Shoe sole mounting standard for bicycle cleat

1. A mounting standard for mounting a cleat assembly to a shoe sole having a curved underside portion and a plurality of mounting holes, the mounting standard comprising:

a contoured shim having

a curved top surface shaped generally to follow the curved underside portion of the shoe sole,

a substantially flat bottom surface, and

a plurality of shim holes configured for alignment with the plurality of mounting holes; and

a plurality of internal nut assemblies, each having two nuts protruding therefrom and a bar connecting the two nuts;

wherein the mounting standard is configured so that the cleat assembly and contoured shim can be secured to the curved underside portion of the shoe sole using a single set of threaded fasteners, each threaded fastener mating with a nut protruding from one of the plurality of internal nut assemblies, through one of the plurality of mounting holes, and into one of the plurality of shim holes.

2. The mounting standard of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of shim holes includes four shim holes.

3. The mounting standard of claim 2 , wherein:

two of the shim holes are positioned in proximity to a forward end of the contoured shim; and

two of the shim holes are positioned in proximity to a rearward end of the contoured shim.

4. The mounting standard of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of shim holes is configured as an elongated slot extending widthwise on a portion of the contoured shim.

5. The mounting standard of claim 1 , wherein the bar is substantially flat.

6. The mounting standard of claim 1 , wherein the mounting standard is configured to accommodate at least a slight amount of rotational adjustment of the cleat assembly with respect to the shoe sole.

7. A mounting standard for mounting a cleat assembly to the sole of a shoe, the shoe sole having a curved underside portion and a plurality of mounting holes, and the shoe configured to receive a user's foot, the mounting standard comprising:

a contoured shim having

a curved top surface shaped generally to follow the curved underside portion of the shoe sole,

a substantially flat bottom surface, and

a plurality of shim holes configured for alignment with the plurality of mounting holes; and

a plurality of internal nut assemblies, each having two nuts protruding therefrom and a bar connecting the two nuts;

wherein the mounting standard is configured so that the contoured shim can be moved forward or rearward with respect to the curved underside portion of the shoe sole without significantly affecting the distance between the contoured shim and the user's foot.

8. The mounting standard of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of shim holes includes four shim holes.

9. The mounting standard of claim 8 , wherein:

two of the shim holes are positioned in proximity to a forward end of the contoured shim; and

two of the shim holes are positioned in proximity to a rearward end of the contoured shim.

10. The mounting standard of claim 7 , wherein each of the plurality of shim holes is configured as an elongated slot extending widthwise on a portion of the contoured shim.

11. The mounting standard of claim 7 , wherein the bar is substantially flat.

12. The mounting standard of claim 7 , wherein the mounting standard is configured to accommodate at least a slight amount of rotational adjustment of the cleat assembly with respect to the shoe sole.

13. The mounting standard of claim 7 , wherein the mounting standard is configured so that the cleat assembly and contoured shim can be secured to the curved underside portion of the shoe sole using a single set of threaded fasteners, each threaded fastener mating with a nut protruding from one of the plurality of internal nut assemblies, through one of the plurality of mounting holes, and into one of the plurality of shim holes.

14. A shoe configured to receive a user's foot, the shoe comprising:

a shoe sole having

a curved underside portion, and

a plurality of mounting holes; and

a mounting standard secured to the curved underside portion of the shoe sole for mounting a cleat assembly to the shoe sole, the mounting standard comprising

a contoured shim having

a curved top surface shaped generally to follow the curved underside portion of the shoe sole,

a substantially flat bottom surface, and

a plurality of shim holes configured for alignment with the plurality of mounting holes, and

a plurality of internal nut assemblies, each having a nut protruding therefrom for receiving a threaded fastener;

wherein the mounting standard is configured so that the contoured shim can be moved forward or rearward with respect to the curved underside portion of the shoe sole without significantly affecting the distance between the contoured shim and the user's foot.

15. The shoe of claim 14 , wherein the mounting standard is configured to accommodate at least a slight amount of rotational adjustment of the cleat assembly with respect to the shoe sole.

16. The shoe of claim 14 , wherein the mounting standard is configured so that the cleat assembly and contoured shim can be secured to the curved underside portion of the shoe sole using a single set of threaded fasteners, each threaded fastener mating with a nut protruding from one of the plurality of internal nut assemblies, through one of the plurality of mounting holes, and into one of the plurality of shim holes.

17. The shoe of claim 14 , wherein:

the shoe sole further has a plurality of channels formed in a top portion of the shoe sole and extending lengthwise on the top portion of the shoe sole; and

each of the plurality of channels is configured to receive one of the plurality of internal nut assemblies.

18. The shoe of claim 14 , wherein:

the plurality of shim holes includes four shim holes; and

the plurality of mounting holes includes four mounting holes.

