look pedals - double sided - does this exist?

mushi123

Hi;

I am pretty new to this cycling thing (I commute everyday 20 miles round trip in London). I bought some shoes and pedals, the road type ones not MTB. The problem is that on the commute when I put my foot down I find it hard to clip on again because you have to clip on at the right side, are all pedals like this? isn't there a road pedal that have the clip thing on both sides. Am I being stupid?

If not can you please tell me how you guys clip on without looking at your feet

sorry for the dumb question

pbiggs

Well, you can look at your feet if you like. Maybe that's why they're called "Look"? [:)]

Seriously, you get used to it after some practice. Look road pedals are heavier at the back, so they always point the same way up when foot is not on.

Have one foot clipped in before you start, and give a hard push on this pedal to get you moving fast enough to freewheel while dealing with the other side.

Scoop foot forwards. Don't put full weight on before it's clipped in, in case you get it wrong and slip off.

There are double-sided road pedals from other makes such as Speedplay - but they are quite different and also more expensive. Also, no reason why you can't use double-sided SPD pedals & shoes with a road bike if you like.

<i>~Pete</i>

gundersen

Yes Look did make double sided pedals. But that was a while back.

About the ones you've got. Practise makes perfect. Shortly you'ld be doing it without thinking.

monty_dogcp

There were some Look double-sided pedal, but only one side had the clipless mechanism - they were heavy, plastic and the cheap bearings didn't last very long. Seriously, with a little bit of practise you'll instinctively learn to position your foot correctly with only the smallest of glances to engage - learn to sweep your foot forward to engage the front of the cleat with the tip of the pedal and then press-down to enage in one movement. Obviously, many MTB pedals are double-sided and many you can 'stamp-and-go', but the downside is that they are not as positive an engagement and the smaller cleat means they tend to allow the foot to rock from side to side

Down the Road

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by mushi123</i>

Hi;

I am pretty new to this cycling thing (I commute everyday 20 miles round trip in London). I bought some shoes and pedals, the road type ones not MTB. The problem is that on the commute when I put my foot down I find it hard to clip on again because you have to clip on at the right side, are all pedals like this? isn't there a road pedal that have the clip thing on both sides. Am I being stupid?

If not can you please tell me how you guys clip on without looking at your feet

sorry for the dumb question
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Try to feel as if you are rolling the pedal over with the bottom of you big toe. Then you'll find clipping in a breeze.

It just takes a little practice but it is worth continuing

Pirahna

You could always try something like the Crank Brothers Quattro if you can't get on with Looks. They do a 3 hole mounted cleat if your shoes don't have the 2 hole SPD mounts.

Unknown

For commuting and general town riding I am convinced that Shimano SPD pedals and MTB or touring shoes are the best option. They are double sided, slightly easier to clip into (IMO at least) and the shoes have a bit of tread meaning the cleat is recessed and you can walk in them quite easily. The greater support and more rigid platform of road-racing pedals are barely noticable for this type of riding....

Regards

pbiggs

I do notice and enjoy the greater support and more rigid platform even for urban riding, but it can't be deined that SPD shoes are more practical when you're off the bike.