How To Repair Cycling Shoes

In my previous article titled, Getting Hit By A Motorcyclist, I narrated the details of the accident and the mild injuries I suffered.

In this piece I shall show you how I repaired my cycling shoes whose carbon heels took a hit like those of the Greek hero Achilles.

She-man, oh!

When riders wear cycling shoes, they cannot magically click the heels thrice, wish for something and have it all come true. Real life is very different from the movies.

Cyclists always work hard but all this is changing due to the introduction of e-bikes that cost as much as motorcycles do. It is a money-spinning scam created for lazy cyclists who think they are helping the environment but are in reality guilty of creating huge landfills of toxic lithium-ion batteries in a technology-driven world.

That fateful July Morning, seated on my fully manual celeste-coloured Bianchi Via Nirone 7 (Shimano 105 R-7000 group-set), I wore white-coloured Shimano SH-RC7 shoes. As I took a hit from a motorcyclist, the stiff carbon soles and the locked cleats saved my feet. However, the heels which had been lightly repaired earlier, crumbled.

I considered ordering a new pair but found AliExpress suddenly very expensive due to the imposition of government taxes and Customs duties. A pair that cost $175 earlier was being sold for $375. Tired of counterfeit products, deceptive shop-owners and the hopeless refund policies of the Chinese on-line shopping platform, I decided to repair my shoes.

Then in July 2026, we heard: AliExpress hit with $629 million EU fine over sales of illegal, counterfeit products. Thank you European Union and goodbye AliBaba Group.

DIY all the way

After carefully scraping the carbon material off the heels, I thoroughly cleaned the curved surface underneath.

From a cobbler I bought a patch of 5.5 mm thick tyre, cut two small pieces and trimmed them to fit over the soles.

Since two different types of materials—tyre rubber and carbon—needed to be glued together, I lightly sanded the carbon part of the heels and the tyre pieces using 220 grit sandpaper.

These were then washed and dried to obtain good adherence. After applying Super Glue to the tyre rubber and the carbon heels, I secured them using book-binding tape. The shoes were left alone for an hour.

After seeing very small gaps appear around the edges of the tyre pieces, I applied a thin coat of clear epoxy and it let it cure for a few hours. Although the job did not appear photogenic, the aim was never to surpass the finish quality of Dorothy Gale’s red ruby shoes, in the movie 'The Wizard Of Oz'.

Look ma, no cleats!

The cycling accident only destroyed the right shoe’s cleat but that necessitated replacing the complete set.

In my spares’ kit I found a Chinese copy of Shimano SM-SH11 cleats. These yellow cleats offered 6° of float (±3° sideways movement of the shoes, comfortable even for advanced cyclists).

The Shimano-copy cleats came with poor quality metal hex bolts and brackets that self-destructed when tightened. I reused the Shimano hardware from the old set.

Then with straight knees and neutral heels, I adjusted the following important positions to:

Fore-Aft: Align the ball of the foot over the pedal axle.

Lateral: Centre the shoe inward or outward for correct knee and leg tracking.

Heel rotation angle: Twist the cleat so that the heel points naturally without stressing the ankles.

All the above required matching both cleats very precisely by using the markings printed on the soles. For professional level tuning, you may wish to look at other cleat adjustment tools.

Using a digital torque adapter over a ½” ratchet, the hex bolts of the cleats were tightened to a torque of 5 to 6 Nm (Shimano-recommended) to prevent them from drifting during rides.

For a final check, I hopped onto my bike, locked both the shoes into the Shimano 105 R7000 carbon pedals and checked for satisfactory engagement and disengagement.

Rewards

As a bonus, my tyre rubber heels gave me better grip even on hard floors, whereas the original carbon material felt very slippery. Are you reading this Shimano-san?

Not buying a new pair of shoes saved me $375. Elated at having spent only fifty cents on the repairs, I took to the road to click my heels together three times and say there’s no place like home.

The next article will show you how I repaired my bicycle’s rear derailleur. Do NOT miss reading it.

Stay tuned. Safe cycling until then.

💚

Read the first article in this series: Getting Hit By A Motorcyclist.

Read more CYCLING articles HERE.

©Tahir Gul Hasan, 2026