Cages on my pedals

wildpig

Recently picked up a new bike, and the pedals have cages/straps. I thought this would be fine, however I'm finding that whilst I can get my feet out ok - no problems with getting stuck just yet - I can't get them back in on the move. I have to pull over and stop next to something upright and put them in before pushing off again, or reach down while moving to push them open and get my foot in. Is this normal, or am I doing something wrong??

I guess the next step would be to go clipless? That would be ok, I just didn't want to spend the extra ££ before I decided if I wanted to keep going with cycling as a new hobby.

slowbike

There's a knack to it ...

IIRC - I put my foot forward over the upside down pedal, dragged backwards to turn the pedal the right way round then eased my foot in - didn't always work - and the straps were a pain. Reaching down to fettle whilst moving is normal.

oxoman

Another option is plastic type toe clip without straps. Still a knack to getting feet into though. Clipless is the way forward when you've got some spare money.

wongataa

You have to practice flipping the pedal the right way round with your foot and sliding the foot into the cage as soon as the pedal is the right way up so it doesn't have time to flip back. It is easier with looser straps to get your foot in.

fenix

Slowbike wrote:

There's a knack to it ...

IIRC - I put my foot forward over the upside down pedal, dragged backwards to turn the pedal the right way round then eased my foot in - didn't always work - and the straps were a pain. Reaching down to fettle whilst moving is normal.

This method ^^^

And if you can't get in easily just get up to speed with the cage upside down so you have momentum to fiddle with it without slowing and wobbling.

Cages and straps are much more faff than clipless.

simon_masterson

If the clip is the right size and the strap is loose, you shouldn't have any trouble getting your foot in. Ideally you want a shoe with a smooth upper. As above, you just have to master the flip. It's not too dissimilar to clipping into a single sided clipless road pedal.

leemeh

Go on eBay and get some reversible pedals. Shimano do SPD or SL clipless that are flat on the other side.

You can then ride with normal trainers whilst you get into it then buy the shoes from the resevsible clipless side later.

I have clipless SPD reversible shimano’s on my everyday road bike, I mostly use it for short runs in and out of the local area, pop to shops, visit mates etc - so I need to be able to jump on with jeans and trainers. I also use it to commute which is 15 miles and need to be able to walk on my bike shoes the other end from bike area to changing area - so MTB shoes allow that. If I had road shoes I’d need to take them off and walk bare foot across car park, through reception etc.

If you think you are going to go straight up road riding and don’t need to be able to walk about a bit, get reversible SL shimano pedals which gives you the clipless side for a road bike shoe.

You sound like a more casual rider, hence the suggestion of MTB reversible as it’s more flexible. You don’t need a road shoe unless you care about what other people think or you are knocking out 2 hour plus rides each time you jump on

wildpig

So a bit of technique and practice, and it seems pretty normal by the sounds of things. Major pain in the backside when I can't get in though!! Thanks all.

Thanks Leemeh, I will look into this as an option, that sounds like a pretty reasonable halfway house for the time being. Definitely more casual at the moment too, but I've invested in some winter gear to keep me riding when it's cold, so we'll see - I'm quite bloody minded so I'll certainly do it short term. If the weather warms up and summer riding is a hundred times more enjoyable, who knows, I might never get off the thing again!