Windle
Über Member
- Location
- Burnthouses
Having been used to clipless pedals for donkey's years I never feel particularly comfortable with flats (odd, as when I was young and first tried toe clips instead of just plain pedals the opposite was true).
My Marin Bear Valley came with flat pedals. Now, big flat pedals I'm getting a bit better with on my MTB's, but these are smaller. They're OK as I only really use the bike for bike / railway paths, but I fancied putting SPD's on it. The old pedals, bless 'em, were so fond of the pretty basic rivetted chain set that they weren't coming off though. I haven't tried anything drastic as I had in mind to have a look for a replacement chainset the next time I was in Recyke-ye-bike. Last Saturday I had in rake in the parts bins in the Chester-le-Street shop and came out with a very nice Stronglight triple and a pair of Boardman SPD's to go with them. I picked the Boardmans over a pair of Shimano ones as a change, they looked a bit less clunky and seemed a tad lighter. I swapped the chainsets over on Saturday ready for a ride on Sunday. Previous chainset with plastic flats, SR Suntour.
New one with new SPD's, prior to the chainset getting completely dismantled and cleaned up properly. Same big & middle ring sizes as the previous one but with a smaller inner.
What I neglected to do was check whether the front mech was adjusted correctly as the new chainset looked a little different spacing wise, and seemed to sit a bit further in. Sunday's ride highlighted this, I was only able to use the middle ring, with a titchy bit of catching in the highest and lowest sprockets, not a problem for this ride but it needed fettling. Bonus Flying Scotsman photobombing the background.
I sorted it on Sunday evening, having to adjust the cable tension, mech angle and shift stops a bit. Now, other than it just touching the horizontal bottom web of the front mech cage when in the two smallest (outer) sprockets using the granny ring (which is a gear combination I'll never be using anyway) it's spot on. Yes, my workshop is a tip.
My only slight gripe is with the Boardman pedals, I don't have the exact cleats for them, assuming all SPD's are roughly the same, but using either my Shimano cleated shoes or my others with the Rockrider cleats (which came their own Decathlon SPD pedals) the unclipping feels a bit odd, they come loose easy enough but it feels like there's something catching immediately after unclipping ~ a bit like there's something trying to stop your foot as you swing it out to the side. Not a major problem but a bit un-nerving at first. The Shimano cleats are the most suitable and I barely noticed it after a few unclips. I'll try a short ride using the Rockriders to see if I get used to them a bit more. I know there there is a slight difference in shape between the Rockrider cleats and the Shimano ones but I've never seen what the original Boardman cleats for these pedals look like.
Anyway, I'm still enjoying riding this bike, it's perfect for railway & bike paths and is pretty light to boot.
Flippin' 'eck I've gone on a bit
.
My Marin Bear Valley came with flat pedals. Now, big flat pedals I'm getting a bit better with on my MTB's, but these are smaller. They're OK as I only really use the bike for bike / railway paths, but I fancied putting SPD's on it. The old pedals, bless 'em, were so fond of the pretty basic rivetted chain set that they weren't coming off though. I haven't tried anything drastic as I had in mind to have a look for a replacement chainset the next time I was in Recyke-ye-bike. Last Saturday I had in rake in the parts bins in the Chester-le-Street shop and came out with a very nice Stronglight triple and a pair of Boardman SPD's to go with them. I picked the Boardmans over a pair of Shimano ones as a change, they looked a bit less clunky and seemed a tad lighter. I swapped the chainsets over on Saturday ready for a ride on Sunday. Previous chainset with plastic flats, SR Suntour.
New one with new SPD's, prior to the chainset getting completely dismantled and cleaned up properly. Same big & middle ring sizes as the previous one but with a smaller inner.
What I neglected to do was check whether the front mech was adjusted correctly as the new chainset looked a little different spacing wise, and seemed to sit a bit further in. Sunday's ride highlighted this, I was only able to use the middle ring, with a titchy bit of catching in the highest and lowest sprockets, not a problem for this ride but it needed fettling. Bonus Flying Scotsman photobombing the background.
I sorted it on Sunday evening, having to adjust the cable tension, mech angle and shift stops a bit. Now, other than it just touching the horizontal bottom web of the front mech cage when in the two smallest (outer) sprockets using the granny ring (which is a gear combination I'll never be using anyway) it's spot on. Yes, my workshop is a tip.
My only slight gripe is with the Boardman pedals, I don't have the exact cleats for them, assuming all SPD's are roughly the same, but using either my Shimano cleated shoes or my others with the Rockrider cleats (which came their own Decathlon SPD pedals) the unclipping feels a bit odd, they come loose easy enough but it feels like there's something catching immediately after unclipping ~ a bit like there's something trying to stop your foot as you swing it out to the side. Not a major problem but a bit un-nerving at first. The Shimano cleats are the most suitable and I barely noticed it after a few unclips. I'll try a short ride using the Rockriders to see if I get used to them a bit more. I know there there is a slight difference in shape between the Rockrider cleats and the Shimano ones but I've never seen what the original Boardman cleats for these pedals look like.
Anyway, I'm still enjoying riding this bike, it's perfect for railway & bike paths and is pretty light to boot.
Flippin' 'eck I've gone on a bit
![Roll eyes :rolleyes: :rolleyes:](/styles/default/xenforo/smls/rolleyes.gif)