Just fitted my M520 pedals...

mrobbie

Frikin' Nora but getting the old pedals off was an effort! Had to make use of oven gloves to help out

Think my shoulder will hurt in the morning now. Not half as much as my pride when I take the "new to SPD pedals" tumble the next time I'm out on it. Will be doing plenty clip in clip out practice first though...

Dalton

Long handled Pedal Spanner is what you needed!



Good luck with the SPD's, and cover up your arms to avoid too much grazing when the inevitable happens.

shouldbeinbed

mrobbie wrote:

Frikin' Nora but getting the old pedals off was an effort! Had to make use of oven gloves to help out

Think my shoulder will hurt in the morning now. Not half as much as my pride when I take the "new to SPD pedals" tumble the next time I'm out on it. Will be doing plenty clip in clip out practice first though...

Won't make a scrap of difference how much you practice, fate will still make sure you have a slo mo topple sideways at some point.

DaveHudson

Wind the tension out on the pedals for the first couple of weeks to give you time to learn the knack of unclipping

aripallaris

best investment you'll make mate... i just got my first set of spds (same as yours actually. white ones look dam cool). im totally loving them... as a fellow forum member warned me and actually came true. you wont fall when your expecting too, its when you get comfortable and you forget your hooked on.

in my case. i unhooked the right leg and went to lean over with the left that was still strapped in. almost when ass over tit and looked like a right tit doing so lol.luckily he managed to grab onto me and prevented a quality fall. lol

Applespider

I failed miserably at getting the pedals off when I swapped them over.

I ended up going to the Evans near the office and playing the 'girlie' card asking if they could loosen them. Walked out with the pedals fitted... no charge.

EKE_38BPM

Yes, you will have a clipless moment and fall off. We've all done it.
You'll probably be fine when practicing and then fall off when you relax and think its second nature. Just remember to unclip well before you have to stop.
As you see a traffic light change to red, unclip on your approach and coast up to the lights.
If you unclip your right foot, remember to lean to your right when you stop. Ain't that right Aripallaris?

Top tips peeps. When putting new pedals on, put some copper slip on the threads so that you will be able to take them off again some time in the future.

This is the voice of experience as I can't take my SPD-SLs off of my roadbike! I need a bench vice and a very long handled spanner. Or maybe a burd to play the girlie card at a LBS.

jonny_trousers

You actually don't have to fall off when getting used to SPDs. I had a couple of very hairy moments, but never actually fell off. The worst times for me were when I had clipped my left foot out and was gently coasting to a stop only to discover at the last minute that I had inadvertently clipped in again. Even in those situations, with a panicked yank upwards, with M520s you can clip out again.

You will adore them in no time.

The Rookie

I have my 520's set on minimum tension, never come out when peddling no matter how hard I pull up.

One fall when practicing, 3 more since, all when I was cycling in a group at slow speed and the person in fron stops suddenly!

Copperslip the threads, come off nice and easy then!

Simon

Blue Meanie

+1 grease
and don't put them on evil tight

mrobbie

Thanks for the feedback... long handed pedal spanner - sounds like that would have been the tool, and probably explains why I have never seen oven gloves in bike workshops

Did try clipping in and out while back pedalling in the kitchen last night, but I'm guessing this does nothing to help and the only way to learn is to learn on the job. Heading up to Aberdeen for the Easter break and taking the bike so will get some practice in on some quiet roads where it is not all stop start in traffic.

Glad to have ditched the toe clips though. They were a frustration :x

aripallaris

EKE_38BPM wrote:

As you see a traffic light change to red, unclip on your approach and coast up to the lights.
If you unclip your right foot, remember to lean to your right when you stop. Ain't that right Aripallaris?.

ahaha too right mate.. thanks for the save lol

hstiles

In fact I'd go one further - get intot he habit of unclipping one pedal as soon as you get an inkling you're approaching a hazard, such as a person driving like a arse in front that you suspect might suddenly veer to the left. Once you're comfortable with clipping in and out quickly, you won't find it that awkward and it always pays to be prepared.

