Clipless Pedals FAQ

[antnee]

Some of the larger shoe shops should stock the larger size shoe but as you say often they don't I put it down to cost .

but on the subject of cycling shoes you might do as well to order on line ok I know you might have to wait plus there's the added risk of the shoe not being to your liking i.e. too small or too large. But any of the well known outlets offer an exchange system so perhaps that's a way around it (ok I know that you would perhaps have the shoes straight away)


I got mine from off the net and were ok
I went for a size larger and spd type all thoughts of going back to normal pedals are gone forever now, though had one forgetful moment and nearly came of but since then all fine.
as to the walking in them that no problem either though must admit not walked more than 200 yards in them at a time
regards antnee

 

[Haz]

In at the deep end as the saying goes....

That's what I did too! Stopped me worrying about how I would get on with them. Also spent quite a while propped between a wall and a patient friend, pedalling backwards and practising unclipping.
Question - is there anything I can do to make the toes of my bike shoes less slippy? When I stop, e.g. for roundabouts, lights, and put my foot down it really seems to skid on the tarmac. The soles are fairly rigid plastic and I have shimano cleats (the little ones which have 2 screws - spd's I think)

 

[ianrauk]

Question - is there anything I can do to make the toes of my bike shoes less slippy? When I stop, e.g. for roundabouts, lights, and put my foot down it really seems to skid on the tarmac. The soles are fairly rigid plastic and I have shimano cleats (the little ones which have 2 screws - spd's I think)

They will soon scuff up and start to grip better.

 

[Haz]

They will soon scuff up and start to grip better.

They seem to be getting a bit better grip-wise, although perhaps it was the gorgeous dry afternoon made the difference today. I'm a clipless convert for sure

 

[SWSteve]

I am tempted to get some clip-in shoes. Will probably go down the spd-sl route, but am unwilling to pay £80 for a pair of shoes when I don't spend that on anything. I've looked on ebay/bumtree but seemingly th only people trying to sell the shoes for £20-30 have got gargantuan sized feet (above a 7.5/8). Any tips of what to get/what to avoid?

 

[Kookas]

I am tempted to get some clip-in shoes. Will probably go down the spd-sl route, but am unwilling to pay £80 for a pair of shoes when I don't spend that on anything. I've looked on ebay/bumtree but seemingly th only people trying to sell the shoes for £20-30 have got gargantuan sized feet (above a 7.5/8). Any tips of what to get/what to avoid?

Lidl apparently sell some when they do cycling sales.

 

[antnee]

Well Steve I pondered lond and hard about this to clip or not to clip and went for the SPD MTB type (the two bolt shoe cleat fixing) this was after seeing my sons efforts to walk normally off the bike in SPD SL's! (see some of the ealier posts re the pros and cons of one type V the otherSPD SL V the SPD MTB debate.)
As to to the price well as you say they all seemed a bit pricey to me too, that is until I found some really stout ones here http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-mt33-spd-leisure-shoes/ if not these then they must have something that will suit you; though remember its your feet that you are looking after, so don't settle for 2nd best!
Ok You may want to explore the SPD SL shoe but look at the shimarno range as I didn't want to spend a fortune on shoes and rather than buy from a private buyer on ebay where you might have had problems returning if they didn't fit!.
Get them from some where that you know you can return them for what ever reason i.e too big too small, I was perhaps lucky with mine as ordered a size larger and I got a perfect fit first time .
Since having mine and the A520 pedals on the triban 3 i wouldn't go back to not being clipped in as find them a real help going up inclines, as I only got single sided pedals A530's for the other bike as though I would be able to just use normal shoes with them but really notice the diference when not clipped in now

 

[Haz]

I am tempted to get some clip-in shoes. Will probably go down the spd-sl route, but am unwilling to pay £80 for a pair of shoes when I don't spend that on anything. I've looked on ebay/bumtree but seemingly th only people trying to sell the shoes for £20-30 have got gargantuan sized feet (above a 7.5/8). Any tips of what to get/what to avoid?

Keep looking. I found mine on ebay (size 6 feet) for £30, ex-display from a real bike shop. They've been great so far with spd pedals.

 

[Boon 51]

Well I suppose it had too happen and I've had my first clipless moment where everything went wrong that could of gone wrong..

Been having problems with this hill near me so I thought I would give it another bash on my road bike to see how far I could get up this time.

Good news is I got about 150 metres further up so in that respect I'm pleased.

Anyway I sat for a few minutes to get my breath back and then got on the bike and started to come back down the hill..( Cat 3 hill by the way)
So there I was doing about 40 kms down hill and I came to a small stream of water that was crossing the road after all the rain we have had (which I did go through on the way up and it was alright) So I hit this bit of water but it had stones and gravel in it that I didn't see on the way up and the result was a two puntures one front and one back both at the same time at 40 kms speed and of course my clipless pedals on..
To say it wasn't scarey would of been a lie but I did mange to slow the bike down and get round a slight bend and get my foot out of the pedal and come to a standstill safely..

But hopefully never again thank you, because I will never go through water at such a great speed again.

 

[antnee]

Good job you are ok though and had some practice with clipping in and out!

 

[Boon 51]

Good job you are ok though and had some practice with clipping in and out!

It was a bit touch and go..

 

[themosquitoking]

It was a bit touch and go..

Glad you're ok too and can i recommend slime filled inner tubes. They would have saved you some clenching i reckon.

 

[Boon 51]

Glad you're ok too and can i recommend slime filled inner tubes. They would have saved you some clenching i reckon.

Clenching... I did a bit of that

 

[Basil.B]

First time clipless for me today.
Find it a bit difficult to get my foot out at the moment.
Will persevere though.

 

[guitarpete247]

First time clipless for me today.
Find it a bit difficult to get my foot out at the moment.
Will persevere though.

Have you slacked off the tension? Most folks do to start with. I did and haven't bothered tightening them up.