Clipless pedal release difficulties



T

Tk Sung

Guest
All,

A quick question on working clipless pedals. I finally got
shoes/cleat for my SPD pedals and tried around parking lot a
couple of times. I set the tension to the lowest, but I'm
still having a hard time releasing it. Only reliable way to
get off it is to lift my heel and then twist out. If I have
my foot flat or pressed down, it takes a struggle to get it
off. I'm thinking the problem could be either that the
binding has too much float, or my ankle does not have enough
lateral flexiblity to overcome the float when the foot is
flat. Does anybody have suggestion that I could try to
remedy the problem?

Thanks in advance. tk
 
"TK Sung" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> A quick question on working clipless pedals. I finally got
> shoes/cleat for my SPD pedals and tried around parking lot
> a couple of times. I set the tension to the lowest, but
> I'm still having a hard time releasing it.

Are you using the cleats that came with the pedals? Did you
install them with the correct orientation? Are the pedals
Shimano or a clone?
 
Not sure if I am reading this wrong, but it sounds to me,
everything is working as it should. The only way to get out
of clips is to twist you heal out to release.

Maybe I am reading this wrong. Curt

"TK Sung" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> All,
>
> A quick question on working clipless pedals. I finally got
> shoes/cleat
for
> my SPD pedals and tried around parking lot a couple of
> times. I set the tension to the lowest, but I'm still
> having a hard time releasing it.
Only
> reliable way to get off it is to lift my heel and then
> twist out. If I
have
> my foot flat or pressed down, it takes a struggle to get
> it off. I'm thinking the problem could be either that the
> binding has too much float,
or
> my ankle does not have enough lateral flexiblity to
> overcome the float
when
> the foot is flat. Does anybody have suggestion that I
> could try to remedy the problem?
>
> Thanks in advance. tk
 
I agree with the previous posts, and would add that the more
tense and nervous you become, the harder it is to release. I
know it's easier said than done, but try not to think about
what you're doing as you try to release!

As someone else said, check that you have the right cleats
for your pedals. Also, it's not unknown for shoe soles to
foul the pedal body. Usually you'd notice this on engaging
the cleat with the pedal - it will be hard to lock
in. You can check whether this is a problem by locking
the shoe to the pedal without having your foot in
the shoe (if you see what I mean!). It may be
possible to trim the sole with a sharp knife if this
proves to be an issue.

---
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After using spd cleats for 4 years, I still cannot move my
left heel outward to release my left shoe. I always move my
heel inward on the left side to release. Have you tried
doing that?

Bill
 
"Ken" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "TK Sung" <[email protected]> wrote in
>
> Are you using the cleats that came with the pedals? Did
> you install them with the correct orientation? Are the
> pedals Shimano or a clone?
>
No, no cleat came with the pedals. I bought them with the
shoes. I installed it so that my toe will point as far
inward as possible so that I could twist out the
farthest. The pedals are Shimano 5xx, I think, that came
with Giant OCR 2.
 
"curt" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:p[email protected]...
> Not sure if I am reading this wrong, but it sounds to me,
> everything is working as it should. The only way to get
> out of clips is to twist you
heal
> out to release.
>
But would that cause problem when climbing or in emergency
situation? I'd think I'll be pressing my foot down in
either situation, and the bindings won't release easy if I
do that. I have to reduce the pressure by lifting the heel
to release.
 
TK Sung wrote:
> "curt" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:p[email protected]...
>> Not sure if I am reading this wrong, but it sounds to me,
>> everything is working as it should. The only way to get
>> out of clips is to twist you heal out to release.
>>
> But would that cause problem when climbing or in emergency
> situation? I'd think I'll be pressing my foot down in
> either situation, and the bindings won't release easy if I
> do that. I have to reduce the pressure by lifting the heel
> to release.

Are you wearing road shoes or mtb? Sounds like the shoes'
soles are "rubbing" against the pedal body and making
unclipping difficult; hence lifting the heel makes it a
bit easier.

You might try shaving some rubber off around the cleats if
that's the case.

Also, try lubing the cleats before each ride for a
while...and PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE! They might just need
to "wear in" somewhat to become easier to release.

Finally, if all else fails, read the directions that came
with the pedals. You might have the cleats installed funkily
(today's fun {non?} word), or even wrong.

Bill "find a grassy field and fall over a few times" S.
 
