Crankbrother's pedal and cleat interfaces are among our favorites across the industry, so we use the Bike Shoe Shields to protect our carbon-soled shoes from the pedal's retention bars. Those retention bars are the very thing that provides the ease of clipping in and out that Crankbrothers pedals are known for, even in muddy conditions. The thing is, those retention bars have a tendency to dig into our shoe soles, and damage the carbon-but with the Shoe Shields, that's no longer a problem.