Strange feeling

Rad2474

Had my first ride out on my new spd's today not far just around the streets. Strange feeling been attached to the bike i can feel my feet move a little but not slipping gonna take a bit of getting used to. Don't think i'll be taking them off road or to the trail centres for a little while watch this space for tales of falling off lol.

lawman

I switched to SPD's in january after 8 years on flats and I'm never going back for general trail riding. So much better than flats, even with FiveTen's. Give it a few weeks and it'll be like you've never used anything else.

welshkev

I use spd's for everything, trail, DH riding, whatever.

as said above, once you get used to them it just feels 'normal'

rockmonkeysc

Just go for a long xc ride in them. After 20 miles you won't want to go back to flats.
I only ever use flats now for particularly loose or wet dh riding.

Mojo_666

welshkev wrote:

I use spd's for everything, trail, DH riding, whatever.

as said above, once you get used to them it just feels 'normal'

So do flat pedals oddly enough, btw next time I see you im going to push you over and prove u wrong.

francis666

Use spds for everything.
Did a 12 hr XC in them.
Fell off twice cos of them in same place - stop at top of bomb hole where I had to stop to change direction (10 hrs in)

Funny part was trying to kick the bike off me in disgust at myself, still clipped in!

Wouldn't wear them in really severe mud (back to really grippy pedals for that DMV8's).

Absolutely love them!

welshkev

Mojo_666 wrote:

welshkev wrote:

I use spd's for everything, trail, DH riding, whatever.

as said above, once you get used to them it just feels 'normal'

So do flat pedals oddly enough, btw next time I see you im going to push you over and prove u wrong.

Big_Wheels

I've used them for years and they're second nature. I have flats for messing around, test rides etc. but otherwise use SPDs (Time Atacs) all the time. The only time I get a bit jittery is with unexpected steep climbs. Oh, and when I wheelie my road bike when clipped into super tight Look pedals!

Once you've got a setup you're happy with, you'll soon get the hang of it. You're doing the right thing by starting with gentle rides though; I gave a pair of Eggbeaters their first outing at Coed y Brenin once. I had so many standstill-going-going-gone offs I had a real battering, not to mention the humiliation! I just couldn't get on with them.

You'll also start to appreciate the benefit of being able to fully rotate the cranks with both feet for really efficient pedalling.

blinddrew

Did one ride on flats when I'd left my clipped shoes in the wrong car, never again. I know it's all about technique (which plainly I don't have) but I just couldn't keep my feet on the pedals, I was descending at about half my usual speed. SPDs all the way for me.

Northwind

Course, the techniques that keep your feet on flats are also useful for SPD riders, since they're all about moving with and working with the bike rather than relying on being bolted on or you fly off. Nothing particularily wrong with using hardware to fix a software fault but there's better ways.

step83

Ive a set of SPD's im waiting to try should be amusing to say the least. tensions very low on them so far knocked up a couple of miles on the turbo trainer can certainly feel the difference being able to use the full rotation of the crank is a bit odd.
Looking forward to getting a bit of air and not loosing the pedals from under me though

Mojo_666

Step83 wrote:

Looking forward to getting a bit of air and not loosing the pedals from under me though

You could have done that with practice

Kowalski675

Mojo_666 wrote:

Step83 wrote:

Looking forward to getting a bit of air and not loosing the pedals from under me though

You could have done that with practice

Yup. Sounds like you'd be better off sticking with the flats and learning technique, rather than just relying on your pedals to make up for doing it wrong.

step83

im always doing it wrong :P i can deal with the feet going light to be honest they are more for the winter trainer.

Ill happily admit my technique is terrible though

Kowalski675

Step83 wrote:

im always doing it wrong :P i can deal with the feet going light to be honest they are more for the winter trainer.

Ill happily admit my technique is terrible though

I have zero MTB skillz, but I've not had an issue with feet parting with pedals when getting off yon ground. Maybe it's down to my love of launching my BMX off anything suitable (and quite a few things unsuitable) as a kid (many years ago).

