Retrofitz_DIY_02.pdf

Retrofitz_DIY_02.doc 6/22/2013 1

DIY Manual

v.2

(pat.pend.)

Background

This manual describes the current best known method for converting a non-cycling shoe

to accept the Retrofitz conversion kit. Retrofitzing will render your shoes capable of

attaching the following cleats:

SPD

Ritchey

Time Off-Road

Crank Brothers

SpeedPlay Frog

Look Quartz

Look S-Track

Review these 20 steps completely before setting out to do this.

For more information, visit us on:

www.retrofitz.com

www.retrofitz.blogspot.com


Retrofitz DIY kit

Figure 1: Retrofitz DIY kit

ITEM

#

DESCRIPTION QUANTITY

1 Retrofitz Design Plate:

injection molded impact modified nylon

2

2 Retrofitz Design Bumper:

injection molded TPE, Shore 85A

(two pre-assembled to each nylon plate with #2x3/8”

Phillips pan head black oxide coated stainless steel type

PT thread forming screws)

4

3 binding post and screw set:

#8-32 x ¼” long stainless steel screw, slotted drive

#8-32 x ¼” long stainless steel binding post

8

4 Retrofitz Design cutting template 2


Retrofitz system anatomy


Cut Placement

-placement of the thru hole establishes the cleat location

-use cleat placement from your favorite pair of SPD compatible shoes if possible

-shoe centerline is imaginary line drawn from toe centerline and heel centerline

-take your time when establishing the location for the hole “measure twice, cut once”


Retrofitz template anatomy


Recommended Tools

-steel rule die* and 4 Ton (minimum) arbor press

-drill alignment fixture and UHMW cutting board* or Retrofitz DIY Template

-custom ground step drill 0.090”/.1875” with stop gauge*

-3/8” thick UHMW cutting board*

-shoe sole thickness gauge* (not pictured)

-aviator/metal snips

-slotted drive screwdriver

-metric ruler

-pen

-1-1/2” and ½” wide painters masking tape (the type that leaves no residue)

-drill press (handheld drill will work)

-9/64” diameter 4-flute end cutting end mill

-hacksaw

-paper

-Xacto knife or razor blade

*tools that are custom made, these will not be available “off the shelf”, see images below

Figure 2: Steel Rule die custom made to match Retrofitz nylon plate cleat attachment area outline


Figure 3: UHMW cutting board trimmed to fit inside shoe, used as backing board when cutting hole

with steel rule die

Figure 4: custom ground step drill with stop gauge, used to cut a counterbore in shoe sole

Figure 5: alignment fixture, used to align end mill with mounting holes in nylon plate


Retrofitz DIY Steps

Step 1: feasibility, confirm if the shoes are appropriate to Retrofitz

-shoes

-are they the right size, color, are they knock-offs/counterfeit shoes, etc? avoid

getting partially thru the project and find out you are using the wrong shoes

-confirm the shoes “match”, very rarely we find some shoe brands have wild

variations where shoes out of the same box have been found with significant

dimensional and color differences between left and right

-sole thickness

-SPD cleats will not properly engage pedal if shoe sole (in the area where the

cleat will be located) is greater than 12mm thick, confirm the shoe sole thickness

is no more than 12mm thick. Use the shoe sole thickness gauge to confirm this.

All shoes pictured on www.retrofitz.com have a shoe sole thickness that is

appropriate.

-liner

-if shoe liners are permanently glued into place and cannot be removed, the shoes

may not be Retrofitzable


Step 2: remove shoe laces

-note or photograph how the shoes are laced, this will come in handy when re-lacing


Step 3: remove shoe liners

-if the shoe liner is moderately glued in place remove it by slowly working your fingers

under the liner to break the glue bond a little at a time and avoid tearing the liner material

-this step requires patience and care, do not rush

-use an Xacto or razor blade to cut the glue bond, this will speed up the process and help

avoid tearing the liner


Step 4: prepare the Retrofitz DIY templates

-cut along dotted lines

-confirm the template opening fits over the Retrofitz plate cleat attach area

-note that the template is designed to be used with either right or left shoe


Step 5: layout the thru hole cut lines on bottom of left shoe

-establish the “shoe centerline”

-mark on the toe roll at the centerline of the vamp

-mark on the heel roll at the centerline of the heel

-apply tape edge along the shoe centerline, using the two lines (connect the dots)

-note that the shoe centerline is not related to the tread pattern geometry, “do not

be misled by the tread”


-measure cleat placement from your favorite pair of SPD shoes

-using this dimension from your favorite pair of SPD shoes, make a mark on the tape at

where the cleat centerline (if you don’t yet have SPD shoes, no worries, it is rare that this

dimension can be used because SPD shoes are so much narrower than non-cycling shoes)

Figure 6: SIDI SPD MTB shoe size 45, in this case the cleat centerline is located at ≈97mm from shoe

front. The size 10.5 Adidas samba is marked at ≈97mm.

