First day of SPDs...

dancook

At the end of the day I took my bike into the carpark fitted the pedals and cleats on my shoes, and clipped in.

Had some trouble getting one of my cleats undone, when I finally did.. I remembered the manual about tightening and loosening, unfortunately I remembered wrong and got myself in more trouble when I kept tightening it up and getting stuck!

Finally I was on my way home, 5 mile trek, popped into estate agents then made my way up the Guildford cobbled high street.

Following a slow moving garbage truck, it made it's way past parked cars. I thought it might stop, but no.. it was going to move very slowly, so i'm ok! Then it stopped... and I stopped and I fell sideways onto the street in front of everyone.

I had to laugh..

Clever Pun

it's best when it's in front of loads of people... really helps you remember.

It'll be second nature before you know it

dancook

I'm glad I accidentally sent my lycra shorts to my home address, else I'd have been wearing them on the way home.

People would probably expect more of a lycra clad cyclist then to fall of his bike, sideways.

Mark Elvin

Give it a couple of weeks & you'll be wondering how you managed without them.

I'm having to learn a new style of clipless pedal release having moved to Crank Bros Egg Beaters.

AndyManc

dancook wrote:

Following a slow moving garbage truck, it made it's way past parked cars. I thought it might stop, but no.. it was going to move very slowly, so i'm ok! Then it stopped... and I stopped and I fell sideways onto the street in front of everyone.

I had to laugh..

This is why I will be sticking to toe clips and straps ( very loose straps).

Falling over .... the older you get, the more things will break :roll:

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dugliss

I didn`t really feel happy when I tried spd`s and gave up very quickly. I`m using strapless toe clips at the moment just to stop my feet slipping off pedals. I was maybe thinking of giving it another go with spd`s but getting some m324`s or similar so I can just go on the platform side when I feel the need

Buckled_Rims

Use Shimano M520 SPD's. Set the tension to the slackest and spray some WD40 to help lubricate. Nice and clickable.

dugliss

Buckled_Rims wrote:

Use Shimano M520 SPD's. Set the tension to the slackest and spray some WD40 to help lubricate. Nice and clickable.

Those are the ones I`ve got. I was doing ok with them but lost all confidence after having a front tube explode at 30mph whilst clipped in

itsbruce

dugliss wrote:

I didn`t really feel happy when I tried spd`s and gave up very quickly. I`m using strapless toe clips at the moment just to stop my feet slipping off pedals. I was maybe thinking of giving it another go with spd`s but getting some m324`s or similar so I can just go on the platform side when I feel the need

Having tried both M324s and A530s, I'd recommend the latter. The A530s provide a perfectly good platform, while the M324s provide a serrated edge which is just the thing if you want to grate shavings of skin off your shins.

fastbatard

Buckled_Rims wrote:

Use Shimano M520 SPD's. Set the tension to the slackest and spray some WD40 to help lubricate. Nice and clickable.

+1 I only fell of once with these and only because i forgot to unclip. It soon becomes second nature though. Defo keep them lubricated as they tend to stiffen up without.

bornagainroadie

I have A530's on my road bike. When I bought the bike I wasn't sure I would be able to get on with clipless pedals and they seemed the most flexible option having a cleat and platform side. However, I very quickly bought some shoes that can take cleats and started to clip in. I now find the platform side a bit of a pain as I have to get the pedal the right way up as part of the clipin process. You do get used to it very quickly though. Keep them loose and lubricated as noted above.

However, also be prepared for the comedy / shear terror moments that happen every now and then as you realise you are firmly attached to something that no longer has any forward momentum. Its usually my fault for not reading the road situation ahead correctly, or pedestrians deciding to walk across a crossing long after the lights have changed to green and I am just setting off again. So far I have avoided the prat fall, but I know its out there waiting for me

Gussio

Buckled_Rims wrote:

Use Shimano M520 SPD's. Set the tension to the slackest and spray some WD40 to help lubricate. Nice and clickable.

I'd suggest keeping the tension higher because it makes for more positive engagement and disengagement. Each to their own though.

mickbrown

I couldn't get on with them so I got some platforms with those little studs in. Once my feet are on them they are not going anywhere.

Horse for courses and all that but I just don't see the benefits of SPDs.

dancook

Gussio wrote:

Buckled_Rims wrote:

Use Shimano M520 SPD's. Set the tension to the slackest and spray some WD40 to help lubricate. Nice and clickable.

I'd suggest keeping the tension higher because it makes for more positive engagement and disengagement. Each to their own though.

I couldn't get my feet off the pedals with the tension higher!