Admittedly this barely counts as getting air, but I'm not as young and stupid as I used to be, lol...

http://s1161.photobucket.com/user/Strip ... 7.mp4.html

cooldad

Kelly McGarry is quaking in his boots.

Although that's higher than I go.

Wheels are meant to be on the ground.

Kowalski675

cooldad wrote:

Kelly McGarry is quaking in his boots.

I have no idea who he is, lol.

Although that's higher than I go.

Wheels are meant to be on the ground.

Nah, getting 'em off the floor saves on tyre wear:



Which means you can do more of this kind of thing, lol:





In my defence, it was the first time I'd ridden the 29er in the above pics too. Might've been a whole couple of inches higher after a couple more times out on it, lol...

Northwind

That's so environmentally unfriendly- you must have caused earthquakes in peru when you landed that thing.

Kowalski675

Northwind wrote:

That's so environmentally unfriendly- you must have caused earthquakes in peru when you landed that thing.

Aye there's the best part of 250kg of lard there, not including my whippet like frame, lol (I'm presuming you don't mean the Trek Rumblefish ). She was getting a wee bit bouncy on the landings, lol (must've done about 20 or so passes, at around 40mph - you can see some of the tyre marks on the tarmac, and the approach side of the bridge was steeper than the landing side). I'm told there was around three feet of air under the back wheel at peak height on the best passes, lol. My rear shock died a few days later. Can't think why...

francis666

Uh, u just belittled this post
Hope thing blows up and saves the world another few breaths of fresh air.
Your pics display everything I hate about motorised vehicles
Loud noise
Pollution
Irresponsible behaviour on public roads
Show off stupid mentality

welshkev

francis666 wrote:

Uh, u just belittled this post
Hope thing blows up and saves the world another few breaths of fresh air.
Your pics display everything I hate about motorised vehicles
Loud noise
Pollution
Irresponsible behaviour on public roads
Show off stupid mentality

have you written to the daily mail yet?

Kowalski675

francis666 wrote:

Uh, u just belittled this post
Hope thing blows up and saves the world another few breaths of fresh air.
Your pics display everything I hate about motorised vehicles
Loud noise
Pollution
Irresponsible behaviour on public roads
Show off stupid mentality

RUG? Or is it just time of the month, and your fanny's hurting? I'd never trust a man who doesn't love "motorised vehicles" and spanking them - there's clearly something very wrong with him on a very fundamental level, lol.

Loud noise? Damn right - 12" straight through race exhaust, lol. But hope it blows up? Yeah, right, lol. It's an oil cooled Suzuki lump. They're indestructible. After the nuclear holocaust only two things will be left - scorpions and old Suzuki oil cooled motors. Turn the key, fire it up. Bounce it off the rev limiter from cold, then keep bouncing it off the limiter at every gear change until you get home. Change the oil once every three years or so. For 15 years she's embarassed knobs on sportsbikes and been abused senseless for approximately 25 thousand miles (can't remember exactly how many - the original clocks got smashed to bits, lol), thrown on her side down the B1363 for 200 yards at about 80mph, flipped over backwards and cartwheeled end over end four times before hurling herself 12 feet in the air over a hedge into a field, slammed on her side (busting my collarbone) and slid into a ditch outside Ripon etc and just keeps coming back for more. Trust me - if I can't kill her, nobody can...

Here's a couple more just for you, to make your fanny hurt a bit more, lol





:P

Northwind

francis666 wrote:

Uh, u just belittled this post

FANNY

Bigmitch

Kowalski675 wrote:

francis666 wrote:

Uh, u just belittled this post
Hope thing blows up and saves the world another few breaths of fresh air.
Your pics display everything I hate about motorised vehicles
Loud noise
Pollution
Irresponsible behaviour on public roads
Show off stupid mentality

RUG? Or is it just time of the month, and your fanny's hurting? I'd never trust a man who doesn't love "motorised vehicles" and spanking them - there's clearly something very wrong with him on a very fundamental level, lol.

