Counterfeit shimano spd-sl cleats from Amazon

[weiwentg]

I was browsing an unrelated product on Amazon.com, and I came across a knockoff SPD-SL cleat. As in, not obviously fake: the manufacturer was stated as not being Shimano. I'm looking at a general search now, and I'm seeing manufacturers called Lanniu, Thinvik, CyclingDeal, Fantasy Life, and a whole bunch of others offering cleats for about half the price of original Shimano cleats.

I'm 100% sure about this, but I think the SPD-SL patent expired or should expire soon.

Is this some sort of new development? I don't recall seeing all these knockoffs before.

Again, this is a tangent to the original thread. The original question was about fake cleats, i.e. seemed to be advertised as Shimano but were not. This question is about knockoffs, i.e. they don't claim to be Shimano, and you can tell that they're not Shimano (but a novice might get snookered), and they do mention their own name in the ad. They're presumably legal, at least if the SPD-SL patent is actually expired or they licensed the design from Shimano. And no, I'm sure as heck not buying the knockoff stuff unless it's someone credible like Xpedo.

[AngryScientist]

good question.

there are now a number of people making generic versions of SPD-SLs. I picked up a pair on the cheap to check them out, and the quality seems fine. not sure i trust them 100% though, a broken pedal axle for example could be really bad.

[GregL]

Reviving a zombie thread with a question on the cleat hardware. I've noted that genuine Shimano SPD-SL cleats sold separately from the pedals come with silver hardware (chrome washers, anodized or stainless bolts). I've also purchased several sets of SPD-SL pedals that came with black cleat hardware. Are the black hardware pieces genuine Shimano products, or should I be concerned about counterfeiting?

Thanks,
Greg

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by GregL

Reviving a zombie thread with a question on the cleat hardware. I've noted that genuine Shimano SPD-SL cleats sold separately from the pedals come with silver hardware (chrome washers, anodized or stainless bolts). I've also purchased several sets of SPD-SL pedals that came with black cleat hardware. Are the black hardware pieces genuine Shimano products, or should I be concerned about counterfeiting?

Thanks,
Greg

There seem to be quite a lot of fake Shimano cleats and pedals out there. Where did you buy them? I believe OEM Shimano always come with silver hardware.

[GregL]

Originally Posted by charliedid

There seem to be quite a lot of fake Shimano cleats and pedals out there. Where did you buy them? I believe OEM Shimano always come with silver hardware.

I've purchased three sets of Shimano SPD-SL pedals in the past five years. Two came from authorized Shimano retailers; one was from an eBay seller. It appears that the cleats sold separately have silver hardware while those sold with pedals have black hardware. I'm just curious if other forum members have had similar experiences.

Greg

[BdaGhisallo]

The higher end spd-sl pedals come with silver hardware while the lower end ones generally come with black hardware.

I have a pair of RS500 pedals I bought for my wife, in case she ever wants to take the rat trap flat pedals off her DI2 equipped bike, and they have black washers and bolts.

All of the DA pedals - 7800 through 9100 - have always had the silver washers and bolts.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by GregL

I've purchased three sets of Shimano SPD-SL pedals in the past five years. Two came from authorized Shimano retailers; one was from an eBay seller. It appears that the cleats sold separately have silver hardware while those sold with pedals have black hardware. I'm just curious if other forum members have had similar experiences.

Greg

My Ultegra 8000 came with silver hardware and I bought them direct from Shimano as a retailer.

[Davist]

I've never gotten anything but silver hardware in the pedal box (105 and ultegra level) and with the replacements. Not to squeal again, but one the yellow tabs on mine fell off on the 2nd day. I did walk across a bridge with concrete, but they used to last 4 months of doing this. grrr. $13 on ebay, but "trusted provider" and came in what certainly appeared to be correct packaging. I think they changed the bonding process sometime ago, as this seems to be the "new normal" for me.