Clipless Pedals - Anything I should know..

.. I've just tried using clipless pedals (spd 515's ), easier to learn than I thought. They certainly feel better for riding hard. only used them for 2 rides so far, and generally they still can feel a bit strange too.

Prior to using them, I've had a case of some strange knee sensation for a couple of days after a hard ride (-> alarm bells -> took up policy of only a couple of harder rides a week & low gears+high rpm ).
... so I'd like to know if they're going to have more or less risk of joint-strain.

I'm cycling mainly on a commute-as-daily-excercise-and-recreation run ( 18 mile round trip, 3 weeks now, rest day midweek ), so I guess long term sustainability is more of a priority than outright efficiency .. at the same time improving my times is fun.

 

1. Don't forget to unclip *before* you stop

2. Make sure they are properly positioned on feet/pedals

3. Practice clipping in and out on a *quiet* bit of road with *soft* verges for you to fall in when
you forget to unclip

I now swear by my Look pedals & cleats. I can even clip in and out in traffic (cor! for me that's an
improvement) and I've only fallen over without unclipping first the one time. It demonstrated the
only practical use of all that fat padding round my large rear end ;-)

When using normal pedals I get a very painful left knee in the front and inside of the knee joint.
Using clipless this has completely vanished.

Cheers, helen s

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"ebola" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> . I've just tried using clipless pedals (spd 515's ), easier to learn than I thought. They
> certainly feel better for riding hard. only used them for 2 rides so far, and generally they
> still can feel a bit strange too.
>
> Prior to using them, I've had a case of some strange knee sensation for a couple of days after a
> hard ride (-> alarm bells -> took up policy of only a couple of harder rides a week & low
> gears+high rpm ). ... so I'd like to know if they're going to have more or less risk of
> joint-strain.
>
> I'm cycling mainly on a commute-as-daily-excercise-and-recreation run ( 18 mile round trip, 3
> weeks now, rest day midweek ), so I guess long term sustainability is more of a priority than
> outright efficiency .. at the same time improving my times is fun.

I love my SPDs, although I'm currently attempting to get over my one problem with them. Right now,
whenever I stop, I *always* unclip my right foot and leave the left one clipped in. Which means that
I still crap at clipping-in / unclipping on the left.

Now having to practise always doing it on the left. Hopefully, one fine fine day, a happy middle
position shall be found...

Thomas.

 

ebola wrote:

<snipped>
>
> Prior to using them, I've had a case of some strange knee sensation for a couple of days after a
> hard ride (-> alarm bells -> took up policy of only a couple of harder rides a week & low
> gears+high rpm ). ... so I'd like to know if they're going to have more or less risk of
> joint-strain.
>
<snipped>

This happened to me a year or two ago. There is a tendency think that your toes should point
straight ahead, this is not the case. If you do this your feet will be out of alignment with your
knees and be putting a strain on the knee joint when you cycle. In toe clips there is sufficient
'float' that you don't notice this, the float on SPDs etc is much less.

The procedure for 'toeing' the cleats as suggested to me by my physio is to sit on a high surface
that allows your legs to dangle freely over the edge. While doing this note the natural position
that your feet adopt in relation to your knees. This is the angle that you need to aim for when
setting the cleats. Since doing this I have not had any more knee problems.

HTH

 

ok thanks for the info

Until I check on the alignment perhaps I'll go back to regular pedals / save them for harder weekend rides where they appear to make more difference. ( will save me taking a change of shoes for the office floor.. )

At present the SPD's ( day 3 ) feel pretty good & natural to use, but on joint issues r.e. near daily use I think it will be better to be safe than sorry.

 

"ebola" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> ok thanks for the info
>
> Until I check on the alignment perhaps I'll go back to regular pedals / save them for harder
> weekend rides where they appear to make more difference. ( will save me taking a change of shoes
> for the office floor.. )
>
> At present the SPD's ( day 3 ) feel pretty good & natural to use, but on joint issues r.e. near
> daily use I think it will be better to be safe than sorry.
>
>
>
I came to the same conclusion a few weeks ago and reverted to clips before setting off on tour. I
was experiencing pain in one knee after fitting Time atacs. I have to say that the test run the day
before the tour started almost broke my heart. After a week or two clipless the toeclips suddenly
seemed totally inadequate. However, after a few miles I'd forgotten and don't regret the decision.
Although, now I have the time and avoiding injury is not quite so essential I'm going to try the
atacs again - but in a more considered fashion. tony R.