Getting my feet into those cages....

Eeerm, spds?

Practice - it soon becomes second nature. Adding weights is prone to additional problems, like having them fly off unexpectedly into a baby's eye - you just know they'll land somewhere like that - or just the fact that it's an addition to the dimensions of the pedal so likely to be dislodged on corners or kerb stones.

Stick with it - you'll be doing it without realising it in no time.

I would still suggest spds, a lot of them have shoes which are no different from normal footwear with the cleats re-thingy'ed into the sole of the shoe. A lot of MTB shoes are just like normal trainers.

That aside if you want to stick with cages then lots of practice and don;t look down when you are doing it, it's much easier/quicker if you get used to feeling your foot into them

661 do a few ok ones.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Cate ... goryID=337

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Shima ... 360027286/

yes it costs more but SPDs are great and much, much better than toe-clips

Or, just take the toe clips off:

http://www.rivbike.com/article/clothing/the_shoes_ruse

In the wet my feet always slip off regular pedals. In fact, when pushing hard on the pedals I don't want to risk slipping off in any circumstances, which I'm much more likely to do if my foot ever comes away from the pedal surface (such as on the upstroke when it is relatively unweighted).

When I kick off at traffic lights I most certainly do pull up on the upswing - if I didn't I'd probably only have, say, 2/3 the acceleration, and we know how key that is.

Standing to power up hills I very much pull up.

His arguments fall down when he says that a) it's not natural to push wish the balls of the feet yet b) the stiffness of a shoe is a red herring. If you are pushing with your balls (ahem) then stiffness will spread the force which can only be a good thing by his logic, right?

Pushing with the balls gives you the ideal compromise between simple downwards force from the knee and the leverage of using the toes. Makes perfect sense to me.

I gave up reading as soon as he suggested wearing Crocs.
Then I made myself read it to the end. Not laughed so much in ages.

Grant Petersen is known as something of a provocateur in these sorts of matters. Personally, I'm not keen on his Rivendells which I find fetishistic, above all else. However, it is still refreshing to hear the case made for simple things like flat pedals and ordinary shoes, when all around, the prevailing advocation from experienced cyclists is for racer products where practicality is unimportant.

It's a fairly shonky article- he doesn't understand muscle memory at all, as any phsyiotherapist can tell you muscle memory develops even if the muscle is externally stimulated. So that bit at least is just nonsense.

But still, I like flats, and I've never felt any real advantage power wise with spds. I've spent an awful lot more time on flats or with toeclips, which could explain my preference, but I think I'd have notice night/day differences by now. It does help with hops and with steep uphills, but then it can be a disadvantage when restarting after spinning up, or when riding on really loose stuff and doing a lot of footwork.

I quite like old school toeclips, just to keep my pedals and feet together more convincingly in drops and jumps. I can definately live without spds, and it's a bit more cash in the wallet at the end of hte day.

Also, right at this time of year, there are some advantages to riding in big heavy boots 8)

manick0de wrote:

Stopped reading that guys article when he got to shoe stiftness and said It doesn't make any difference? :roll:

I don't know why. I think he makes a compelling case for ordinary shoes and broad pedals, for ordinary cycling. You don't wear carbon soled shoes for running up the stairs or for the bus. Your foot is a sophisticated mechanism, quite capable of the rigidity required for normal locomotive duties itself.

nicklouse wrote:

balthazar
I use flats and grippy shoes and i still pull up with them.

I also use SPD's and i know which is faster.

Thankyou - but I'm not sure why you directed those observations at me? I haven't commented on either of those subjects?!