Pedal recommendations (too chicken for clipless).

johnno_uk

My First post and what a time !


Just had my first 'sideways topple' and smack on the ground.... done 180 miles on the bike (Bianchi Alu/Carbon ultegra) around town, used to lots of stops / starts, thought i was well in tune with taking foot out of cleats and ......

riding up hill, knocked my computer off the stem.

Came to an abrupt halt so that i could go pick it up before it got crunched in the traffic (first instinct) and ....
Suddenly tried to put feet on ground and ....... now i have some scuffed handle bar tape and a big bruised and grazed knee, and dented pride.

Other observations on this today :
(1) no-one in the traffic stopped to check i was ok
(2) the fat git in the white van just laughed and waved me the W(ancher) sign. Gave him a good bit of verbals as i raced off (bad i know, but just couldn't help it) which made me feel better.

But, generally the cleats are great. It wont put me off - go for it !

beckenham

Mmmm still not quite convinced :roll:

johnno_uk

Neither was i before started with this new bike, but its so convenient and it really does keep your feet in a constant position. Even with toe clips, i used to find they moved about, now it feels solid.

drenkrom

Being a computer technician, I have learned through the years that the problem very rarely resides with the tools. Without wanting to rub it in for anyone who has had problems with clipless, it's not the pedals that don't unclip. It's the rider who is incapable of unclipping at a given moment. In those same moments, the same person would probably not have been able to pull out of properly adjusted clips and straps either. The whole "I'm afraid I might fall" argument is moot. If you ride bikes often enough, you will fall, that's a certainty. Falling on your side at a standstill is embarassing but is probably the most benign fall a cyclist could possibly take. If the flipside to all the benefits of clipless for efficiency and maneuverability is a minute probability of looking foolish at a street corner in front of people you don't even know, then there hardly is any debate to be had. Some people feel better with clips and straps. Fine. I have a friend who won't ride any bike with a derailleur on it. But that is a preference which has no basis in fact. I've had to convince many people of giving clipless a try and not a single one of them has ever looked back since.

hopeful

The pedals have just arrived - God bless Wiggle! Just one quick question: When I'm attaching the cleats to the shoes, is it the smooth side that faces outwards, with the ridged bit facing in towards the sole of the shoes? The instructions indicate what direction it goes in, but not which surface is outermost.

It's pouring down, so it's not looking that there'll be much practice with them today.

Thanks.

ean

It's smooth side out, the ridges help keep the cleat in place. Mine have Shimano SM-SH51 written on the side you can see when they are on the shoe.

Make sure the cleats are really tight on the shoe, when I first fitted mine, I struggled to get out and it was because they were not tight enough.

Adjust the spring tension on both sides of both pedals evenly anti clockwise until you can clip in and out easily, Shimano supplies them quite tight.

Enjoy, and wonder why you didn't do it ages ago !

MarvintheAndroid

I have crashed but nothing to do with the cleats - in fact the cleats released as expected which probably wouldn't have happened if I was strapped in.

Whereas in years gone by I HAVE fallen because I couldn't undo my straps quick enough, and during an accident with toe straps (gears jumped and I went over forward somersault) I have ended up remaining attached to the bike whilst upside down. Not nice.

IMHO cleats are far quicker and easier to release than tightened toe staps - and if your straps aren't tight, why bother ?

However I second the suggestions above to go with double-sided MTB type pedals (Shimano SPDs are very good) rather than single-sided road pedals, at least until you are used to them.

Shimano SPDs can be adjusted for release pressure and only need about 5 degrees of twist to release anyway.

Marv

herbie12

Just a quick tip, but don't be surprised if you need to alter the position of the cleat a few times before they're comfortable...

I tended to take the right allen key out with me for the first few rides so I can stop and adjust them.

Anyway, you need to make sure that the cleats are positioned so that your foot is in a natural position on the pedal. One way of doing so is to find a friend, a couple of pencils and some blu tak. Stick on your cycling shoes with cleats loosely attached and sit on a table and let your legs and feet just hang. Stick a pencil to each cleat with the blu tac so it is perpendicular and then see how if points in relation to your shoe. Your friend can then adjust the cleats so that the pencils are pointing forward in relation to you, but not necessarily in relation to the shoe. That way, when you clip in, in a neutral position, your foot is positioned naturally and not artificially straight in the pedal...

Hope that makes a little sense anyway!

Small Fish

I'm the one from the other thread - with his wrist in plaster for 8 weeks - I'd say that what i've learned is that on the road clipless pedals are way better, but you have to take them seriously, they show no mercy if you mess around!

I'm 50/50 whether i stick with the clipless once I'm back on the bike but my fall was 100% avoidable - it was totally a stupid showing off thing - there was a couple of friends on my doorstep when i arrived home and rather than my usual routine of unclipping as I approached the house and slowly freewheeling onto the drive I sped onto the drive clipped in, slammed on the brakes and just as i unclipped my right foot, lost my balance and fell to my left. :oops:

If you don't mess around then I don't think they are significantly risky - but if, like me you are prone to stupid behaviour, then be sure you can surpress your urges!!

gkerr4

hopeful wrote:

The pedals have just arrived - God bless Wiggle! Just one quick question: When I'm attaching the cleats to the shoes, is it the smooth side that faces outwards, with the ridged bit facing in towards the sole of the shoes? The instructions indicate what direction it goes in, but not which surface is outermost.

