Gouging of spd cleats

Is there basically nothing that can be done about this since the teeth in the cleats are meant to dig into the outsole to ensure it doesn't move around when engaged?
I looked at a wedge/shim to protect the sole, but then would result it the cleat sticking above the rubber outside and defeat the purpose of being able to walk around without the clinking sound.
Any way to protect the sole or is this just something to live with no matter how spendy the shoes are?

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You need the gouging for grip IME. Hard Carbon soles can cause the cleat to rotate. I also like the gouges as it lets you drop a new cleat into exactly the sma eplace as the old one.

Yeah, I figured theres a functional need and I should just fit and forget. Just being a bit vain having got some new swanky shoes and seems a shame to gouge them before I even get on the bike. But I'll probably scratch and do worse with the sole just walking around

I've found this super annoying for fine tuning cleat placement - adjusting the cleat a small amount & it just slips into the grooves that already exist :(

It can be annoying, I think I've had success in the past by walking the cleat out i.e., tightening the cleat diagonally to get out of the existing grooves and establish new ones on one side then loosening the other bolt and forcing the cleat square again.

If all else fails I'd be tempted to apply some heat.

https://int.crankbrothers.com/products/shoe-shields?region=GB

I'm sure all of my cleats come with a little piece of rubber/plastic to put between the cleat and the shoe. I've a bag of them somewhere. At least I think I do?

@Muppetteer I've never come across any on the Shimano SPD cleats.

In the meantime, I've fashioned a little shim out of my out of date bank card, let's see how it goes out on the road. Hopefully the screw will be long enough to engage the shoes.

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Well, the credit card bodge didn't work. I figure coke can won't be any better. I wonder if I got some sheet of steel in the shed.

What didn't work exactly? Were the mounting bolts not long enough to engage the threads in the shoe plate? If so, could you source longer bolts

The bolts were plenty long enough and cranked it down to 5nm. But I think the plastic is too smooth so the whole cleat moved when I tried to unclip. Had to yank the foot out too to unclip

Can I interest you in some tyre covers? They will keep your expesive tyres pristine but may affect the performance slightly

OP might be interested in these...

@leggy_blonde in lieu of the credit card spacer or in addition to? I might need longer bolts in that case.

@hippy image won't load, I'm intrigued

This is a feature, not a bug.

This thread is making my head hurt.

@ffm I know it's a feature, just in my boredom my mind is wondering. It's easier when the kids are causing mayhem then I don't have to think about silly things.

I have the crank brothers shields on a carbon sole and the cleats don't stick out. Will depend on the shoe I guess.

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Is there basically nothing that can be done about this since the teeth in the cleats are meant to dig into the outsole to ensure it doesn't move around when engaged?

No, and yes!

Cool. Did you need to get longer bolts or did the standard bolts work out?

Just the standard bolts.

If its got a serrated edge it has been designed as a friction washer

Fair enough. You can get leg-length cleat shims down to 1mm, which have the right stiffness plastic to grip.

Is the OP going to levitate from when they put their shoes on to the point of getting on their bike and not put a foot down?

Or how are they going to protect the sole of their shoes?

Perhaps buy a nice pair of shoes and leave them pristine in a cupboard and then buy a pair of shoes you don’t care about and actually use them.

Unfortunately I can't levitate, but most of the sole is covered in rubber, the only exposed part is the cleat. I know it's gonna get scuffed up, just randomly rambling. :)