One question, did you go for multi release (silver) or single release (black) cleats? I started on the multi release but did find it too easy to unclip myself, so switched to single release. I think the tourer style pedals probably come with multi release.

cyclingpast

Got my M520 pedals in February. Was reading this thread yesterday and thinking I hadn't had my first clipless moment yet and must be past it and competant with clipless. Today, went down like a sack of potatoes in Brockwell Park when I stopped to look at a sign, completely forgot my right foot was still clipped in. :?

simon_e

Blue Meanie wrote:

+1 grease
and don't put them on evil tight

Copper based grease (e.g. Copaslip) on threads every time.

Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosey
(due to thread direction the left pedal tightens itself).

bails87

Simon E wrote:

Blue Meanie wrote:

+1 grease
and don't put them on evil tight

Copper based grease (e.g. Copaslip) on threads every time.

Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosey
(due to thread direction the left pedal tightens itself).

Errrr, the left hand pedal has reversed thread, so that's righty loosey, lefty tighty!

With the bike the right way up, and the crank you're working on pointing towards the front wheel, you always loosen by turning the pedal spanner towards the back of the bike. (assuming the spanner hanndle is pointing upwards)

simon_e

bails87 wrote:

Simon E wrote:

Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosey
(due to thread direction the left pedal tightens itself).

Errrr, the left hand pedal has reversed thread, so that's righty loosey, lefty tighty!

Damn! And I thought that was such a useful reminder my mate told me :roll:

But aren't left pedal threaded the opposite way so it won't loosen with pedal rotation? On each the thread is the same direction as the pedalling action so surely that means No Tighty?

The Rookie

And both pedals are self tightening......

Simon

redvee

Despite 20+ years experience with SPDs I still have near misses that give me an adrenalin boost when I least want it.

davis

Right pedals are right handed threads, left are left handed.

You can use your hands to work out rotation (mostly useful when you're hanging upside down looking at a barely accessible bolt), but I just use the mnemonic "back it out": whack the pedal spanner on it, and push it towards the back of the bike. Obviously this only works with the pedal spanner pointing up.

Cafewanda

Applespider wrote:

I failed miserably at getting the pedals off when I swapped them over.

I ended up going to the Evans near the office and playing the 'girlie' card asking if they could loosen them. Walked out with the pedals fitted... no charge.

Will use this method when my time comes

EKE_38BPM

Cafewanda wrote:

Applespider wrote:

I failed miserably at getting the pedals off when I swapped them over.

I ended up going to the Evans near the office and playing the 'girlie' card asking if they could loosen them. Walked out with the pedals fitted... no charge.

Will use this method when my time comes

When your time comes, give me a shout and I'll give you my cranks with the stuck SPD-SLs!

jonny_trousers

redvee wrote:

Despite 20+ years experience with SPDs I still have near misses that give me an adrenalin boost when I least want it.

Yeah, those adrenalin stains can be a bugger to get out your pants at 40 degrees.

Had my first experience of proper road shoes today and did a sterling impression of Bambi on ice when trying to walk in them. Clipping in and out was a little hair-raising at times too.

EKE_38BPM

Jonny_Trousers wrote:

redvee wrote:

Despite 20+ years experience with SPDs I still have near misses that give me an adrenalin boost when I least want it.

Yeah, those adrenalin stains can be a bugger to get out your pants at 40 degrees.

LOL

Jonny_Trousers wrote:

Had my first experience of proper road shoes today and did a sterling impression of Bambi on ice when trying to walk in them. Clipping in and out was a little hair-raising at times too.

I've done the SPD things backwards in comparison to most people as I've gone from SPD-SLs to SPDs and I can confirm that SLs don't get any easier to walk in (that reminds me, I must buy some new cleats). Clipping in/out was fine though.

mrobbie

So, the rides last week with the pedals were great. No falls and clipping in and out was no problem.

...then did the sideways fall at the first set of lights on the way to work today. Tit.

chilling

Always good to get it under your belt.