[CR]Was: TA ref 40 cleats. Now: Uncle Hugo

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Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2006 09:23:17 -0400
From: "James Swan" <jswan@optonline.net>
In-reply-to: <4433186E.50507@cox.net>
To: hsachs@alumni.rice.edu
References: <4433186E.50507@cox.net>
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]Was: TA ref 40 cleats. Now: Uncle Hugo

OK, I haven't told a story in a while but this reminds me of a good one.

When I got serious about cycling in the early 70's I had a riding partner named Mitch. We got going in racing at the same time and we both bought leather cycling shoes as well as the aforementioned TA cleats. We did what you are supposed to do; ride the shoes without the cleats until you get a mark, and then nail the cleats on using the special nails that come in the bag with the cleats. Everything was cool for a few rides but after a while the nails loosened up and the cleats fell off!

Mitch's next door neighbor was an Italian immigrant. His brother, Hugo, was a shoe maker and his shop was right on our regular training route. Mitch had an idea that maybe Uncle Hugo could make our cleats stay put. So he bought a new set of cleats and we stopped at Hugo's shop on our next ride.

The place was a wonderful mess; old shoes, scraps of leather and all kinds of crazy stuff strewn about. Hugo didn't speak a word of English. Mitch took off one of his shoes and handed it to Hugo with a sad cleat hanging on by a couple of loose nails. Then he handed him the new cleats in the sealed plastic bag with the special nails. While babbling at us in Italian, Hugo tore open the bag, spilled the sacred nails into the palm of his hand and promptly threw them over his shoulder into abyss of endless leather scraps. We were dumbfounded!!! This IDIOT has just thrown away the SACRED NAILS!!!

Before we could say a word Hugo picked up a nail from his bench and proudly held it up for our examination. It was square in cross section and tapered over its whole length. But the punch line was that it was easily twice as long as the sole of the shoe was thick. "Isn't that going to stick into the bottom of my foot??? Why did we ever come in here??? This guy is a lunatic!!!" That was the low point of or visit to Uncle Hugo's.

Hugo pull the old cleat off with a pair a pincers. He loosened the laces and placed the shoe on the iron foot thingy. Next he carefully bent the cleat a bit over the edge of the bench so that it matched the curve of the sole of the shoe... I tiny glimmer of hope that he wasn't a complete moron. Next he brushed a thick coat of glue on the sole of the shoe, plopped the cleat down and lined up the slot with the mark left from Mitch's pedal... Things were starting to look up. Uncle Hugo actually understood that the slot in cleat had to line up with the mark... But what about those way too long nails?

Hugo started a nail with a little tap of his hammer. Then he took a huge swing at it and drive the nail home in one swat! Hugo pulled back the tongue of the shoe and showed us the insole of the shoe. It was a miracle!!! The nail was not sticking out at all. It was bend around back on itself like a capitol letter J. Uncle Hugo was a GENIUS!!!

Hugo finished the job and wouldn't take our money. On the next ride we stopped in with a bottle of Chianti... Needless to say those cleats never loosened up. We used those TA cleats for years after that, but they only lasted about one season before the aluminum base plate cracked at the middle of the slot. It was mildly annoying but at least it was an excuse to go visit uncle Hugo.

Jamie Swan Cell - 516-238-6782 Centerport Cycles Inc. 245 Main St. Northport, N.Y. 11768 631-262-0909 http://www.centerportcycles.com (mapped) http://www.cabinfeverauctions.com http://www.limws.org http://www.liatca.org

On Apr 4, 2006, at 9:07 PM, Harvey M Sachs wrote:
> I was rather struck to come home and find that the email fingers were
> pointing at me as an "expert" on nailed-on cleats. Without being able
> to summarize all the traffic, let me offer a few observations:
>
> 1) If an expert is someone who has done it several times, been
> photographed doing it, and has a Genuwine Shoemaker's Anvil, then I
> qualify. The anvil was $5 at a garage sale or something, but it makes
> it all look official. But, I need a source of better nails than the
> big-headed carpet tacks I used most recently (for Paul Raley). The
> nails have to be soft enough to turn under when they hit the steel
> anvil. So, I guess I've learned much of what can be learned w/o
> instruction.
>
> 2) Whoever recommended riding new shoes w/o cleats first is right, as
> far as I'm concerned. To fit cleats to new shoes, what I advise it to
> put a doubleslice of inner tube or whatever against the inside (shoe
> side) of the toe clip. This will (a) protect the shoe from scuffing,
> and (b) push the shoe back just a bit, so the cleat won't push the
> shoe into the clip (Duh). Ride with the shoes and no cleats until you
> have a good wear line. That usually takes me one ride.
>
> 3) Before nailing, think real hard about the side-to-side position,
> not just fore-and-aft and angle. I have wide feet (EE), so I tend to
> mount cleats near the inner edge of the pedal, so my feet can extend
> over the outer edge of the pedal.
>
> 4) Joe B-Z points out that you want the angle right, so you don't mess
> up your knees. It is also important that you get it right so your heel
> doesn't kiss the crank on each rotation (too much toe-out). Being a
> cautious type, I tend to drive home one nail pretty well, then check
> the angle against the crank and the wear line, then do the rest of
> them.
>
> 4) I don't think I've ever used or set up TA or other leather cleats.
> My favorites when I can get them are still the aluminum TA Jacque
> Anquetil long (aluminum, with copper rivets), but I've used plastic,
> too. I don't have a history of knee problems, though they twinge a bit
> nowadays. I blame it on age and too much climbing on my fixed gear,
> but that may be wishful thinking. Huh?
>
> 5) I won't be at Trexlertown this Spring, but happy to bring the
> anvil, hammer and needlenose pliers to install YOUR cleats on YOUR
> shoes at Cirque, if anyone asks. And if I can find nails I like
> better. No charge, ever. All I ask is a triplicate release of
> liability from any damages... :-) Ah, you get to choose whether you
> want to hold the shoe on the anvil, or the nail while I hammer... just
> joking.
>
> harvey sachs
> mcLean va.
>
> harvey sachs
> mcLean va.
>>> > I'm as nostalgic as anyone but nail on, non-adjustable
>>
>> cleats are for the
>> birds in my opinion. They lead to not getting the angle
>> right which leads
>> to knee problems. I can't remember how many times I went
>> through the
>> establish a line and try and get some cobbler to get them on
>> right routine.
>> I'm sure Harvey is more skilled, but getting them
>> ergonomically correct is a
>> very tricky business that goes beyond even getting the cleats
>> on that line.
>
>>> >
>>> > Maybe the leather ones are more forgiving, but adjustable
>>
>> cleats and
>> Fit-Kit fitting were two innovations I grabbed and never
>> looked back.
>
>>> >
>>> > I also like the dear departed Sidis with just the ribbed
>>
>> soles for a
>> touring type shoe.
>
>>> >
>>> > Joe Bender-Zanoni
>>> > Great Notch, Nj