoe instructions. A loose cleat shifts around and makes it impossible to unclip precisely.
7. Repeat on the other shoe using the same reference marks. The two don’t have to end up identical if your feet are different.
8. Check your saddle height. Cleats and shoes change the distance between your foot and the pedal (on the Look Keo Classic 3, pedal plus cleat add up to 17.8 mm). If you’re coming from flat pedals, measure again with the saddle height calculator or our saddle height guide.

Look Keo cleats come with a memory positioner: a piece that stays bolted to the sole so you can replace a worn cleat without losing your position. With other brands, trace the outline of the cleat with a marker before you take it off.

Your first rides without falling

The classic clipless fall doesn’t happen while you’re moving: it happens when you stop, your foot doesn’t come out in time and the bike tips toward the foot that’s still clipped in. To avoid it:

1. Set the spring tension to minimum. Almost every pedal has a screw to adjust it. Start at the lowest setting and only turn it up if your foot pops out when you don’t want it to.
2. Practice standing still. Leaning against a wall or a doorframe, clip in and out with each foot 20-30 times: toe down to engage the cleat, heel out to release it.
3. Then go somewhere with no traffic. A park or an empty parking lot. Start rolling, unclip one foot, clip back in. Make full stops.
4. Pick one foot to put down, and always unclip that same foot and always early: before you’ve come to a full stop, not once you’re already stopped.
5. Plan ahead. At traffic lights, intersections and steep climbs, unclip a few yards early. On a 15% grade you lose speed very quickly.
6. If you have an indoor trainer, it’s the best place to practice the motion with zero risk. We cover it in our indoor trainer guide.

Maintenance and when to replace cleats

• Road cleats wear down when you walk. Shimano SPD-SL cleats have rubber walking pads that reduce the wear, but they wear out eventually. If your foot releases on its own, clipping in gets harder or you feel play, replace them.
• Check the bolts every few weeks: they work loose.
• Clean mud and grit off the cleat and pedal on SPD setups, especially in winter.

Common mistakes

• Cleat too far forward. It overloads your calves and Achilles tendon.
• Fixed cleats (0°) when you’re starting out. Any rotation error ends up in your knee. Start with float.
• Copying someone else’s position. Every foot has its own natural angle.
• Spring tension too high. You can’t unclip in time and you tip over at a stop.
• Mixing up colors between brands. Look’s red cleat has the most float; Shimano’s red has none.

If your knee hurts (especially on the inside or outside) after installing cleats, check the rotation and side-to-side position first, then your saddle height. If the pain lasts more than a week or two, see a physical therapist or a professional bike fitter. You can check your whole position with our bike fit at home guide.

Updated October 19, 2026 ·Report an error on this page