19. The shoe of claim 18 , wherein:

two of the shim holes are positioned in proximity to a forward end of the contoured shim; and

two of the shim holes are positioned in proximity to a rearward end of the contoured shim.

20. The shoe of claim 14 , wherein each of the plurality of shim holes is configured as an elongated slot extending widthwise on a portion of the contoured shim.

21. The shoe of claim 14 , wherein each of the plurality of mounting holes is configured as an elongated slot extending lengthwise on the curved underside portion of the shoe sole.

22. The shoe of claim 14 , wherein each of the plurality of internal nut assemblies has two nuts protruding therefrom.

23. The shoe of claim 22 , wherein each of the plurality of internal nut assemblies further comprises a substantially flat bar connecting the two nuts.

24. The shoe of claim 22 , wherein each of the plurality of internal nut assemblies further comprises a bar connecting the two nuts.

25. A cleat assembly mounting system comprising:

a shoe sole having

a curved underside portion, and

a plurality of mounting holes;

a shim configured to be secured to the curved underside portion of the shoe sole for mounting a cleat assembly to the shoe sole, the shim having a plurality of shim holes configured for alignment with the plurality of mounting holes; and

a plurality of nut assemblies, each having a nut for securing the shim to the curved underside portion of the shoe sole using a set of threaded fasteners;

wherein each of the plurality of mounting holes is configured as a slot extending in a first direction on the curved underside portion of the shoe sole;

wherein each of the plurality of shim holes is configured as a slot extending in a second direction on a portion of the shim; and

wherein the second direction is substantially orthogonal to the first direction.

26. The cleat assembly mounting system of claim 25 , wherein the shim is a contoured shim further having:

a curved top surface shaped generally to follow the curved underside portion of the shoe sole; and

a substantially flat bottom surface.

27. The cleat assembly mounting system of claim 25 , wherein:

each of the plurality of nut assemblies has two nuts for securing the shim to the curved underside portion of the shoe sole; and

each of the plurality of nut assemblies further has a bar connecting the two nuts.

28. A mounting standard for mounting a cleat assembly to a shoe sole having a curved underside portion and a plurality of mounting slots extending in a lengthwise direction on the shoe sole, the mounting standard comprising:

a shim having a plurality of shim holes configured for alignment with the plurality of mounting slots; and

a plurality of nut assemblies, each having a nut for securing the shim to the curved underside portion of the shoe sole using a set of threaded fasteners;

wherein each of the plurality of shim holes is configured as a slot extending in a widthwise direction on a portion of the shim;

wherein each of the plurality of nut assemblies has two nuts for securing the shim to the curved underside portion of the shoe sole; and

each of the plurality of nut assemblies further has a bar connecting the two nuts.

29. The mounting standard of claim 28 , wherein the shim is a contoured shim further having:

a curved top surface shaped generally to follow the curved underside portion of the shoe sole; and

a substantially flat bottom surface.

30. A cleat assembly mounting system comprising:

a shoe sole having

a curved underside portion, and

a plurality of mounting holes;

a shim configured to be secured to the curved underside portion of the shoe sole for mounting a cleat assembly to the shoe sole, the shim having a plurality of shim holes configured for alignment with the plurality of mounting holes; and

a plurality of nut assemblies, each comprising

two nuts for securing the shim to the curved underside portion of the shoe sole using a set of threaded fasteners; and

a bar connecting the two nuts.

31. The cleat assembly mounting system of claim 30 , wherein the shim is a contoured shim further having:

a curved top surface shaped generally to follow the curved underside portion of the shoe sole; and

a substantially flat bottom surface.

32. The cleat assembly mounting system of claim 30 , wherein:

each of the plurality of mounting holes is configured as a slot extending in a first direction on the curved underside portion of the shoe sole;

each of the plurality of shim holes is configured as a slot extending in a second direction on a portion of the shim; and

the second direction is substantially orthogonal to the first direction.

33. A mounting standard for mounting a cleat assembly to a shoe sole having a curved underside portion and a plurality of mounting holes, the mounting standard comprising:

a shim having a plurality of shim holes configured for alignment with the plurality of mounting holes; and

a plurality of nut assemblies, each comprising

two nuts for securing the shim to the curved underside portion of the shoe sole using a set of threaded fasteners; and

a bar connecting the two nuts.

34. The mounting standard of claim 33 , wherein the shim is a contoured shim further having:

a curved top surface shaped generally to follow the curved underside portion of the shoe sole; and

a substantially flat bottom surface.

35. The cleat assembly mounting system of claim 33 , wherein each of the plurality of shim holes is configured as a slot extending in a direction on a portion of the shim that is substantially orthogonal to a direction in which each of the plurality of mounting holes extends on the curved underside portion of the shoe sole.