Going clipless
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Hi peeps
Had the bike serviced yesterday, and went for clipless pedals and pair of Lake trainers. All I can
say is... wow!
Being an ardent old fashioned toeclip user for years, my curiosity got the better of me. I went for
single-sided shimano pedals with spd clip one side and normal pedal as it were the other - just in
case. Having now got the clip tension about right, I cant see me ever going back.
They're comfortable, engaging the things is getting easier and the only tricky bit is remembering to
disengage before pulling up to a halt.
Any tips? The guys in LBS warned me to try them on soft ground first, but they don't seem to have
been that difficult - am I missing something?
Tim
--
Sent from Birmingham, UK... Check out www.nervouscyclist.org 'I find sometimes it’s easy to be
myself, but sometimes I find it’s better to be somebody else.' - Dave Matthews 'So Much To Say' My
'reply to' address is valid, mail to the posting address is dumped
"Tim Dunne" <Bit_Bucket@Blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:SokLa.9414$4S3.67698877@news-text.cableinet.net...
> Hi peeps
>
> Had the bike serviced yesterday, and went for clipless pedals and pair of Lake trainers. All I can
> say is... wow!
>
> Being an ardent old fashioned toeclip user for years, my curiosity got the better of me. I went
> for single-sided shimano pedals with spd clip one
side
> and normal pedal as it were the other - just in case. Having now got the clip tension about right,
> I cant see me ever going back.
>
> They're comfortable, engaging the things is getting easier and the only tricky bit is remembering
> to disengage before pulling up to a halt.
>
> Any tips? The guys in LBS warned me to try them on soft ground first, but they don't seem to have
> been that difficult - am I missing something?
It took me several months to forget about the things -- at which point, of course, I fell off.
Its a bit like driving on the continent. The most dangerous time is when you start to get
confident :(
T
On Sat, 28 Jun 2003 17:38:58 GMT, Tim Dunne <Bit_Bucket@Blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
> Any tips? The guys in LBS warned me to try them on soft ground first, but they don't seem to have
> been that difficult - am I missing something?
Not really - it took me about a week to have the one compulsory embarrasing feet-still-clipped-in
incident. It will happen - you just don't know when.
regards, Ian SMith
--
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|o o|
|/ \|
Tim Dunne wrote:
> Any tips? The guys in LBS warned me to try them on soft ground first, but they don't seem to have
> been that difficult - am I missing something?
1. Don't get complacent about unclipping until you've done a few more rides - takes a certain while
to rewire the brain. Until then, you might fail to "twist" if you have to stop
quickly/unexpectedly if not careful.
2. It's worth experimenting with cleat position to get the best comfort on long rides.
~PB
"Tony W" <tonyREMOVE@chapmore.co.uk> wrote in message
news:bdkkit$sssuk$1@ID-161007.news.dfncis.de...
>
> "Tim Dunne" <Bit_Bucket@Blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:SokLa.9414$4S3.67698877@news-text.cableinet.net...
> > Hi peeps
> >
> > Had the bike serviced yesterday, and went for clipless pedals and pair
of
> > Lake trainers. All I can say is... wow!
> >
> > Being an ardent old fashioned toeclip user for years, my curiosity got
the
> > better of me. I went for single-sided shimano pedals with spd clip one
> side
> > and normal pedal as it were the other - just in case. Having now got the clip tension about
> > right, I cant see me ever going back.
> >
> > They're comfortable, engaging the things is getting easier and the only tricky bit is
> > remembering to disengage before pulling up to a halt.
> >
> > Any tips? The guys in LBS warned me to try them on soft ground first,
but
> > they don't seem to have been that difficult - am I missing something?
>
>
>
> Don't fall off at a street light... soo embarssing.. its a slow graceful
fall in which you can do nothing about... then people wonder what the hell happened...
Tim Dunne wrote:
>Any tips? The guys in LBS warned me to try them on soft ground first, but they don't seem to have
>been that difficult - am I missing something?
I never had any problem converting to clipless. Like you, I have the double sided version.
