Pedals?

[4F]

Day 2: first clipless moment, was quite amusing though as it was on a quiet street and so nobody saw My fault really... should have unclipped but decided to risk it, ahh well..

 

[Scoosh]

Day 2: first clipless moment, was quite amusing though as it was on a quiet street and so nobody saw My fault really... should have unclipped but decided to risk it, ahh well..

 

[Oddjob62]

Hehe... thanks guys. If any casual observer had seen they wouldn't understand... a 18stone skinhead, crashing to the ground then lying horizontal, attached to a bike, laughing out loud. Luckily the many years of rugby and American football have taught me how to fall over safely

 

[grhm]

To be quite honest, I'm not completely convinced by clipless so far either...

GRHM like punkyposssem I found that I could not seem to get any advantage from swapping to clipless.

The only reason I went clipless is that when I started commuting 5 days a week using an old pair of trainers, I cracked the soles where the pedals sat fairly quickly. Within about 2 months I'd destroyed the 3 pairs of old trainers I had. 2 died as the sole fell apart (both pairs were >7 years old) and the third died during the July floods as the material just started coming apart.

I wasn't keen on using my best trainers, and as I had worn out/broken the soles on 2 pairs, I though I'd try clipless. I figured with the reinforced sole and a purpose designed binding they wouldn't wear as quickly. I found several set of shoes and pedals on eBay and ended up buying 2 sets. Kept the pedals from one set and the shoes from the other and resold the spares on eBay for most of my original costs. So I got shoes and pedals for a fiver!

I've found that I can climb some of the steep hills round here much easier, and I can go faster downhill (when I tried a friends bike with flats, every time I hit a bump or manhole cover, my feet shifted on the pedals and I found myself worring where my feet were, not pedalling and looking where I was going.)

However, before my recent commuting, I'd not cycled regularly since a teenager. I used to muck about off-road and at the local bmx track. But that is so long ago that I didn't have too much confidence in my handling abilities over kerbs and off-road, so going clipless didn't reduce my confidence.

 

[4F]

Hehe... thanks guys. If any casual observer had seen they wouldn't understand... a 18stone skinhead, crashing to the ground then lying horizontal, attached to a bike, laughing out loud. Luckily the many years of rugby and American football have taught me how to fall over safely

Done it myself on day 2 of going clipless and thankfully not done it again since. However I was not so lucky as the paperboy had spotted me and I am not sure who was laughing most.

 

[Ranger]

My tip for the terminally unco-ordinated (like me) with clipless pedals is to get the cleats, that release in any direction, multi-directional (?) they have a little M on them. In a panic you can even release by pulling your leg upwards hard and have saved me on many occasions

 

[Irishrebel]

This was my original question, and I haven't looked in 10 days - combination of illness and 'things'. Very interesting dialogue, thanks. I just managed to get a pair of Diadora slightly used shoes on eBay last night for just over a tenner (stuck to my budget and waited), and they (Diadoras) seem to all retail at over £50.

I got the M520s onto the bike and took a little ride outside the house on the flat inserts - they feel so small compared to 'normal' flats.

However, just couldn't go fast as I'm still waiting for the left STI replacement, so only front brake!

Once I get this part and get it fixed, I'll give my first clipless and cleated shoes a try. I'll be sensible - try unclipping in the house a few times, put on only one at first, and remember the clutch analogy, which is very good, actually. I bought an automatic Mercedes in March, my first one, and found myself pressing a non-existent clutch at first. WORSE was, when taking my old Audi to get MOTd and sold, I actually FORGOT the clutch, after only two months in an automatic, and nearly stalled it twice!

SO: since I'm returning to cycling after a long spell, maybe I can condition myself to clipless fairly rapidly. I think I'll stay conscious enough to unclip a foot before any possible scary moment, and clip back in once past it. Mmmm? I think long hills will be scariest as I'm not fit enough to make it to the top in one go, so I dread stalling halfway up and falling sideways.

 

[Bodhbh]

To be quite honest, I'm not completely convinced by clipless so far either...far...

Will give it a bit longer and see how it goes, but the jury is still out...

Another one here! I gave em a couple of months, but found the worry about unclipping always in the back of the mind was making me enjoy riding less, and well it is supposed to be fun at the end of the day. Didn't notice it make much odds in the time on my regular 20mile loop either, although hard to tell exactly with fitness peaking and troughing etc. And the MTB type pedals with the screw-type grips seem to pretty much stop any issues with feet slipping off pedals (although they do a good job at shredding trainers).

Will give em another crack, as winter decends and the time on the bike more about keeping off the pounds than crashing about for fun.

 

[Maz]

My personal favourites are the A520 touring pedals.

These are single-sided pedals. Are they self-righting to be clip uppermost?

 

[Ludwig]

Still using the old toe clips and have SPD guys on toast-I've not been overtaken yet. For the athletic, powerhouse riders like myself who ride very much on their toes, old technology is the way to go. You know it makes sense!!

 

[Gerry Attrick]

Still using the old toe clips and have SPD guys on toast-I've not been overtaken yet. For the athletic, powerhouse riders like myself who ride very much on their toes, old technology is the way to go. You know it makes sense!!

Are these clips on your penny ordinary?

 

[Maz]

For the athletic, powerhouse riders like myself who ride very much on their toes, old technology is the way to go. You know it makes sense!!

Y'mean like this old boy very much riding on his toes?

 

[HLaB]

These are single-sided pedals. Are they self-righting to be clip uppermost?

Yeah, the A520's are single sided and there weighted so they nearly always land the right side up. You might get cheaper but chain reaction are doing them for £28.

 

[gavintc]

Still using the old toe clips and have SPD guys on toast-I've not been overtaken yet. For the athletic, powerhouse riders like myself who ride very much on their toes, old technology is the way to go. You know it makes sense!!

Yep old technology really does lead the way. Not many cyclists even in a 4th Cat race still use toe clips. You still on 5 speed gears with downtube shifters and steel wheels?

 

[Irishrebel]

Well, the shoes arrived. Boy the souls are rigid! Suppose they have to be. No grip on a wooden or tiled floor, LOL. Want to get out soon with the good weather, but I'm still feeling 'under the weather' a bit.