Shimano's SPD-SL cleats have had a problem for a while now—
low-quality generic knock-offs and counterfeit products bearing Shimano markings
(similar to what happened with chains—→see here)
have been flooding the market.
During the COVID period, some were being sold for under 1,000 yen, even a few hundred yen.
What makes these shoddy products and counterfeits so low-quality?
Well, there's no guarantee the shape is exactly the same,
but the general trend seems to be that they're noticeably softer than the real thing.
Because of this, even when people unclip by twisting their foot nearly sideways,
the cleats won't release—leading to quite a few crash incidents.
Putting aside the cheap knock-offs,
there's been a surge in angry complaints from overly "savvy" consumers
who proudly bought counterfeit cleats made to look real for just a few hundred yen,
yet genuinely believed they'd purchased genuine ones,
and then filed fury-fueled complaints directly to Shimano
or through consumer centers.
In response, Shimano switched cleat packaging
from transparent plastic blister packs to
boxes designed with SDG considerations in mind (→see here).
Not long after that change,
they added a serial QR code to the side of the box.
This QR code carries a Shimano-issued number that counterfeitors couldn't possibly know,
allowing purchasers to verify authenticity themselves.
Even though these are parts that could cause serious injury if something goes wrong,
issuing serial numbers is quite a cost burden—
considering how cheap cleats are as a product.
Separately, the cardboard box itself also got a spec change.
About two years ago, they started cutting a window into part of the box
so you can see inside, making it easier to check the cleat color (rotation angle).
Yellow is SM-SH11 with 6° total float (both sides combined),
blue is SM-SH12 with 2° total float,
but apart from those, there's also the red cleat—SM-SH10—
which is fixed at 0° float.
Since so few people use red,
we've carried old-box inventory without the window cutout for a long time.
But the other day, our stock of red cleats finally sold out,
so I thought it was time to transition to the new box.
I placed an order with our wholesaler, and then...
The wholesaler didn't seem to have any either—
they sent me old-box stock.
At least there's an authenticity-verification QR code on the box side,
so it's a "late-generation old box,"
but still.
I got curious and started researching.
When I search for "SM-SH10,"
I can't find any results for "red cleats in a new box with the window cutout."
Image searches just show
old blister-pack images, or
all images of the old box without any cutout,
↑or images like this—
three cleats lined up, but only the red one in the old box.
I can't find anything else.
Could it be that the new-box red cleat doesn't actually exist yet?
When I first saw the old-box red cleats from the wholesaler,
I assumed they'd been sitting in warehouse inventory for three years or more.
But now I'm wondering—
was that assumption wrong?
Could it be that for red cleats specifically,
the old box is actually still the current version?
As I kept digging,
I found exactly one place (within my search range)
showing an original photo of new-box red cleats—
not from the manufacturer's website or anything like that.
It was AliExpress.
I mean, that's way too sketchy, right?
It says "this content is AI-generated," but
I have no idea whether that disclaimer applies only to the description text
or also covers the image itself.
low-quality generic knock-offs and counterfeit products bearing Shimano markings
(similar to what happened with chains—→see here)
have been flooding the market.
During the COVID period, some were being sold for under 1,000 yen, even a few hundred yen.
What makes these shoddy products and counterfeits so low-quality?
Well, there's no guarantee the shape is exactly the same,
but the general trend seems to be that they're noticeably softer than the real thing.
Because of this, even when people unclip by twisting their foot nearly sideways,
the cleats won't release—leading to quite a few crash incidents.
Putting aside the cheap knock-offs,
there's been a surge in angry complaints from overly "savvy" consumers
who proudly bought counterfeit cleats made to look real for just a few hundred yen,
yet genuinely believed they'd purchased genuine ones,
and then filed fury-fueled complaints directly to Shimano
or through consumer centers.
In response, Shimano switched cleat packaging
from transparent plastic blister packs to
boxes designed with SDG considerations in mind (→see here).
Not long after that change,
they added a serial QR code to the side of the box.
This QR code carries a Shimano-issued number that counterfeitors couldn't possibly know,
allowing purchasers to verify authenticity themselves.
Even though these are parts that could cause serious injury if something goes wrong,
issuing serial numbers is quite a cost burden—
considering how cheap cleats are as a product.
Separately, the cardboard box itself also got a spec change.
About two years ago, they started cutting a window into part of the box
so you can see inside, making it easier to check the cleat color (rotation angle).
Yellow is SM-SH11 with 6° total float (both sides combined),
blue is SM-SH12 with 2° total float,
but apart from those, there's also the red cleat—SM-SH10—
which is fixed at 0° float.
Since so few people use red,
we've carried old-box inventory without the window cutout for a long time.
But the other day, our stock of red cleats finally sold out,
so I thought it was time to transition to the new box.
I placed an order with our wholesaler, and then...
The wholesaler didn't seem to have any either—
they sent me old-box stock.
At least there's an authenticity-verification QR code on the box side,
so it's a "late-generation old box,"
but still.
I got curious and started researching.
When I search for "SM-SH10,"
I can't find any results for "red cleats in a new box with the window cutout."
Image searches just show
old blister-pack images, or
all images of the old box without any cutout,
↑or images like this—
three cleats lined up, but only the red one in the old box.
I can't find anything else.
Could it be that the new-box red cleat doesn't actually exist yet?
When I first saw the old-box red cleats from the wholesaler,
I assumed they'd been sitting in warehouse inventory for three years or more.
But now I'm wondering—
was that assumption wrong?
Could it be that for red cleats specifically,
the old box is actually still the current version?
As I kept digging,
I found exactly one place (within my search range)
showing an original photo of new-box red cleats—
not from the manufacturer's website or anything like that.
It was AliExpress.
I mean, that's way too sketchy, right?
It says "this content is AI-generated," but
I have no idea whether that disclaimer applies only to the description text
or also covers the image itself.