Getting my feet into those cages....

Cantdosleepy

Hey gang,

Have cages on the bike and I find getting into them a bit of a nightmare. Left to their own devices the weight of the cages causes the pedales to hang upside-down so I have to faff with my toes to flip them right-side-up before I can try to get my feet in.

Any tips other than 'practice'?

Would it be feasible to attach weights to the underside of the pedals so that they naturally sit the right way up? I'm not worried about adding weight to the bike. If so, what do you guys reckon the right sort of thing would be, and how best to attach it?

Cheers!

ride_whenever

Eeerm, spds?

Cantdosleepy

Thanks for the reply. I did think about those, but I don't really want to:

1) Buy new pedals
2) Buy new shoes
3) Carry an extra pair of shoes with me whenever I bike anywhere.

Of those reasons (3) is most significant. I like using my bike to pop over to pubs or shops or museums with just a pocketworth of keys/wallet/phone. Having to bring a bag for extra shoes is just a faff festival too far - sweaty rucksack back suddenly looms, or getting panniers, and I don't want to leave shoes in those.

CiB

Practice - it soon becomes second nature. Adding weights is prone to additional problems, like having them fly off unexpectedly into a baby's eye - you just know they'll land somewhere like that - or just the fact that it's an addition to the dimensions of the pedal so likely to be dislodged on corners or kerb stones.

Stick with it - you'll be doing it without realising it in no time.

nicklouse

Power straps?

Littigator

I would still suggest spds, a lot of them have shoes which are no different from normal footwear with the cleats re-thingy'ed into the sole of the shoe. A lot of MTB shoes are just like normal trainers.

That aside if you want to stick with cages then lots of practice and don;t look down when you are doing it, it's much easier/quicker if you get used to feeling your foot into them

Cantdosleepy

Groovy. Are there any reccommended recessed cleat shoes out there? I'm not hugely vain, but a quick google only led me to shoes that looked a bit 'orthy'. Something like a pair of Dunlop Green stripe or similar would be ideal...

nicklouse

661 do a few ok ones.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Cate ... goryID=337

sc999cs

Shimano do a lot in their MT range, I think there is an MT-30, MT-40 etc which look just like trainers.

Wrath Rob

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Shima ... 360027286/

yes it costs more but SPDs are great and much, much better than toe-clips

manick0de

These are pretty nice.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/clothing/shoes/product/filter-07-shoes-14721

balthazar

Or, just take the toe clips off:

http://www.rivbike.com/article/clothing/the_shoes_ruse

Cantdosleepy

balthazar wrote:

Or, just take the toe clips off:

http://www.rivbike.com/article/clothing/the_shoes_ruse

Man, that article is pretty persuasive (though I would like to see the actual data about weight transfer during the upswing part of pedalling). Are there any strong pro-attachment articles out there to argue the case for clipping/strapping myself in?

biondino

In the wet my feet always slip off regular pedals. In fact, when pushing hard on the pedals I don't want to risk slipping off in any circumstances, which I'm much more likely to do if my foot ever comes away from the pedal surface (such as on the upstroke when it is relatively unweighted).

When I kick off at traffic lights I most certainly do pull up on the upswing - if I didn't I'd probably only have, say, 2/3 the acceleration, and we know how key that is.

Standing to power up hills I very much pull up.

His arguments fall down when he says that a) it's not natural to push wish the balls of the feet yet b) the stiffness of a shoe is a red herring. If you are pushing with your balls (ahem) then stiffness will spread the force which can only be a good thing by his logic, right?

Pushing with the balls gives you the ideal compromise between simple downwards force from the knee and the leverage of using the toes. Makes perfect sense to me.

nicklouse

I did not bother as soon as i saw this.

during normal pedaling at normal cadences, nobody pulls UP on the backstroke

the elite/efficient pedalers push down less on the upward moving pedal than the rookies do.

and i use both flats and clips and there is now way i am any more that a arsing about rider having fun.

singlespeedexplosif

I gave up reading as soon as he suggested wearing Crocs.
Then I made myself read it to the end. Not laughed so much in ages.

