Shimano M520 SPD pedal

[scook94]

Thanks Joe. The weather is brightening up so I may cycle to my T'ai Chi class tonight instead of driving. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

 

[l4dva]

Let us know how you get on with them shoes, im tempted. My feet are quite wide so not sure how well they would fit. Might see if I can try some on at LBS first.

 

[nilling]

Try and get into the habit of only unclipping the left foot - you can then put your foot down of the kerb and if you do have a 'moment' you will be falling away from the road rather than into it. For this reason I would have the left pedal set slightly looser than the right. It'll soon become second nature

 

[scook94]

The shoes are great, very comfy. Next time though I'll have to remember to unclip them when I come to an unscheduled stop. Not a good idea to panic and do nothing! (

 

[Radius]

The shoes are great, very comfy. Next time though I'll have to remember to unclip them when I come to an unscheduled stop. Not a good idea to panic and do nothing! (

A good technique to learn is the 'double unclip', where you're coming to a bad stop situation and flick both feet outward whilst maintaining control, so you can put them down at any point. Has come in handy a couple of times.

 

[Joe24]

Thanks Joe. The weather is brightening up so I may cycle to my T'ai Chi class tonight instead of driving. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Let us know how you get on.
It was after a few rides that i had a clipless moment, when i got abit cocky.
Then, a few weeks later on my first wednesday club ride, i unclipped left and fell over to the right for some reason.
Great fun. Remember, if you do have a clipless moment and people have seen, get up and take a bow, and check the bike over. But dont worry about it! Most people have had clipless moments.
I had my foot unclip itself while moving away from traffic lights(maybe i was racing a car) which was not nice. My cleats were very very worn though and they moved around way too much in the peddles.

 

[Joe24]

A good technique to learn is the 'double unclip', where you're coming to a bad stop situation and flick both feet outward whilst maintaining control, so you can put them down at any point. Has come in handy a couple of times.

You really do that?
If im about to emergency stop, i brake hard and stop peddling(if on the geared bike) and unclip my right foot, so its there ready to go down. It becomes second nature, and much better then unclipping both. When you need to get going again, that must be annoying?
When im on the fixedi brake hard with my front brake and leg brake hard/do lots of little skids then go into a trackstand
Well done by the way

 

[Radius]

You really do that?
If im about to emergency stop, i brake hard and stop peddling(if on the geared bike) and unclip my right foot, so its there ready to go down. It becomes second nature, and much better then unclipping both. When you need to get going again, that must be annoying?

Oh sure, I'm talking emergency only. Most of the time I only ever unclip my left foot for normal stops etc. Often go whole rides without unclipping right foot.

 

[Joe24]

Oh sure, I'm talking emergency only. Most of the time I only ever unclip my left foot for normal stops etc. Often go whole rides without unclipping right foot.

Sorry, im not being difficult, im actualy wondering.
If you just unclip your left foot when you stop, why would you need to unclip your right, except for when you get off the bike and walk away from it, which surely cant be often?

Even in emergencies i only unclip my left foot, sometimes i wait incase i dont need to and unclip it at the last moment. Not recomended for when your not used to it though.

 

[Radius]

I think I've only used it about twice, can't really remember what for. Probably not that useful really, but it's all practice

 

[l4dva]

Got my pedals today! Brilliant Service from Merlin, ordered yesterday in my hands today! Recorded delivery as well.

I poped into my LBS on my way home, they had some smart looking specialized shoes

http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqProduct.jsp?spid=40334&eid=342

These were £50 and for this they would set my pedals, cleats and everything to fit me. Seems reasonable for commuting. I'll have to go back another day to try them out.

 

[scook94]

Well I must admit I really like the clipless pedals, there was plenty of float but I still felt secure in the pedal. The shoes felt pretty good too, nice stiff soles but very light.

Sadly my clipless moment wasn't as a result of bad technique, rather the result of blind panic and forgetting to do anything! Stupid thing is, if I'd put my hand out there was a wall to my right I could have leant against! Doh! Oh well, thankfully I was coming out on an underpass at the time so no one saw me!

 

[Crankarm]

Practice riding slowly in a safe area manoeuvring the bike around obstacles using your brakes to hold you against pushing on the pedals. If you feel your are losing balance then flick out your left heal and you will unclip easily and put your foot down safely without risk of serious injury. As already stated you should use the left foot as if you topple you will fall away from a road and not into it. Also when starting off you should have your left foot unclipped and on the ground and your right foot on the drive side pedal so you can turn and look for anything approaching from behind over your right shoulder. If you lose balance you fall away form the road into the kerb or verge. If you do the other way of right foot down and left foot on non drive pedal to start off it is very hard to twist to look over your right shoulder to see what's coming. Plus it is harder to control the bike starting off. This is all basic cycling proficiency stuff that used to be taught in schools years ago which more then likely has now been abandoned. Hence the many numptees who cannot control their bikes properly. The motorcycle test also requires riders to do the same thing. Left foot down first as if you drop your motorbike it falls away from the road not into it.

Back on topic I use Shimano M520s and M540s. I bought several pairs of M520s from SJS for £13.99 about 3 weeks ago before they put their prices up. Bought a few Durace Ace chains for £20 as well some bottom brackets which have now rocketed in price. Free postage as well. My day to day commuting shoes are the ultra cheap Shimano MT31s old style lace ups which have a very stiff sole. I never pay more then £29 for them. You can easily walk in them with the SPD cleat underneath. Mine have lasted 6 years and are still going strong very comfortable. The new MT31s are a slightly different style more MTB shape and feel heavier plus don't have reflective Scotchlite on the heals which is an oversight. My nice shoes are Sidi ratchet strap jobs which are a work of art and so so comfortable. Happy days.

Btw Shimano provides a set of cleats with their pedals but not with their shoes.

 

[BalkanExpress]

Evans are cheaper then that. What cleats are you looking at? Im sure the SPD ones are only £9 or something like that.
Im wrong
My god, im sure they were cheaper

Evans put their prices up some time in March just before I bought my new shoes and needed new cleats.

I've since got a couple of pairs at the old price from Bike+. The way interest rates are at the moment this seems to be a sound investment

 

[jay clock]

Those Sonoma shoes are ideal for commuting and touring. And the pedals are excellent too - I have at least 3 pairs on various bikes