--
remove remove to reply
On Sat, 28 Jun 2003 14:04:21 -0400, Nigel Heels <nigel.heels@sympatico.ca> wrote: >
> Don't fall off at a street light... soo embarssing.. its a slow graceful fall in which you can do
> nothing about... then people wonder what the hell happened...
Do you mean traffic lights? That's how I did it, anyhow. Not only did I manage to block the queue
waiting to go through the lights (which of course turned gree just as I hit the tarmac, and then
turned red again just as I dragged myself from the roadway), I blocked the adjacenmt lane which
wasn't controlled by the lights.
regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|
"Ian Smith" <ian@astounding.org.uk> wrote in message news:slrnbfrlif.1kb.ian@phlegethon.smithnet...
> On Sat, 28 Jun 2003 17:38:58 GMT, Tim Dunne <Bit_Bucket@Blueyonder.co.uk>
wrote:
>
> > Any tips? The guys in LBS warned me to try them on soft ground first, but they don't seem to
> > have been that difficult - am I missing something?
>
> Not really - it took me about a week to have the one compulsory embarrasing feet-still-clipped-in
> incident. It will happen - you just don't know when.
>
It took me a day - the first day I was really pleased with myself, thinking I'd cracked it right
away. The second day I was cycling very slowly along behind my daughter, who suddenly and for no
apparent reason stopped, leaving me no choice but to swerve slightly and stop too, with my front
wheel just alongside her rear wheel. The word dominoes comes to mind...
Rich
Got my first SPDs back in 1995. First time out thought they were great, pulling bunnyhops with
ease. Came to stop, tried to pull up to get out and had a big fight with gravity, of course
which, I lost..!
"Tim Dunne" <Bit_Bucket@Blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:SokLa.9414$4S3.67698877@news-text.cableinet.net...
> Hi peeps
>
> Had the bike serviced yesterday, and went for clipless pedals and pair of Lake trainers. All I can
> say is... wow!
Thanks for the input, folks. I went for a 60 mile ride today, still playing about with clip tension,
I can engage the right foot a breeze but the left seems more troublesome, but then I'm very
right-footed. I've adjusted the cleat position a little, too. The shoes fit great but I experienced
some pain in my left toes in the last ten miles or so. Ankles also seem a little fatigued, but I
guess it's just adjusting to them. They're great when compared to the rat-traps when it comes to
hills... overall I can't think why I didn't do it sooner.
I also am awaiting the seemingly inevitable topple with some trepidation...
BTW, I'm riding on 'Dutch Perfect' no flat tyres at the mo - fitted them just after christmas and
haven't had a puncture in 1K miles so far, I'm reasonable pleased with those, too.
Tim
--
Sent from Birmingham, UK... Check out www.nervouscyclist.org 'I find sometimes it’s easy to be
myself, but sometimes I find it’s better to be somebody else.' - Dave Matthews 'So Much To Say' My
'reply to' address is valid, mail to the posting address is dumped
> BTW, I'm riding on 'Dutch Perfect' no flat tyres at the mo - fitted them just after christmas and
> haven't had a puncture in 1K miles so far, I'm reasonable pleased with those, too.
>
> Tim
anyone else using these puncture resistant tyres too? any other brands or are these the one
to go for?
> Any tips? The guys in LBS warned me to try them on soft ground first, but they don't seem to have
> been that difficult - am I missing something?
Getting a start on a steep uphill can be a small challenge & so can coming to a stop when you
knackered on a steep hill. Apart from that the only real pain can unclipping in an emgergency such
as an old biddy deciding that since you're overtaking her on the right (On a road I might add) to
step to the right directly in front of you after looking over her shoulder directly at me, this was
Saturday's fun emergency stop for me...
Phil
> The shoes fit great but I experienced some pain in my left toes in the last ten miles or so.
> Ankles also seem a little fatigued, but I guess it's just adjusting to them.