Cantdosleepy

biondino wrote:

In the wet my feet always slip off regular pedals. In fact, when pushing hard on the pedals I don't want to risk slipping off in any circumstances, which I'm much more likely to do if my foot ever comes away from the pedal surface (such as on the upstroke when it is relatively unweighted).

When I kick off at traffic lights I most certainly do pull up on the upswing - if I didn't I'd probably only have, say, 2/3 the acceleration, and we know how key that is.

Standing to power up hills I very much pull up.

His arguments fall down when he says that a) it's not natural to push wish the balls of the feet yet b) the stiffness of a shoe is a red herring. If you are pushing with your balls (ahem) then stiffness will spread the force which can only be a good thing by his logic, right?

Pushing with the balls gives you the ideal compromise between simple downwards force from the knee and the leverage of using the toes. Makes perfect sense to me.

Cheers for the response!

balthazar

Grant Petersen is known as something of a provocateur in these sorts of matters. Personally, I'm not keen on his Rivendells which I find fetishistic, above all else. However, it is still refreshing to hear the case made for simple things like flat pedals and ordinary shoes, when all around, the prevailing advocation from experienced cyclists is for racer products where practicality is unimportant.

biondino

balthazar wrote:

However, it is still refreshing to hear the case made for simple things like flat pedals and ordinary shoes, when all around, the prevailing advocation from experienced cyclists is for racer products where practicality is unimportant.

Absolutely - I'm not sure anything that makes cycling elitist or exclusive is a good thing in a public context - maybe in Procycling magazine

Northwind

It's a fairly shonky article- he doesn't understand muscle memory at all, as any phsyiotherapist can tell you muscle memory develops even if the muscle is externally stimulated. So that bit at least is just nonsense.

But still, I like flats, and I've never felt any real advantage power wise with spds. I've spent an awful lot more time on flats or with toeclips, which could explain my preference, but I think I'd have notice night/day differences by now. It does help with hops and with steep uphills, but then it can be a disadvantage when restarting after spinning up, or when riding on really loose stuff and doing a lot of footwork.

I quite like old school toeclips, just to keep my pedals and feet together more convincingly in drops and jumps. I can definately live without spds, and it's a bit more cash in the wallet at the end of hte day.

Also, right at this time of year, there are some advantages to riding in big heavy boots 8)

manick0de

I love double sided SPD's, can't live without them now. Very practical and easy to use. I feel safer and more efficent. I've also got a pair winter SPD boots which are warm and dry. There's benefits to seperate shoes for longer distances, I keep work shoes at work my bike shoes handle all the crap.

Stopped reading that guys article when he got to shoe stiftness and said It doesn't make any difference? :roll:

balthazar

manick0de wrote:

Stopped reading that guys article when he got to shoe stiftness and said It doesn't make any difference? :roll:

I don't know why. I think he makes a compelling case for ordinary shoes and broad pedals, for ordinary cycling. You don't wear carbon soled shoes for running up the stairs or for the bus. Your foot is a sophisticated mechanism, quite capable of the rigidity required for normal locomotive duties itself.

nicklouse

balthazar
I use flats and grippy shoes and i still pull up with them.

I also use SPD's and i know which is faster.

balthazar

nicklouse wrote:

balthazar
I use flats and grippy shoes and i still pull up with them.

I also use SPD's and i know which is faster.

Thankyou - but I'm not sure why you directed those observations at me? I haven't commented on either of those subjects?!

wgwarburton

Hi,
I don't use clipless- I'd have to get three sets of pedals and new shoes and then try and make sure I had the right shoes on for cycling and the right ones for walking. I'm sure it's achievable but not that it's worth the grief.

Virtually all of my cycling is utility or touring style- no competitions and precious little riding for the sake of it. I want to be able to use my bikes in whatever shoes I'm wearing and to walk around in whatever shoes I'm cycling in.

I suspect that a the rise in popularity of clipless pedals parallels the growth of cycling as a sport, rather than as transport. If you are cycling as a hobby, whether mountainbiking, racing, training or whatever then it makes sense to have a dedicated bike and clothing, optimised for the job. If your bike is just part of your everyday life then the requirements are a little different.

Cheers,
W.