Loud noise? Damn right - 12" straight through race exhaust, lol. But hope it blows up? Yeah, right, lol. It's an oil cooled Suzuki lump. They're indestructible. After the nuclear holocaust only two things will be left - scorpions and old Suzuki oil cooled motors. Turn the key, fire it up. Bounce it off the rev limiter from cold, then keep bouncing it off the limiter at every gear change until you get home. Change the oil once every three years or so. For 15 years she's embarassed knobs on sportsbikes and been abused senseless for approximately 25 thousand miles (can't remember exactly how many - the original clocks got smashed to bits, lol), thrown on her side down the B1363 for 200 yards at about 80mph, flipped over backwards and cartwheeled end over end four times before hurling herself 12 feet in the air over a hedge into a field, slammed on her side (busting my collarbone) and slid into a ditch outside Ripon etc and just keeps coming back for more. Trust me - if I can't kill her, nobody can...

Here's a couple more just for you, to make your fanny hurt a bit more, lol





:P

Nice

Kowalski675

The bike, the reply, or the wanton tyre abuse, lol? In the helmetless burnout pic that was a brand new tyre, it had only done about 130 miles, lol. I may have been a little bit drunk... (And before anyone gets apopleptic about that, it was done in a closed off pub car park next to the beer garden we were camping in, and I have never ridden or driven on public roads while under the influence of alcohol). I hadn't planned such a monster sized burnout, but Riggsy was very slow taking the picture (he was very drunk, lol). I hadn't planned to do it at all, I'd fired her up to ride onto the beer garden, park outside the tent door of a mate who had fallen asleep and hold her on the rev limiter in neutral for a minute or so to wake him up, lol. He didn't seem to be very grateful though.

From his avatar I'm guessing he was one of those lycra clad fudge packer roadies, who'd got lost and stumbled into the wrong forum, lol. Probably got a bee in his bonnet from the time he and his sexually confused mates were blocking the road with their two abreast antics and got scared by some nasty rufty tufty eco-destroyer motorcyclists as he passed them to enjoy the road at the correct kind of speed, lol...

shindig

Bigmitch wrote:

Kowalski675 wrote:

francis666 wrote:

Uh, u just belittled this post
Hope thing blows up and saves the world another few breaths of fresh air.
Your pics display everything I hate about motorised vehicles
Loud noise
Pollution
Irresponsible behaviour on public roads
Show off stupid mentality

RUG? Or is it just time of the month, and your fanny's hurting? I'd never trust a man who doesn't love "motorised vehicles" and spanking them - there's clearly something very wrong with him on a very fundamental level, lol.

Loud noise? Damn right - 12" straight through race exhaust, lol. But hope it blows up? Yeah, right, lol. It's an oil cooled Suzuki lump. They're indestructible. After the nuclear holocaust only two things will be left - scorpions and old Suzuki oil cooled motors. Turn the key, fire it up. Bounce it off the rev limiter from cold, then keep bouncing it off the limiter at every gear change until you get home. Change the oil once every three years or so. For 15 years she's embarassed knobs on sportsbikes and been abused senseless for approximately 25 thousand miles (can't remember exactly how many - the original clocks got smashed to bits, lol), thrown on her side down the B1363 for 200 yards at about 80mph, flipped over backwards and cartwheeled end over end four times before hurling herself 12 feet in the air over a hedge into a field, slammed on her side (busting my collarbone) and slid into a ditch outside Ripon etc and just keeps coming back for more. Trust me - if I can't kill her, nobody can...

Here's a couple more just for you, to make your fanny hurt a bit more, lol





:P

Nice

Love the pics. Mountain bikes and motorcycle, what's not to like about them. They both are fun to ride and make me grin from ear to ear.

Kowalski675

shindig wrote:

Love the pics. Mountain bikes and motorcycle, what's not to like about them. They both are fun to ride and make me grin from ear to ear.

