A new convert to clipless pedals.

[Vernon Levy]

Having purchased a couple of pairs of Vans shoes from
Halfords at a bargain price of £20 per pair last June, I
discovered that one pair rattled as I walked - more
precisely the sole under the ball of my foot rattled.

The area of the sole where the rattle emanated from looked
like it could be cut away and I guessed that it would
uncover some fixings for cleats.

I finally bit the bullet this week and bought a set of
Shimano double sided SPDs, fitted them to my road bike, cut
away the cleat covers on the shoes and mounted the cleats.
The most difficult operation was the cutting away of the
cleat coverings on the soles of the shoes.

I am most impressed with the immediately apparent
transformation in the effort required to propel the bike and
its lardy rider. Pedalling seems markedly easier especially
on uphill stretches and, touch wood, I have not had any
'still clipped in' incidents.

One thing that I have found is that although the
unclipping action is meant to be a movement of ones heels
outwards, I find that moveing them inwards is 'more
natural' for me. It there any reason why i shouldn't
continue unclipping this way?

Cheers

Vernon In Leeds

[Richard Bates]

On Sat, 15 May 2004 20:19:12 +0100, "vernon levy" <not@home.net>
wrote:

>One thing that I have found is that although the
>unclipping action is meant to be a movement of ones heels
>outwards, I find that moveing them inwards is 'more
>natural' for me. It there any reason why i shouldn't
>continue unclipping this way?

Anatomically speaking, I don't know. But I wouuld guess
there is more chance of getting something caught in your
bikes mechanics.

--
Young Musician of the Year 2004 was a fiddle

[Elyob]

"Richard Bates" <usenet01@artybee.net> wrote in message
news:6drca0loo1d6u5vupimt3ollntc9tmifnk@4ax.com...
> On Sat, 15 May 2004 20:19:12 +0100, "vernon levy"
> <not@home.net> wrote:
>
> >One thing that I have found is that although the
> >unclipping action is
meant
> >to be a movement of ones heels outwards, I find that
> >moveing them inwards
is
> >'more natural' for me. It there any reason why i
> >shouldn't continue unclipping this way?
>
> Anatomically speaking, I don't know. But I wouuld guess
> there is more chance of getting something caught in your
> bikes mechanics.
>

I just can't wait until the 'fell over at traffic lights'
story that each one of us has been through. ;)

[Vernon Levy]

> I just can't wait until the 'fell over at traffic lights'
> story that each one of us has been through. ;)

And what makes you think that I'd be willing to share that
moment with you all? ;-)

My kids thinks it's amazing and woorying that I want to be
attached to the bike.

[Nc]

vernon levy wrote:

[ on SPDs ]
> One thing that I have found is that although the
> unclipping action is meant to be a movement of ones heels
> outwards, I find that moveing them inwards is 'more
> natural' for me. It there any reason why i shouldn't
> continue unclipping this way?

No reason, they should unclip in either direction.

You may have the cleat at not quite the right angle for your
feet, resulting in having to push the ankle out further than
necessary to unclip; on my shoes the cleat is not directly
in line + not perpendicular to the centre line of the shoe.

Determine the correct angle by studying how a shoe
without clips naturally lies on a flat pedal with your
feet and bike.

HTH.

Nigel

--
NC - Webmaster for http://www.2mm.org.uk/ Replies to
newsgroup postings to the newsgroup please.

[Danny Colyer]

elyob wrote:
> I just can't wait until the 'fell over at traffic lights'
> story that each one of us has been through. ;)

Hey, I haven't had that one yet. I've had 4 falls, but none
of them was at traffic lights ;-)

When I first fitted SPD's, I was living on a farm and I
decided it made sense to go for a ride around the
farmyard to get used to the pedals before going out on
the road. I forgot that the farm had dogs, who wanted to
join in the fun.

The second time was a few days later, when I heard a rubbing
noise coming from my Yak (the mudguard had come loose and
was rubbing on the tyre). As I slowed to a stop, I
completely forgot to unclip. This was one of those rare
falls with no witnesses.

On the third occasion, I was riding with my SO and was
riding rather closer than is sensible behind a novice
cyclist. When she slammed her brakes on to avoid an errant
puppy, I found myself concentrating rather more on stopping
than on unclipping. I received a bruised sternum from a bar
end and the resulting pain of breathing apparently made me
much less fun in bed for the following few weeks. I learned
an important lesson on that ride.

I then had 6 incident free years before the most
embarrassing fall (this time on my recumbent). I had to
dismount on a steep incline in order to make way for a lorry
that really shouldn't have been on such a narrow

station at the end of it and they always seem to be doing
some sort of construction work). My left pedal was too tight
and failed to unclip. Ironically, I had replaced the pedals
the previous night with the ones from my ATB, because I'd
decided the old pedals were no longer safe. But I forgot to
adjust the tension before riding with them.

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my
reply address)
<url:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/> "He who
dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

[James Hodson]

On Sat, 15 May 2004 20:19:12 +0100, "vernon levy" <not@home.net>
wrote:
>
>One thing that I have found is that although the
>unclipping action is meant to be a movement of ones heels
>outwards, I find that moveing them inwards is 'more
>natural' for me. It there any reason why i shouldn't
>continue unclipping this way?

Hi Vernon

They unclip inwards, outwards and (not quite so
easily) upwards.

James

[Tony Raven]

James Hodson wrote:
>
> Hi Vernon
>
> They unclip inwards, outwards and (not quite so easily)
> upwards.
>
> James

Depends on which cleats you have - the black single release
or the silver multi-release

Tony

[James Hodson]

On Sun, 16 May 2004 18:08:38 +0100, "Tony Raven"
<junk@raven-family.com> wrote:

>Depends on which cleats you have - the black single release
>or the silver multi-release

Silver in my case.

James

[James Hodson]

On Sun, 16 May 2004 18:08:38 +0100, "Tony Raven"
<junk@raven-family.com> wrote:

>Depends on which cleats you have - the black single release
>or the silver multi-release

Silver in my case.

James