Slipping of Pedals ...

FunkMaster007

Hello Guys,

Ok, so my wife and I have started riding and got outselves some bikes.

Now I am being brave and doing the whole SPD thing and falling off when I forget to un-clip myself, but thats a learning process that needs to be done as I do see the advantages of ridng with cleats ...

However, the wife is a lot less confident on her bike and well not that eager to get maximum performance from riding ... she just wants to ride for the sake of riding ... so when we got her the bike, she got a pair of CrankBrother Egg Beaters attached to the bike - now everyone has their opinion of whether they are good or not .. etc ... but she wanted normal pedals, so she went off and got a pair of DMR V8 Pedals which I fitted to her bike.

Now she rides a lot better with these, but sometimes does slip off the pedal and well all I hear is a yelp and a scream asking for me to stop when I am like 200 yards ahead of her .... So the result of slipping off is that on her calves she looks like she's been beaten by something and bitten by a dog .... so my question is quite simple ... are there any pads one can recommend for calves ... as the question usually is directed at shins.

I've found the SixSixOne Veggie Shin Guards .(http://www.evanscycles.com/products/six ... =SixSixOne) .. which look like they wrap all the way around, which might just do the trick ... any thoughts?

dazoo666

Mabey the issue of slipping off the pedals could be what footwear she is wearing??. V8's and indeed V12's are normally quite grippy with the right footwear.

bomberesque

^ what Dazoo said.

I had exactly this problem the first time I used flatties. Get her some proper flattie cycling shoes. 5.10 or waffle soled whatevers. she won't slip anymore

OTOH, you could try quill pedals and toeclips/straps for that oldskool look

cee

+1 on the shoes....lightweight knee pads wont really help, unless they have full shins though (as the veggie wraps do...)....

I used to slip off of my v8's all the time and know how she feels....

looks like a werewolfe has had a go from the middle of the shin right down? my favourite is matching stripes front and back of the legs....

I got myself a pair of the Shimano mp56 shoes and no longer have an issue...quite the opposite...if my foot position is slightly out of position, i have to make a concerted effort to move it!

The Northern Monkey

Different shoes, shin guards, possibly different pedals. (Personally I don't like the v8/12), or longer pedal pins (this could cause more shin damage though!)

FunkMaster007

Cool ... well I've got her a pair of Specialized Shoes

Will let you know how things go ... I think it might be just down to her not being confident enough on the bike and when she stops, she puts her foot down on the wrong side of the pedal ... hmmmm going to have to pay closer attention to her style and technique

rob_mafia

Another vote for new shoes here, light weight and lots of grip those spesh ones look tasty and will the trick

ride_whenever

What size are her feet?

also might be worth fitting longer pins to the pedals for deeper gouges...

bomberesque

FunkMaster007 wrote:

Cool ... well I've got her a pair of Specialized Shoes

Will let you know how things go ... I think it might be just down to her not being confident enough on the bike and when she stops, she puts her foot down on the wrong side of the pedal ... hmmmm going to have to pay closer attention to her style and technique

erm, I've not tried those specific shoes, but they look like normal XC MTB shoes for SPDs not specific shoes for flatties. If they're what I think they are then she will slip off on them. You need a waffle sole or a stealthrubber sole (like the 5.10)

summat like this



or this



more normal MTB shoes have big gaps between the treads that the pins get lost in so you don't get the grip out of them.

SpinningJenny

i'm using some merrells walking type shoes - they seem to work for me....

Banned!

buy a pair of skate/bmx shoes from either dc, emerica, globe, airwalk, etnies or vans.

all have grippy soles and are much less expensive than mtb specific shoes,which are, frankly, hideous.

captainfly

Damn pedal bites from V8s :shock: it really kills I've got a set of shin 'tatoos' from mine.
So yeah flat soled shoes, (I can't recomend 5.10s highly enough, if you can afford them) and 661 veggie shin wraps are good too with neoprene all the way round, which add a nice bit of compression too, have really done the job for me

Ditch Witch

FunkMaster007 wrote:

Cool ... well I've got her a pair of Specialized Shoes

Will let you know how things go ... I think it might be just down to her not being confident enough on the bike and when she stops, she puts her foot down on the wrong side of the pedal ... hmmmm going to have to pay closer attention to her style and technique

Make sure you don't push her too hard, mate. You'll put her off for life. Try and get her out with some like minded ladies occasionally, too

SpinningJenny

+1 for DW - who went on a great MTB skills course for women.

Ditch Witch

Oh yes! I did! (d'oh)

You're in NW London, so book her on a back to basics course with Dirtdivas.co.uk. I just came back from one and it's awesome. It will do her confidence a world of good

andrewjoseph

... asking for me to stop when I am like 200 yards ahead of her ....

So you know your wife is not confidant on a bike and you ride 200 yds in front. yep, designed to make her feel a whole lot better about her fitness and skills.

Ride alongside or behind, that way she is not constantly trying to keep up with you and feeling useless because she is not fit enough. She can't see what you are doing and for all she knows you are bored out of your skull and don't want to seen riding with her.

Get back with her, talk, have a laugh, boost her confidence, teach her good technique (you can't do this 200 yds up the trail!).

I see and hear about so many guys 'teaching' their wife's girlfriends to ride. After one or two rides the girls give up because they are on their own all day.

I don't know if this is intentional but it annoys the hell out of me.

canada16

Wellgo MG1's

I have never had my foot slip, lighter than DMR and cheaper, and Wellgo make DMR.

WIN WIN

SpinningJenny

andrewjoseph wrote:

... asking for me to stop when I am like 200 yards ahead of her ....

So you know your wife is not confidant on a bike and you ride 200 yds in front. yep, designed to make her feel a whole lot better about her fitness and skills.

Ride alongside or behind, that way she is not constantly trying to keep up with you and feeling useless because she is not fit enough. She can't see what you are doing and for all she knows you are bored out of your skull and don't want to seen riding with her.

Get back with her, talk, have a laugh, boost her confidence, teach her good technique (you can't do this 200 yds up the trail!).

I see and hear about so many guys 'teaching' their wife's girlfriends to ride. After one or two rides the girls give up because they are on their own all day.

I don't know if this is intentional but it annoys the hell out of me.

well said, andrew

andrewjoseph

FunkMaster007 wrote:

...

Will let you know how things go ... I think it might be just down to her not being confident enough on the bike and when she stops, she puts her foot down on the wrong side of the pedal ... hmmmm going to have to pay closer attention to her style and technique

There is no 'wrong side of the pedal'. the bike should be stationary before she puts her foot to the ground. if you are up the road, why is she stopping anyway?

From the little info you have given, it is entirely possible that the marks on the calf are due to incorrect placement of the foot on the pedal, and then slipping off the top of the pedal so scraping the calf.

make sure your wife tries to put the ball of her feet over the middle of the pedal axle.

The other thing to make sure of is that all contact points are adjusted properly and the bike fits her well.