F
F1
Guest
Hi, I promised to give my review of the shoes ( http://tinyurl.com/lop2 ) I bought at nashbar.com,
so here it is. First, I received them and had to return them since they were a touch too small. I
sent them back and finally got the new size after what seemed like a long wait. I usually wear a 10
1/2 or 11, (44.5 and 45 respectively) so I ordered the wide 45 according, but it was a bit too small
and I had to get the 46 which translates to a 11
2/2 size which I never wear, so BE FOREWARNED. Anyway, I also ordered the basic nashbar pedals (
http://tinyurl.com/lop3 ) since my bike is nothing special (I plan on buying a new Cannondale next
spring...) and it was a fine fit. It went on quickly and easily and worked just as advertised. A
for me, the very first issue was getting off of the bike to adjust the shoes. I popped out fine,
but when I laid my shoe down as I came to a stop, it was like being on the ice with a skate...it
was not good. The hard plastic is VERY SLIPPERY on the pavement! I will probably buy a shoe with a
real walkable sole next time, as that really scared me. It was even more dangerous off the bike
than on. The next issue was the orientation of my shoes. I have big feet, so I tend to keep the
heels pointed slightly outward due to the size. This required a couple adjustments to the mounts
on the shoes. After that, the main problem I had was that I didn't realize how I used my old toe
clips as "cinches" in that I tended to twist my feet even more outward and use the torsion as a
gripping mechanism, since I didn't like to tighten them. This was especially true for my right
foot...who knows why. The idea of a "floating" shoe seemed to appeal to me (7 degrees of float,
IIRC) until I was riding along. It wasn't long before I popped out of my right pedal, so I
tightened it up. The same scenario happened again a few miles down the road, so I tightened it up
again. The left one was OK. I guess I have a stronger right leg, or I pedal with a skewed plane
with my right leg. The rest of my normal 34 mile ride was OK until I happened upon a construction
zone. I ran out of space on the road due to equipment in the way and the only place to go was a
freshly laid area of loam. Since the fresh soil was just recently spread, I sunk into it very
fast, and I nearly ate dirt trying to get out of my tightened cleats (oops, I nearly forgot!).
Anyway, I was beginning to think this riding thing is kind of scary! I'm sure I'll adapt, but it
is just one more thing to worry about. The pluses included the ability to use the upstroke to
increase speed. I don't know if I'll every use it, but tactically it is useful. The other thing is
the feet feel more planted and more 'one' with the bike. Hopefully I will feel as such with the
clipless pedal soon...
so here it is. First, I received them and had to return them since they were a touch too small. I
sent them back and finally got the new size after what seemed like a long wait. I usually wear a 10
1/2 or 11, (44.5 and 45 respectively) so I ordered the wide 45 according, but it was a bit too small
and I had to get the 46 which translates to a 11
2/2 size which I never wear, so BE FOREWARNED. Anyway, I also ordered the basic nashbar pedals (
http://tinyurl.com/lop3 ) since my bike is nothing special (I plan on buying a new Cannondale next
spring...) and it was a fine fit. It went on quickly and easily and worked just as advertised. A
for me, the very first issue was getting off of the bike to adjust the shoes. I popped out fine,
but when I laid my shoe down as I came to a stop, it was like being on the ice with a skate...it
was not good. The hard plastic is VERY SLIPPERY on the pavement! I will probably buy a shoe with a
real walkable sole next time, as that really scared me. It was even more dangerous off the bike
than on. The next issue was the orientation of my shoes. I have big feet, so I tend to keep the
heels pointed slightly outward due to the size. This required a couple adjustments to the mounts
on the shoes. After that, the main problem I had was that I didn't realize how I used my old toe
clips as "cinches" in that I tended to twist my feet even more outward and use the torsion as a
gripping mechanism, since I didn't like to tighten them. This was especially true for my right
foot...who knows why. The idea of a "floating" shoe seemed to appeal to me (7 degrees of float,
IIRC) until I was riding along. It wasn't long before I popped out of my right pedal, so I
tightened it up. The same scenario happened again a few miles down the road, so I tightened it up
again. The left one was OK. I guess I have a stronger right leg, or I pedal with a skewed plane
with my right leg. The rest of my normal 34 mile ride was OK until I happened upon a construction
zone. I ran out of space on the road due to equipment in the way and the only place to go was a
freshly laid area of loam. Since the fresh soil was just recently spread, I sunk into it very
fast, and I nearly ate dirt trying to get out of my tightened cleats (oops, I nearly forgot!).
Anyway, I was beginning to think this riding thing is kind of scary! I'm sure I'll adapt, but it
is just one more thing to worry about. The pluses included the ability to use the upstroke to
increase speed. I don't know if I'll every use it, but tactically it is useful. The other thing is
the feet feel more planted and more 'one' with the bike. Hopefully I will feel as such with the
clipless pedal soon...
