Standing on Clipless Pedals

Max_Man

I've just moved to clipless pedals (Shimano 105), when I get out of the saddle my feet don't feel safe in the cleats, it's as if they are sliding all over the place. Everything is assembled correctly and tight.

Is this normal?, just something I need to get used to?


Any ideas?

on the road

Have you checked that the cleats haven't come loose? Just try jiggling them with your hands, they shouldn’t budge, if they move even very slightly then just tighten them.

Max_Man

I thought that but they are tight.

Is there supposed to be any movement?, they are the Shimano cleats, with the yellow marks, I think they have a float of 3mm.

It might be normal, never tried any clipless pedals before.

stevec205gti

They will rotate from side to side for what feels quite long- this is what the float does. After this the twist should tighten up as you 're starting to unclip, but there should be a noticeable difference between the two.

ColinJ

Max_Man wrote:

I've just moved to clipless pedals (Shimano 105), when I get out of the saddle my feet don't feel safe in the cleats, it's as if they are sliding all over the place. Everything is assembled correctly and tight.

Is this normal?, just something I need to get used to?

Any ideas?

I started off using toeclips/straps. My shoes had slotted plastic plates on the soles. With this arrangement my feet were held rigidly in place. It all felt reassuringly solid.

After a year of that, I switched to the Look system, with red cleats for float. I remember that I had exactly the same sensation as you - it felt like walking on ice! I found that I adapted to the float pretty quickly and instead of relying on toeclips to stop my feet moving about too much, my pedal stroke smoothed out and the problem went away.

So my answer is - you should get used to the pedals.



The only time I've ever had a real problem with clipless pedals was on a savagely steep hill (approaching 30%). I was using every bit of strength I had and managed to pull my foot off the pedal. As a result, I had a painful encounter with the crossbar! If you have a release tension adjustment on your pedals you will have to choose between tight for maximum security, and loose for ease of release when you want to dismount in a hurry. Unfortunately, on very steep hills you want tight until you can't pedal any further and then loose so that you can definitely unclip.

Rich Hcp

The yellow cleats have float, which may take a while to get used to.

I have the same set up as you, which is ideal for me, because my angles are not good.

You should get used to it