I am new to mountain bike cleats. What are they EXACTLY?

I am just about to buy a pair of mountain bike shoes (Specialized womens) and want to know exactly what cleats are. Are they the pedal, or are they the part on the shoe? When I buy my shoes, do they already have the metal holes in them, or do I fit them, etc etc.


Sorry - sounds like a silly question, but I ride on normal pedals now and its about time I graduated!!

I am new to mountain bike cleats. What are they EXACTLY?
Cleats are the metal part that attaches to the bottom of your cycling shoe and snaps in and out of the clipless pedal. Each type of pedal has a different type of cleat. Most mountain bike shoes use either Shimano SPD or Crank Bros. cleats depending on what type of pedal you are using. The cleats only cost a few bucks and usually come with the pedals. Once you go to clipless pedals, you will never go back.
Reply:Normally mountain bike-specific shoes will have a spot to attach two-screw cleats, but since cleats differ depending on the brand of pedal, they do not come with cleats.





When you buy pedals, they will come with cleats. Like I said, your mountain bike shoes will probably have a spot for two-hole cleats, so make sure you buy pedals with two-hole cleats (many road bike pedals use three holes because they can be bigger and don't have to fit inside a rubber sole like for mountain shoes.)_



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