First rides with SPD's

dogboy73

Been riding for the first time with my SPD's over the last couple of days. They feel really good in some circumnstances, such as riding up hill & being more assured over bumpy stuff. But they feel a bit odd in others. For example when I stand up on the pedals it almost feels like my feet are in the wrong place. I was also getting a bit of an ache at the top of my calf & just behind my knee. Cleat position places my feet failry nuturally I think so is this just me getting used to the SPD's or do I need to tweak the cleats some more? I've heard that the ache in my calf could be from the fact that I'm not used to pulling up on the pedals as well as pushing down. Any advice? Cheers peoples

stumpyjon

Could be cleat position, could just be getting used to them. If you do play with the cleat position make small changes so you can go back if they feel worse. As for your feet feeling like they are in the wrong position, that is getting used to them. One thing I found recently going back to flats was that SPDs had trained me to place my feet correctly on the pedals.

dogboy73

Just been for another ride. Less ache & already things are feeling a little better. Still feels strange when I get out of the saddle. I'll see how things go with that. Also had my first stack! i saved it for when I got right up to the front gate of the house - I unclipped my left foot ...... and very slowly stated falling to the right before I had a chance to get my right foot unclipped! DOH! Why didn't I lean to the left?! :? Ripped a small chunk out of my right hand & knee & the Lizard Skins Peaty grip collar looks like it's been chewed up & spat out! My first SPD stack. Lucky none of the neighbours were out

stayhigh65

The slowly-falling-to-one-side-while-wondering-just-whats-occuring is always a treat :roll: lol.

I did this one myself recently when out and have been using spd's for years lol I found they improved my pedalling techniqueand can really power up climbs now and go downhill without worrying my feet will come off pedals. When I first started I found that my thighs just above the kneee where sore but this passed as I used them more.

BigAirNig

In case you were not aware of a difference - beware of the black cleats (attached to shoes0 as these only allow an exit in 1 direction........ as opposed to the silver cleats giving 3 or more directions of escape.....


I didn't realise - so when I got my XTR pedals and used the black cleats out of the box, I had a rather silly fall at the top of a steep climb, when knackered .....

... stopped at the top and simply fell over to my right, not breaking the fall at all, as I could not clip out .... ouch!

Read the instructions at home and realised my mistake and then replaced with silver cleats, that I was used to ..... much simpler to click out of !

chedabob

After a while you begin to anticipate when you need to unclip. If I see a red light, I try and coast along slow enough that it changes to green by the time I reach it, or I still have enough momentum to unclip my feet.

The worst feeling is on a climb and you get knackered halfway up, because you don't have enough speed to unclip your feet :P Adjusting the tension screw made a big difference to how fast I can unclip my feet with the black cleats.

bike-a-swan

It's all encouragement to learn to trackstand! Especially for climbing tricky hills if you get stuck behind someone- I can't say I fin clipping in on a tough hill start at all easy.

stayhigh65

It can also be tricky in the mud trying to clip back in if your peddles are all clogged up :?

Thank god for the british summer eh