Mark Elvin

mickbrown wrote:

I couldn't get on with them so I got some platforms with those little studs in. Once my feet are on them they are not going anywhere.

Horse for courses and all that but I just don't see the benefits of SPDs.

It's all about being able to get power on the up stroke as well as the down stroke.

AndyManc

Mark Elvin wrote:

mickbrown wrote:

I couldn't get on with them so I got some platforms with those little studs in. Once my feet are on them they are not going anywhere.

Horse for courses and all that but I just don't see the benefits of SPDs.

It's all about being able to get power on the up stroke as well as the down stroke.

Which can be done safely with toe clips.

SPD's also restrict joint movement, knee and ankle joints are both placed in a set position with minimal movement, I like to place my joints in a natural position of my own choice .


.

Clarion

I like riding with toeclips, but, for urban riding, I'd go for SPDs every time. Fast, easy & natural.

The only problem is that you can't adjust the tension on the fly as you can with straps.

magicrhodes

Clarion wrote:

I like riding with toeclips, but, for urban riding, I'd go for SPDs every time. Fast, easy & natural.

The only problem is that you can't adjust the tension on the fly as you can with straps.

"Never trust a Dutchman tightening his toestraps" as they used to say pre-SPD.

Riatsala

As an SPD novice a few months ago I found using the "multiple exit cleats" very useful for commuting - they give you more options to get your foot of the pedal in those unexpected stops

Aguila

Mark Elvin wrote:

mickbrown wrote:

I couldn't get on with them so I got some platforms with those little studs in. Once my feet are on them they are not going anywhere.

Horse for courses and all that but I just don't see the benefits of SPDs.

It's all about being able to get power on the up stroke as well as the down stroke.

Disagree with this. You pull up pretty rarely in practice. The real benefit is having a hard interface between pedal and foot so that no energy is wasted squishing a bouncy trainer sole every time you apply force.

Also it's perfectly easy to avoid falling off if you practice for a bit first. Find a quiet side street and just go back and forth for a while. You just need to get into the habit of unclipping just before you stop not after stopping.

Aguila

AndyManc wrote:

Mark Elvin wrote:

mickbrown wrote:

I couldn't get on with them so I got some platforms with those little studs in. Once my feet are on them they are not going anywhere.

Horse for courses and all that but I just don't see the benefits of SPDs.

It's all about being able to get power on the up stroke as well as the down stroke.

Which can be done safely with toe clips.

SPD's also restrict joint movement, knee and ankle joints are both placed in a set position with minimal movement, I like to place my joints in a natural position of my own choice .


.

This is also wrong, you choose the position of your joints when you set up the pedals/cleats. Most SPDs have lots of free movement side to side.

tri-sexual

the younger you start, the quicker you will get used to them
it actually feels weird to use flat pedals or toe straps now

wgwarburton

AndyManc wrote:

Mark Elvin wrote:

mickbrown wrote:

... Horse for courses and all that but I just don't see the benefits of SPDs.

It's all about being able to get power on the up stroke as well as the down stroke.

Which can be done safely with toe clips.....

...and which isn't sustainable, anyway, from what I gather. The benefit to having your foot retained is more noticeable as a push forwards through TopDeadCentre than as a pull upward. That's not to say an upward pull isn't sometimes helpful- as a way of getting more torque down for short-steep-climbs or away from lights it can be very useful (albeit not for long- lungs can't keep up with the energy demands of using that much muscle!).

I had a go in a set of clipless pedals earlier this week (swapped bikes with a friend, so he could try riding fixed) and the only benefit I felt initially was that his (road) shoes were better for riding than my MP90s, which are better for walking... I didn't have them on for long, though.

I can see that personal preference comes in- some people will find it easier to use one or the other... but that's not what I'm wondering about:

Is there really any benefit to using clipless pedals over toeclips for commuting/utility riding?

Cheers,
W.

Gussio

WGWarburton wrote:

AndyManc wrote:

Mark Elvin wrote:

mickbrown wrote:

... Horse for courses and all that but I just don't see the benefits of SPDs.

It's all about being able to get power on the up stroke as well as the down stroke.

Which can be done safely with toe clips.....

...and which isn't sustainable, anyway, from what I gather. The benefit to having your foot retained is more noticeable as a push forwards through TopDeadCentre than as a pull upward. That's not to say an upward pull isn't sometimes helpful- as a way of getting more torque down for short-steep-climbs or away from lights it can be very useful (albeit not for long- lungs can't keep up with the energy demands of using that much muscle!).