-lay the Retrofitz DIY Template on the shoe

-align the “22 mm” arrow with the widest portion of the shoe

-align the “front” and “rear” centerline marks parallel to the shoe centerline tape

-align the cleat centerline marks with the SPD shoe location mark on the tape


-only in rare cases can you use the cleat dimension from the SPD shoe, this is because the

SPD shoe is very narrow compared to typical non-cycling shoes, so find the happy

medium where all of the template alignment criteria are met:

Figure 7: attempt to use the SPD shoe Y-dimension will not work because keep out boundary is too

close to edge of shoe

Figure 8: locating the cut about 10mm forward results in best fit

INCORRECT LOCATION

CORRECT LOCATION


Retrofitz DIY layout tips:

-the cut should be parallel with the shoe centerline

-the cut should penetrate the sole only, not the side panels of the shoe

-the cut must be placed with consideration for the four threaded fasteners that will hold

the plate into place

-the inside edge of the cut must X-Dimension = 22mm or less from the widest part of the

shoe, this provides 5mm (≈0.2”) of clearance between the shoe and the crank arm

-the Y-Dimension is subject to disgression:

-plate placement: insure the mounting holes will penetrate the sole appropriately

-rider preference: cleat placement has a large influence on power transfer and

riding efficiency,

-in general the centerline of the cleat should fall somewhere behind the ball of the

foot where possible

-Note the Retrofitz plate has a “5th

” thru hole for the fasteners; this is used for shoes that

have a dramatic arch relief


Step 6: prepare UHMW cutting board, insert inside shoe opposite steel rule die

-use a removed liner to trace and cut the profile on ¼” thick UHMW cutting board, this

cutting board will be directly opposite where steel rule die penetrates the sole

-the steel rule die will lightly cut/penetrate into the UHMW cutting board

-the UHMW cutting board protects the interior of the shoe from being cut by the die


Step 7: secure steel rule die to shoe

-align die edges with the template

-use generous amount of 1-1/2” wide painters masking tape (leaves no residue) to secure

the die to the shoe

-confirm the die is aligned with the centerline of the shoe, measure twice, cut once!


Step 8: cut hole

-confirm the UHMW cutting board is inside the shoe

-place cushion between arbor tip and shoe material to prevent scuffing shoe with arbor

-observe cut on bottom of shoe, confirm that 100% of the die has cut thru the sole and

into the UHMWcutting board before removing the tape and the die


Step 8: (alternative methods for cutting the hole):

- we know, the arbor press and steel rule die are not in everyone’s tool collection (we like

this method because it is safe, quiet, uses no electricity and its safe, oh did we mention

safe?), here are some alternatives:

-Xacto serrated saw blade

-Pumpkin carving kit (again, the serrated saw)

-Dremel with abrasive disk


Step 9: repeat steps 5-8 for opposite shoe

-confirm the steel rule die is placed in the same place on the right shoe as the left shoe

-it is mandatory that the cuts are accurately “mirrored” to the opposite shoe.

-measure twice, cut once!


Step 10: assemble hole boring fixture to shoe (or use template provided)

-insure the UHMW cutting board is cut to fit inside shoe interior with room to spare,

otherwise it may cause the fixture to twist and be mis-aligned relative to the cut hole

-use the 4-flute end mill to bore four holes thru the shoe sole


Step 11: bore four 9/64” diameter holes thru shoe sole

-do not drill thru UHMW board otherwise you may damage the shoe

-these holes are for the #8 fasteners that will hold the plate to the shoe


Step 12: counterbore the four holes

-stop gauge is used to set c’bore depth

-because rubber is compressible, the stop gauge is set slightly higher than the actual depth

required for the #8-32 fastener head

-the proper depth may require some experimentation to confirm for different shoe sole

rubber hardness, use the cutouts to experiment if necessary


Step 13: repeat steps 10-12 for right shoe


Step 14: trim nylon plate to fit inside shoe

-confirm which

-make paper cutout of shoe interior using removed liners

-trace cut opening onto paper cutout

-align paper cutout onto nylon plates with opening aligned to the plate details

-transfer outline of shoe interior onto nylon plates using paper cutout template


Figure 9: note the 3 thru holes are at the bottom, in this case the center hole will not be used


Step 15: trim nylon plate to fit inside opposite shoe

-use trimmed plate as template


Step 16: assemble nylon plates to shoes

-use the #8-32 stainless steel binding head fasteners (screw and post) provided

-this can be a difficult step as the forward mounted screws are difficult to access

-tapeing the forward posts to the plate can help


Step 17: assemble a 4-hole threaded plate to both shoes (not included in DIY kit)

-apply tape to hold plates in place, this keeps them from rattling out of the recess during

handling and assembly of the cleat


Step 18: insert shoe liners

-by far the easiest step


Step 19: re-lace shoes

-use the photo you took in Step #2 to match the original lace pattern

-check out some custom lacing patterns:

http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/index.htm


Step 20: assemble and adjust cleats

-brush all debris off the shoes (all that cutting will leave little bits of rubber and other

debris)

-ride safe

-keep the laces out of the bicycle gears

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