It's pouring down, so it's not looking that there'll be much practice with them today.

Thanks.

so - have you tried them yet?

we're all waiting to see what you think of them!!

hopeful

.[/quote]

so - have you tried them yet?

we're all waiting to see what you think of them!![/quote]

Pouring out of the heavens all day here. Couldn't even find a sheltered bit of wall to lean against. Tomorrow, though. I've got very itchy feet by now.

Will report back a.s.a.p.

gkerr4

yeah - fair enough - chucking it down all day here too

I was still itching to get out - but didn't :-(

I don't think the forecast is any better for tomorrow either...

hopeful

Have spent a while getting used to the feel of the pedals, getting the cleats in and out from stationary position, and then going up and down in the garden doing the same thing. Fell off the first time and am beginning to see how it's all supposed to work. I think my main mental block is being distracted by the feeling of resistance from the front of the shoe and feeling caught, rather than focusing on the ankle swivel release bit. I'll try to go out onto a quiet path tonight and get the ankle thing into my head (as it were). The neighours will be thinking I've got my first two wheeler.

johnno_uk

I was crapping mysefl first time i went out. Make sure you check the release tension - i've found that mine came really tight out of th ebox, so worth taking the time to adjust. THe only issue i'v ehad to date was falling off Friday when i instinctively stopped to pick up my computer which i knocked off.

heavymental

Just a quick comment...there seems to be a bit of a suggestion on this thread that a cyclist will fall off every so often due to getting caught in the clips and that its something we just have to put up with. I fear this might be making a few people think that they shouldn't bother with clipless as falling off once or twice is once or twice too many. I'd like to point out that I can't remember the last time I fell of, and I'm not certain that I did when I first went clipless. If I did its obviously not too much of a trauma as I can't remember it now!
Also I use clipless on road and mtb.

gkerr4

as above- completely agree.
Iuse clipless on my road, MTb and even on my fixed bikes (SPD-SL on the road and SPD on the others) and haven't ever fell off due to being clipped in (touches wood..)

hopeful

I'm not getting the update emails, so I've missed some extremely helpful postings. Wonder why that is. Anyway, I'm getting the feel of these clipless jobs. Far from confident yet, but practising, in the hope that the automatic ankle reflex will develop. I'm probably releasing the left foot a bit early when I'm out on the road and know I'm going to be stopping, but I don't mind that.

Do the pedals/cleats need much/any maintenance?

Thanks again. This time last week the idea of clipless hadn't even crossed my mind. Now, could y'all sort out the rest of my life, too, please?

gkerr4

glad you are liking the clipless thing and it sounds like you are getting the hang of it. Nothing wrong with releasing your foot early if you know you are going to stop. Another tip - on approaching a junction, be on the lookout for roadside furniture - railings, lamposts etc and try holding on to them while you wait for the lights to change - saves clipping out and back in again!

the 520's (thats what you got isn't it?) - they don't need a lot of maintenance really - perhaps just the odd skoosh of teflon spray lubricant on the spring and the pivots - not much other than that really.

so you need us to sort the rest of your life out too eh - well that sounds like a tall order and sounds like ti came from someone who has had a bit of a bad day! -- I guess you could try us though... :-)

hopeful

Thanks for the tip, gkerr. Will keep an eye out for railings etc. I'll get some teflon stuff, too.

Next thing to think about is what to get for the other bike I have. It was my main one before I got the road bike and, I still use it the odd time for when I have a bit to carry. I can see myself wanting clipless for that, too, but the trouble is that it's sometimes used by non-cycling friends who just want to come out for a short spin with me. Maybe the single-sided jobbies. Anyway, I'll have a think about that.

As for the bad day; well just a bit of angst. Probably at a funny age or something.... But getting on the bike did redeem some of it.

Thanks so much for all the advice and clipless cameraderie.

heavymental

Nice one Hopeful. Glad things are going well. Soon you'll get the hang of just clipping out slighly when you think you might have to stop and then being able to just move your foot back to the clipped position with a barely noticeable movement when you see the lights have changed/obstacle has moved.

I do like threads like this as it makes me realise what little movements and techniques have become second nature. It'll become second nature to you too one day and you'll be contributing to threads like this just like us 'get on with it' types have been doing here!

Having a bike you can just jump on in normal shoes is useful. My road shoes are ok for walkin in and don't look too strange so I wear them around ths hops ok but I guess single sided are a good idea if friends want to borrow the bike. I have a spare pair of flat pedals that I have soetimes had to put on but its a bit of a nuisance.

If you want to air your problems go over to cakestop....usually get plenty of good advice or just a bit of support if needed.

acorn_user

Time for some balance in the force. Clipless is great for long jaunts in the country and racing. But clipping in and out for every single stop sign and red light is tiresome and worrisome too. I HATE clipless pedals in town. So my race bike has Time ATAC pedals and my real bike has proper pedals, no clips, just double sided goodness, the way pedals are supposed to be.

If you want proper pedals, you need MKS pedals. MKS are made in Japan, and have lovely bearings. No other modern pedal comes close. The Sylvan Tour model is double sided, and you can fit clips if you like. The City lite model has reflectors and won't let you fit clips, but is grippy anyway.

Who needs the last ounce of performance when commuting anyway?!

passout

Clipless all the way. There are no downsides except that you can't wear your trainers.