"TK Sung" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> All,
>
> A quick question on working clipless pedals. I finally got
> shoes/cleat for my SPD pedals and tried around parking lot
> a couple of times. I set the tension to the lowest, but
> I'm still having a hard time releasing it. Only reliable
> way to get off it is to lift my heel and then twist out.
> If I have my foot flat or pressed down, it takes a
> struggle to get it off. I'm thinking the problem could be
> either that the binding has too much float, or my ankle
> does not have enough lateral flexiblity to overcome the
> float when the foot is flat. Does anybody have suggestion
> that I could try to remedy the problem?
>

Shimano makes 2 styles of SPD cleats, "single-release" and
"multi-release". If you have the former, you might prefer
the latter. Multi-release cleats disengage with either a
twist or a roll. I find them much easier to use since the
rolling motion is more natural for me.

New pedals are sometimes difficult to en/disengage, I've
good luck lubricating cleats. If your foot is loose in the
shoe, disengaging can also be tough sometimes.
 
On Sat, 15 May 2004 15:24:00 GMT, " S o r n i"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>Are you wearing road shoes or mtb? Sounds like the shoes'
>soles are "rubbing" against the pedal body and making
>unclipping difficult; hence lifting the heel makes it a
>bit easier.
>
>You might try shaving some rubber off around the cleats if
>that's the case.
>

I'll second this as a possible place to look. Made a huge
difference on my first pair of clipless.
 
" S o r n i" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Are you wearing road shoes or mtb?
>
It's a mtb shoes. They told me it's just fine for road bike,
so I took it since it was the most comfortable..

>
> You might try shaving some rubber off around the cleats if
> that's the
case.
>
Thanks, I'll try that. I examined the shoes, and I indeed
see scratch marks on the inner tread near the cleat. It
appears that the cleat also got rotated slightly, probably
beacause I used so much force when I was struggling, mking
it even more difficult to twist out. I'll fix those two and
report back on Monday after 25 mi ride!
 
"TK Sung" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:bHtpc.67496$U%[email protected]...
>
> It appears that the cleat also got rotated slightly,
> probably beacause I used so much force when I was
> struggling, mking it even more difficult to twist out
>
Um, never mind that. I got disoriented and confused lateral
and medial motion, probably because I was playing with the
shoes without my foot in it. The cleat is just fine.
 
" S o r n i" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Bill "find a grassy field and fall over a few times" S.
>
Oh, and any suggestions how to do this with a road bike? I
thought about it before, but road bikes don't go well on a
grass. I suppose I still could do it since the objective
is to fall..
 
"TK Sung" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> "Ken" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > "TK Sung" <[email protected]> wrote in
> >
> > Are you using the cleats that came with the pedals? Did
> > you install them with the correct orientation? Are the
> > pedals Shimano or a clone?
> >
> No, no cleat came with the pedals. I bought them with the
> shoes. I installed it so that my toe will point as far
> inward as possible so that I could twist out the
> farthest. The pedals are Shimano 5xx, I think, that came
> with Giant OCR 2.

Isn't this your problem? If I understand what you're saying,
your logic is backwards. By setting the cleats up so that
your toes point inwards, you've already used up most of the
available motion in your ankle to kick your heel further
out. To release, you'd practically have to turn your foot
sideways (toes pointing inwards across the frame). Or if you
prefer: no you don't have enough ankle flexibility. Apart
from professional ballerinas, no one else does either.

Try them "straight" and see if they work better. Then adjust
in small increments to find the position that your knees and
ankles are looking for. BTW, they may not be symmetrical.

Peter Storey
 
"Peter Storey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Isn't this your problem? If I understand what you're
> saying, your logic is backwards. By setting the cleats up
> so that your toes point inwards, you've already used up
> most of the available motion in your ankle to kick your
> heel further out.
>
Sorry, I got it backwards. I meant toes pointing outwards,
not inwards. There are enough float that this doesn't seem
to be a problem.
 
"Peter Storey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Isn't this your problem? If I understand what you're
> saying, your logic is backwards. By setting the cleats up
> so that your toes point inwards, you've already used up
> most of the available motion in your ankle to kick your
> heel further out.
>
Sorry, I got it backwards. I meant toes pointing outwards,
not inwards. There are enough float that this doesn't seem
to be a problem.
 
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