Clipless pedals

keith73

Hi can anybody give me any advice, i have just thrown out my 80 quid special i bought from Halfords and decided to buy a Specialized Stumpjumper fsr Elite, which is a lovely bike however it came with crank brothers smarty clipless pedals which didn`t fill me with confidence as i have never used clipless pedals, so i decided to take a trip to Tredz in Swansea to buy some platform pedals. Once i got talking to the guys in Tredz they made it sound as if i would be mad to get rid of the smartys for platforms and then they started talking me in to buying a pair of clipless shoes, reassuring me that they were very easy to use. I handed of the sixty quid for the shoes and off i went to set them up. I went to Afan park today with new shoes and rather than finding them easy to use i find them dam right dangerous, it takes 10 attempts to get the shoe clipped in and then almost impossible to get them to un-clip hence tonight i`m nursing a gash on my leg and a elbow that has swollen to the size of my knee with numbness in my fingers. Is it me or our these things best thrown out in the bin with the pedals following them?

nicklouse

Ah you forgot the 1/2 hour of leaning against the walls getting used to the action.

and then the couple of easy rides using them out.

maybe it was a step to far too fast. new bike and new pedal system.

Dont bin them but untill you are used to the bike i would fit some gusset slim Jim pedals.

supersonic

Yep, I would always recommend flatties until you get used to the bike, and practice some skills.

Andy B

Clipless pedals are quality, they provide the most efficient way of pedalling, you can pull up on the upstroke, your feet will not slip off on rough terrain, I only use clipless now.

You do need to practice a bit to get used to them & doing that in a trail isn't the best place to learn!

Given time & a little practice you may find that you will get on with the pedals, then again you may not.

nicklouse

Owned

8)

Andy B

:P

supersonic

:!:

handful

I am trying to get used to clipless as well, had a few little trips down the road just clipping and unclipping every few yards to get the hang of them. Then on Saturday I went down a muddy stony track up the road and got to the end of it with no problems at all, unclipping a couple of times in anticipation of having to stop but not needing to 8). I then pulled up to the junction which is usually very quiet, was just about to pull across the road before realising a car was whipping round the corner at a rate of knots so had to stop sharply...........and promptly forgot all about the spds :oops: :oops:

I have them set up quite loose fortunately and just about managed to wrench my foot out before landing in a heap but not without losing the chain off the front. Must have looked a right tw@t

I will persevere but I think that listening to others experiences, you have to get to the point when removing your feet is automatic and not a matter of concentration at which point they are a fantastic help to pedalling power. Until you reach that point, they are downright dangerous, as you know only too well

nicklouse

handful
you also need to think about unclipping before you need to such as when approaching a stopping point (lights etc) also at the end of a ride when tired people often also forget to unclip. after a relatively short time though it becomes second nature.

xtremedash

As nicklouse says think ahead more and more. I swapped to SPD's 6 months ago. To be fair I had a lot of riding experience before that, so was only concentrating on changing my pedalling technique.
I often have hilarious (for those watching, not me) 'SPD moments'. They always occured when I was stationary/very slow, usually forgetting to unclip, or unclipping my left foot and leaning right. I've had several big crashes (not related to SPD's) and every time I've come off the pedals without any undue twisting of the ankle.

I certainly wouldn't call them downright dangerous, but they do require practise and perserverance. They're worth their weight in gold when you get to a big climb.

omegas

I think its been posted here a hundred times :

• Shimano pedal with the mechanism slackened all the way off.
• Shimano multi-release cleats. SH56 (you can pull your shoe out with a hard pull)
• Try them sat on the bike in between a door frame.
• First ride on a field or open area.
• Keep to easy ride areas or paths for the first few rides.

Depending on how much you ride it takes months for it to become a natural reaction to twist your shoe out. You know when you are there after a few emergency stops and you don’t panic and pull upwards or just never have to think about it.

ride_whenever

Another good thing is to get very very good at trackstands! It gives you better balance for the slow speed stuff, and you then have the confidence to pause clipped in. It has saved me numerous times, when forgetting to unclip, i just trackstand on the spot, unclip and safely lower myself down!