Patent ID: 8857292

Claim:
A pedal/cleat assembly comprising: a cleat configured for attachment to the underside of a rider's shoe, the cleat defining a cleat rotation axis and including: a forward cleat projection facing the toe end of the shoe, a rearward cleat projection facing the heel end of the shoe, an inward foot formed of a hard, non-resilient material and located on a portion of the cleat nearest an inward side of the shoe, and an outward foot formed of a hard, non-resilient material and located on a portion of the cleat nearest an outward side of the shoe; and a pedal configured to releasably secure the cleat, the pedal including: a spindle defining a spindle axis, a main pedal body mounted on the spindle for rotation about the spindle axis and having an upper side facing the cleat, an upper cleat support base mounted to the upper side of the main pedal body, an upper set of cleat retainers, including a forward cleat retainer and a rearward cleat retainer, secured to, and projecting upward from, the upper cleat support base, respectively forward and rearward of the spindle, wherein the forward and rearward cleat retainers are configured to receive and retain the respective forward cleat projection and rearward cleat projection, to secure the cleat to the pedal, an upper spring-bias device for yieldably biasing the forward and rearward cleat retainers toward each other, wherein the upper cleat support base includes an inward pad and an outward pad, wherein the pads are formed of a hard, non-resilient material and are configured to support the cleat's respective inward foot and outward foot when the cleat is secured to the pedal, and wherein the upper cleat support base has a nominal valgus or varus tilt, and one or more shims, at least one shim having a wedge configuration, disposed between the main pedal body and the upper cleat support base, for modifying the valgus or varus tilt of the upper cleat support base without affecting the cleat's engagement with the pedal; wherein rotation of the cleat about the cleat rotation axis, when the cleat is secured to the pedal, forcibly moves the forward and rearward cleat retainers apart from each other, against the yielding bias of the upper spring-bias device, to release the cleat from the pedal.