All Clipped Up And Ready To Go!

[DuncanBeaumont]

A born-again cyclist - potentially. I have just bought shoes (Shimano M42) and double sided pedals (Shimano M342)

In my previous incarnation I used toeclips. So this is my first venture into clipless. What should I be wary of in my first few days? I have just had a ride around the block and that seemed to work ok.

The cleats/shoes have 20mm of fore and aft adjustment and 10mm of side to side adjustment. Where is the ideal position for my feet?

Thanks in anticipation.

Duncan

 

[chewy]

Just remember to unclip well in advance!

Been using them for a month or so now and have only had a few near moments when i've stopped a bit quick/unexpectedly and then found my feet were unavailable for standing!

As opposed to when I come up to a junction and unclip all ready in advance!

 

[Banjo]

Best position is where your feet naturally hang.Get someone to help you.let your feet dangle unstressed then attatch the clips in that spot/angle. Fore and aft your pedal spindle should be directly under the ball of your foot same as for any pedal.

 

[slowmotion]

Wot chewy says. Unclip well in advance. I'm not completely confident yet so I unclip if there are pedestrians who look like they might step off the pavement suddenly. The times I've been over were when I decided to stop in a bit of a hurry. There are lots of clips on YouTube about the best place to put your cleats.

 

[KingstonBiker]

When you stop you only need to unclip one foot (in my case the left). Just remember to lean to the side you decide to unclip otherwise it gets a bit embarrasing.

 

[eddie coffin]

I think we've all fallen off once out of the clips....at least I have

 

[slowmotion]

I think we've all fallen off once at least twice out of the clips....at least I have

FTFY

 

[Wankelschrauben]

Haha, I fell off at the bottom of a hill after being left hooked, and then fell of at the top of the hill when I stopped to moan about it.

 

[Nebulous]

I fell off repeatedly when I started. One of the things that seemed to happen was that I 'froze' when an incident was coming. I once fell off twice within 30 feet. I came to a junction in the rain, forgot to unclip and toppled over right beside an elderly man walking on the pavement. I disengaged from the bike, pushed it across the junction and tried to make a quick getaway. I missed my clip-in, my foot slipped on the wet pedal and I fell off again. By this time the man had also crossed the junction and I again fell off right in front of him. He paid absolutely no attention, just carried on with his business and left me alone.

The thing that seemed to make a difference was when the actions became unconscious so I didn't have to think about it. A key incident was where I came to a junction, unclipped my left foot but didn't get my balance right and my bike tipped to the right. Instead of thinking 'here we go again' I managed to unclip my right foot and get it down in time to prevent the fall. That really helped my confidence to retrieve the situation rather than just sit there as I topple.

 

[Fnaar]

I fell off in front of some cows once. I still hear them mooing about it when I go past their field, the bovine b*st*rds!