my feet tended to slide off to the outside on times. I ended up riding bow-legged. switched back to spds mostly due to the positioning. cleat wear is more than likely the problem with yours. I liked my times except for the cleat movement, but some people love that. I would think the crank bros would be similar due to the retention similarities. The newer spd's shed mud far better, which was the reason I left spds in the late 90's...