I think you should experiment more with the cleat position, which may not be perfect, especially
reference ankles. I would loosen the screws holding the cleats to shoes enough so the cleats can
just move under pressure and then cycle some short distances until your feet feel comfortably
positioned and then retighten, very tight. A millimetre or two front to back can make a lot of
difference over longer distances; the float will tend to adjust for and toe-in or toe-out. All that
said I still get forefoot pain sometimes after sixty or so miles, and prefer the pedals with clip
one side and cage the other (like Shimano 323/4) because you can take your foot out, reverse the
pedal, and have a restful change of position for a while. Cheers, A
"Tim Dunne" <Bit_Bucket@Blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:SokLa.9414$4S3.67698877@news-text.cableinet.net...
>
> Any tips? The guys in LBS warned me to try them on soft ground first, but they don't seem to have
> been that difficult - am I missing something?
>
> Tim
I'll be needing help soon too. After reading endless posts here in praise of clipless pedals I
decided to give them a go. A set of Time ATACs and a new pair of shoes arrived today. Never mind
getting out of them, I can hardly get in the things. Mind you, they're still in my lounge. Maybe
I'll be able to get outside in the next day or two and things'll become clearer. tony R.
"tony R" <hesiod3@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:fl2Ma.20737$pK2.31130@news.indigo.ie...
> Never mind getting out of them, I can hardly get in the things. Mind you, they're still in my
> lounge. Maybe I'll be
able
> to get outside in the next day or two and things'll become clearer.
When I first got the bike home from the LBS (hello Dave...) and put the shoes on I was fiddling
about for a good 15 minutes. Theres a knack - once you've got it, it's easy. Honest.
Tim
--
Sent from Birmingham, UK... Check out www.nervouscyclist.org 'I find sometimes it’s easy to be
myself, but sometimes I find it’s better to be somebody else.' - Dave Matthews 'So Much To Say' My
'reply to' address is valid, mail to the posting address is dumped
On Sun, 29 Jun 2003 00:17:19 +0100, "Richard Goodman" <rich@NOSPAM.rsk.homechoice.co.uk> wrote:
>The word dominoes comes to mind...
>
Rich
The words "just like me" come to my mind.
James
--
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On Sat, 28 Jun 2003 19:22:24 +0100, "Pete Biggs" <pLime{remove_fruit}@biggs.tc> wrote:
>Tim Dunne wrote:
>> Any tips? The guys in LBS warned me to try them on soft ground first, but they don't seem to have
>> been that difficult - am I missing something?
>
>1. Don't get complacent about unclipping until you've done a few more rides - takes a certain
> while to rewire the brain. Until then, you might fail to "twist" if you have to stop
> quickly/unexpectedly if not careful.
>
>2. It's worth experimenting with cleat position to get the best comfort on long rides.
>
Pete,
If I may add a number 3:
3. Unclip one foot well before you arrive at a junction - well before you think you need to.
James
--
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On Tue, 01 Jul 2003 00:43:34 +0100, James Hodson <jUNDERSCOREhodson@ntlworld.com.invalid> wrote:
>If I may add a number 3:
>
>3. Unclip one foot well before you arrive at a junction - well before you think you need to.
And then lean the other way. :-)
--
Dave...
In article <uli1gvs29bnla9450uh0dlqvvfqi3stac2@4ax.com>,
jUNDERSCOREhodson@ntlworld.com.invalid says...
> If I may add a number 3:
>
> 3. Unclip one foot well before you arrive at a junction - well before you think you need to.
Yes, this one has stood me in good stead, ie I've not fallen off at a junction yet. In particular
unclip when approaching a junction quickly where you might have to stop quickly. On a regular
journey of mine this is approaching a small roundabout down a steep hill. I unclip some way before
the bottom of the hill just in case the roundabout isn't clear.
Colin
Dave Kahn must be edykated coz e writed:
> On Tue, 01 Jul 2003 00:43:34 +0100, James Hodson <jUNDERSCOREhodson@ntlworld.com.invalid> wrote:
>
>> If I may add a number 3:
>>
>> 3. Unclip one foot well before you arrive at a junction - well before you think you need to.
>
> And then lean the other way. :-)
>
> --
> Dave...
Look, basically what happens is you think you are totally with it, then one day approaching a
junction you are distracted by some fine booty, you pull up trying to look cool and fall over still
clipped in looking like a total spaz, she laughs her tits off and you slope off looking sheepish. It
is a done deal.
Ian
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