Cathryn's going clipless....

[Cathryn]

Well....Liesl is now pinioned in the turbo and I've put on the new pedals which are clipless one side and normal on the other. The clips have gone in my shoes and I've been practising clipping in and out all evening.

Clipping out is okay at the moment...clipping IN is the problem. I struggle to get the pedal round the right way and spend ages looking down trying to get the shoe clipped in, which I clearly won't be able to do on the road! Any handy hints on how to clip in?

The plan is to do some more turbo practising during the week and then to 'go live' on Saturday!

Didn't help that I fell off my bike today on a patch of ice. Bashed the newly mended broken leg. Didn't hurt much at all, but I now have a BIG bruise to go with my scar. Why do I always land on that poor leg?

 

[Nicensleazy]

Well done, keep us posted. What bike are you riding Cathryn?

 

[alecstilleyedye]

good on yer cathrine. did you go spd, look or some other?

 

[Smokin Joe]

Don't look down when you are practising clipping in, it will soon become second nature.

Sods law about the leg, it's always my right knee that touches down first.

 

[Crackle]

Yes, I found clipping in harder than out, still do. I kept trying to put toe area in rather than the middle. A kind of forward sweep that brushes the pedal and clunks on the mechanism seems to work best for me and my pedals are one sided not double.

I also found that once I got moving, it was easier than statically leaning against the lampost, just kind of flowed better.

 

[Cathryn]

I believe they're SPD. I shall get used to these and then maybe go 'look' once I'm a bit safer. I liked the fact they had flat pedals in case I chicken out.

Sleazy, my bike is a Thorn XTC. She's the love of my life. Apart from the husband, obviously.

Thanks for the advice, guys!

 

[Maz]

Don't worry if you don't clip in first time. If you're setting off from stationary (at lights for example) you can always start to pedal with the small of your (unclipped) foot, then try and clip in as you ride along. Don't look down at your foot. You'll soon be able to clip in/out and it'll be second nature.


...what's a Liesl?

 

[Cathryn]

I guess it just takes practise. And Liesl's the name of my bike!

 

[rich p]

Did you consider double sided pedals and touring shoes? Apart from sandals they're the only shoes I tour with.

 

[jay clock]

Cathryn sounds like you have the M324s - I have those on a couple of my bikes.

Re getting clipped in, don't worry. Start pedalling, even if one is clipped in and one not. Just spin the pedal once in a while, an on the law of averages you will clip in eventually. The pedals should fall automatically with the cleat up (I think) and it really does become an unconscious action very soon

 

[marinyork]

I tilt the M324s with my toe, so they are tilted slightly upwards when I put my foot on them (either with cleats on or not). I clip in right foot first and the left is harder to get in so I normally peddle and clip the left in when moving slowly. In emergencies when I can't clip in I just peddle on the wrong side for a bit, this works fine, although you won't be accelerating very fast. Clipping in on very steep hills is probably the worst thing.

 

[Abitrary]

I believe they're SPD. I shall get used to these and then maybe go 'look' once I'm a bit safer. I liked the fact they had flat pedals in case I chicken out.

The most important thing you can do with small cleats like on spd is to get the position right on the shoe. They should be under the ball of the foot and angled correctly.

I won't go into how to angle them correctly but involves spending a lot of time looking at the sole of the shoe whilst holding an allen key motionless in the other hand and invariably results in confusion.

Once you get the 'angle of attack' right, and you have the cleat tension setting as low as it can go, and given them a good spray of wd40, then it is foolproof and safer than flat pedals.

 

[punkypossum]

Hehe, let's hope the first clipless moment is a long way off!!! Seriously tho, it does become 2nd nature after a while, although I still worry a bit after a few months about unclipping my right foot unexpectedly, as that's the one that never gets taken out unless I completely get off the bike.

I went for the pedals that clip in on both sides, cause I didn't want the additional worry about having to turn the pedal round, so I suppose it was a bit easier for me - even on them you can still pedal normally for a bit if your foot doesn't go straight in.

Found the easiest way to do it is to put your foot on the pedal quite far back and then just sort of glide forward till the cleat catches and then just push down - IN!!!

 

[BigonaBianchi]

another vot efor double sided spds here with walkable road shoes for touring...well in fact for everything. I have the same problem you have with your leg, only with my wrist...I always seem to fall off th ebike to my left and land on the same wrist...

 

[chewa]

Well done for taking the chance to swap. I changed about 5 or 6 years ago and "touch wood" have never had a clip in "moment".

I use double sided spd's on 3 bikes with Specialized BG Comp Mountain bike shoes for commuting and touring - they are really easy to clip into and out of (though I leave the tension low). The shoes are very stiff but have a tread for walking so are ok. On my second pair in 6 years.

On my Cinelli I use Looks with road shoes.( I vowed nothing but european equipment on it) I know why they are called "Looks" because you have to look down to check you are hitting them right

They should really be called "Take a chunk out of your calf when you miss them with a taxi harrassing you" if my recent experience is anything to go by.

Clip ins do make a whole lot of difference. If I ride without, my non pressure foot floats off the pedal going uphill, which means even when not trying to I must be pulling up.