I had a go in a set of clipless pedals earlier this week (swapped bikes with a friend, so he could try riding fixed) and the only benefit I felt initially was that his (road) shoes were better for riding than my MP90s, which are better for walking... I didn't have them on for long, though.

I can see that personal preference comes in- some people will find it easier to use one or the other... but that's not what I'm wondering about:

Is there really any benefit to using clipless pedals over toeclips for commuting/utility riding?

Cheers,
W.

I have come off pretty hard when mountain biking and my feet also come out of the SPDs, which means that you fall free from the bike. Not sure that the same could be said for toeclips. I personally think that SPDs are safer.

Gussio

Aguila wrote:

Mark Elvin wrote:

mickbrown wrote:

I couldn't get on with them so I got some platforms with those little studs in. Once my feet are on them they are not going anywhere.

Horse for courses and all that but I just don't see the benefits of SPDs.

It's all about being able to get power on the up stroke as well as the down stroke.

Disagree with this. You pull up pretty rarely in practice. The real benefit is having a hard interface between pedal and foot so that no energy is wasted squishing a bouncy trainer sole every time you apply force.

Also it's perfectly easy to avoid falling off if you practice for a bit first. Find a quiet side street and just go back and forth for a while. You just need to get into the habit of unclipping just before you stop not after stopping.

Think pedalling in circles rather than up and down...

mickbrown

Mark Elvin wrote:

mickbrown wrote:

I couldn't get on with them so I got some platforms with those little studs in. Once my feet are on them they are not going anywhere.

Horse for courses and all that but I just don't see the benefits of SPDs.

It's all about being able to get power on the up stroke as well as the down stroke.

I'm sure I read somewhere that no cyclists can really do this.

Even elite cyclists at best, aren't exerting any downward pressure in their up stroke. But I suppose that is probably beneficial in itself. But for me - I have a 7 mile stop/ start pootle into town. The clipping and unclipping just got on my tits to be frank.

Maybe I didn't give them a proper go.

itsbruce

BornAgainRoadie wrote:

I have A530's on my road bike. When I bought the bike I wasn't sure I would be able to get on with clipless pedals and they seemed the most flexible option having a cleat and platform side. However, I very quickly bought some shoes that can take cleats and started to clip in. I now find the platform side a bit of a pain as I have to get the pedal the right way up as part of the clipin process.

I have A530s on a fixie, where clipping in is even more important to get right. My secret with the A530s is not to lubricate them so much that they swing very freely. I find that if I put my left foot onto the pedal and it is platform side up, all I have to do is take my foot off the pedal at the top of its arc and put my foot down again when the pedal comes back round. The clip side will now be uppermost and I can proceed.

itsbruce

mickbrown wrote:

Mark Elvin wrote:

It's all about being able to get power on the up stroke as well as the down stroke.

I'm sure I read somewhere that no cyclists can really do this.

It's not that they can't, it's that they mostly don't choose to ride that way. Gussio has the right of it: clipless makes it very easy to get an efficient circular pedalling motion. Most cyclists really just push down at the front of the cycle and let the cranks carry their legs through the rest of the arc, but with cleats it's quite natural, if you try it, to achieve a much more even application of force.

rjsterry

There is a huge amount of guff written about cyclists not being able to pull up/back/pedal 'in circles'. If we really couldn't do anything but push down with our feet, we would find it very difficult to walk, run, climb stairs and lots of other activities. The big difference is that, if you are applying force all the way round the pedal stroke (pushing down, pulling back, then up, then pushing forward) you can accelerate quicker, but consequently will run out of steam a lot quicker too.

For all those who don't believe you can pedal 'in circles' try unclipping one foot, and you'll find that you can fairly easily pedal full revolutions with the other. It's true that just before you bring the pedal 'over the top' you can't apply as much force, but you can do something useful.

The Rookie

I was 43 when I went SPD, 2 comedy falls in the privacy of my back garden, no falls since but 2 near misses (one when I unclipped and it clipped back in as I stopped and one when I was doing about 2mph and the wife stopped dead in front of me, didn't have time until it was nearly too late to unclip) I'm on M520's, one click in from minimum clamp and yes I do pull on the upstroke on hills, very effective when out the saddle!

Simon

Mark Elvin

AndyManc wrote:

Which can be done safely with toe clips.


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Tried toe clips years ago, didn't like the fact that they were one sided.

AndyManc wrote:

SPD's also restrict joint movement, knee and ankle joints are both placed in a set position with minimal movement, I like to place my joints in a natural position of my own choice .


.

This is why I'm using Egg Beaters now as they offer a bit more float.