Cheers. Glad to see the uptight attitude of the lycra boys isn't present over here on the more enlightened forum, lol. I guess they get uptight from having those razor blade saddles up their jacksy for mile after tedious mile... When i flipped her while wheelying and cartwheeled her over a hedge there was two roadies pedalling by in th eopposite direction, the expression on their faces was priceless.

shindig

Kowalski675 wrote:

shindig wrote:

Love the pics. Mountain bikes and motorcycle, what's not to like about them. They both are fun to ride and make me grin from ear to ear.

Cheers. Glad to see the uptight attitude of the lycra boys isn't present over here on the more enlightened forum, lol. I guess they get uptight from having those razor blade saddles up their jacksy for mile after tedious mile... When i flipped her while wheelying and cartwheeled her over a hedge there was two roadies pedalling by in th eopposite direction, the expression on their faces was priceless.

I've been on motorcycles longer that i have been on MTB's (25 years , yeah I know, I''m an old fart) , and I have a long history with Suzuki - GSX 550, GSX 1100 ET, GSX 1230 EF nitrous oxide, GSXR 750', GSXR 7/11 and the hooligan TL1000s. Loved 'em all. Spent a fortune on customising each one and buying my mountain bikes at the same time. Wife is fine about it now :-)

Kowalski675

About 21 years for me (passed my test October 1991). Had Suzukis, Yamahas and 2 Triumphs. Still got the 2 Triumphs, the Bandit and my '89 TDR 250 (proper hooligan bike that one - imagine how apopleptic a hooligan 2 stroke would get our uptight roadie friend, lol). I don't even want to think about what I've spent on modifying them over the years, I'm not interested in standard bikes. Probably got the best part of ten grand in the Bandit, including original purchase, mods and crash rebuilds, and I'd be lucky if it's worth a grand, lol. It's never for sale though, they can bury her with me. Luckily I've saved a fortune on parts, accessories and clothing from working in the trade.

shindig

Kowalski675 wrote:

About 21 years for me (passed my test October 1991). Had Suzukis, Yamahas and 2 Triumphs. Still got the 2 Triumphs, the Bandit and my '89 TDR 250 (proper hooligan bike that one - imagine how apopleptic a hooligan 2 stroke would get our uptight roadie friend, lol). I don't even want to think about what I've spent on modifying them over the years, I'm not interested in standard bikes. Probably got the best part of ten grand in the Bandit, including original purchase, mods and crash rebuilds, and I'd be lucky if it's worth a grand, lol. It's never for sale though, they can bury her with me.

Lol, I've also had Yamaha LC's , XJ's kawa z's, GPZ'z, ZXR's, an done the same . Can't be standard, have to modify, spend money. I'm the same with Mountain bikes. Has to be customised or special build. I've just built a Santa Cruz nickel, butcher and cotic soul. And of course all custom builds .

And I still have my first ever SPDs. First ones ever sold by Shimano for mountain biking back in 1991 i think. But I run flatties now. Still a hooligan at heart.

Kowalski675

shindig wrote:

Kowalski675 wrote:

Lol, I've also had Yamaha LCS's , XJ's kawa z's, GPZ'z, ZXR's, an done the same . Can't be standard, have to modify, spend money. I'm the same with Mountain bikes. Has to be customised or special build. I've just build a Santa Cruz nickel, butcher and cotic soul. And of course all custom builds .

I love LCs, but they fetch stupid money now (all classic 2 strokes do - I've seen a TDR like mine for sale at six grand). I've already passed my tinkering fetish into my mountain biking (only got into it this year) - I'd changed a load of stuff on my new bike before I'd even ridden it, lol. I'd love to build a Santa Cruz 5010 or Bronson, but have yet to win the lottery. Coincidentally, lat night I dreamed that I'd bought an orange Cotic Soul frame. It had orange bars too, but I dropped it down the stairs and the bars got scratched. Make of that what you will...