Let's go clipless...

SpinningJenny

Right, I've been doing a fair amount of reading and am off to the LBS tomorrow to have a look (when i say 'look' I probably mean 'look with my debit card' if you see what I mean, lol!).

It seems to me that as as someone transitioning to road, I would probably be better off with double-sided clipless pedals (I don't fancy all that footling trying to find the right side), plus a pair of (MTB?) shoes with the recessed cleats?

I'm not fussed so much about the weight and all that jazz, but I do want it to be easy-ish* and I do want to be able to walk around in them without coming a cropper - which for me, is relatively likely!

*I do recognise that I WILL fall off the bike due to forgetting I've gone clipless... can't wait to get that one over with..

I currently have a Trek 7.0 hybrid, but plan to get a roady bike in the near future. I don't care if my pedal/shoe combo doesn't look the part, I just want to be able to do it!

Am I heading in the right direction, do you think?

John.T

Yes. You will be fine with that. With a pair of fairly stiff soled shoes you would hardly notice any difference from road pedals and they are much easier for beginers to get used to. I still use them on the winter and fixed bikes. No reason to fall off, just get into the habit of unclipping early and by the time you have an ooops moment you will do it instinctively.

Ruari

Yes. You won't regret it!

Practice, practice, and practice clipping in/out !

Enjoy

parklaneyido

I have recently converted to clipless on my road bike and am glad I did.

I went for MTB set up too as they are a good platform to start on as a beginner.

I've got these:
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/sessionID/VP ... -10226.htm

and these in black

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/dhb_M ... 360033176/

I got the pedals for £16.99 and shoes for £37.49. They were on special at the time. I'd recommend both items as I'm very pleased with them. Even more so for the prices I paid!

SpinningJenny

Blimey, this place is lively! Thank you all for taking the time. And it's great to have my own thoughts backed up too.

parklaneyido - thanks for the links to what you've got yourself set up with - sounds like you did well there!

Lucky for me, there's a cycle path right opposite my home, so I can zip up and down there and get some practice in before getting out on the road. And if I try really hard, I can aim for the grassy bank if i do end up clipped when I should be unclipped!

Very excited now!

keef66

that's what I did; shimano m540 pedals and some touring shoes with mtb cleats. Marvellous for pedalling and walking.

8 months on and I still haven't had a fall, despite the best attempts of a young man in a red Corsa who in his hurry to get to the opticians nearly T-boned me on a mini roundabout. - stayed clipped in, locked both wheels, but skidded gracefully round him.

kingrollo

I went for single sided SPD platform pedals at first and still use these on my commutter. What I like is that you can pedal pretty easily without being clipped in - for example when negoitiating traffic lights or roundabouts - you pedal on the flat side until you have passed the traffic hazard - then clip in - and enjoy the benefits of being clipped in. The pedals I use are by Wellgo - they are pretty big and don't look great - but they do seem to provide the best of both worlds - here they are on wiggle - are cheaper at decathlon though

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Wellg ... 360006644/

On my best road bike - I have now moved up to SPD SL - which are even better - but perhaps not for first time clipless

Allez Mark

Ive only been clipless for about a month and touch wood, I haven't had a fall yet. I went for the double sided M520. One thing worth considering is multi release cleats. They are easier to clip out of.

Mark

SpinningJenny

Thank you all...I have a good ton of information to take to my LBS now!

gbs

SpinningJenny wrote:

IAm I heading in the right direction, do you think?

Undoubtedly! I started with cleats and celebrated the end of teh second week and my 67th birthday by falling. No regrets.

My tips are

1. unclip with left foot for easy access to kerb
2. in traffic, if clip/unclip is going to be frequent, it is perfectly possible to pedal with one foot uncleated using the heel.

SpinningJenny

Thanks gbs - I am very impressed that you decided to go clipless just before turning 67!

I got some great advice from my lbs a couple of days ago too, so it's all looking good!

FCE2007

I've always unclipped on the right first.
A natural fear of falling right, under traffic etc

I understand the logic of left unclipping but old habits and all that.

+1 one leg pedalling through town.

guilliano

Shoes wise it's worth looking at a set of spinning shoes..... nice breathable upper and a proper sole you can walk in. They are designed with gym floors in mind so the cleat is recessed and they won't mark the floor. Pedals wise a set with a flat on the other side is also worth considering as it allows you to unclip at points where you may not be confident staying attached to the bike, such as heavy traffic, or just jump on the bike in norml shoes to nip to the shop/pub. I've recommended that sort of combo many times for first time clippers on all sorts of bikes in my shop

trickeyja

I got some new mountain bike SPDs a few days ago.

They are all right but I haven't noticed any change in speed. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong? I haven't found any benefit over normal flat pedals yet. In fact so far I am finding the flats more comfortable than SPDs for long distance (I did a hilly 140mi Audax with SPDs on Sat) because on the SPDs I can't rest the arch of my foot on the centre of the pedal when clipped in on descents because the cleat is further forward. This means I am always tensing my leg to raise my heel up even when not pedalling. Any advice?

gbs

guilliano wrote:

Shoes wise it's worth looking at a set of spinning shoes..... nice breathable upper and a proper sole you can walk in.

Any recommendations re brand?

At the moment I have the Specialised entry level shoe. In my inexperienced view they are fine except that on shop advice I bought one size larger than street shoe to achieve a comfortable width. That was fine in winter with two pairs of socks. So who makes a wide fitting MTB type shoe with recessed cleat but without regrettable bling styling?

guilliano

GBS.... The Shimano ones are all I have experience of, but I have quite wide feet and they seem to fit me ok. The uppers are a really soft material so they give round the foot anyway.