pedals with clips

[Bob O'Keefe]

This Spring I purchased Shimano Ultegra SPD-SL pedals and new shoes. The cleats are almost worn out
and the shoes are coming apart. Also I couldn't release and fell on a tour. I am fed up with
clipless pedals and am going to try toe clips and a good pedal from Rivendell. Do you all think that
this will make that much performance difference?

Thanks in advance Bob

 

[Mark Wolfe]

I got tired of going through look cleats, so I went to spd's and a recessed shoe (shimano T-092),
and just recently switched to bebops. Easy to clip in, and I no longer have cleat wear problems. I
don't know about your shoes falling apart, what brand were they?

Bob O'Keefe wrote:

> This Spring I purchased Shimano Ultegra SPD-SL pedals and new shoes. The cleats are almost worn
> out and the shoes are coming apart. Also I couldn't release and fell on a tour. I am fed up with
> clipless pedals and am going
to
> try toe clips and a good pedal from Rivendell. Do you all think that this will make that much
> performance difference?
>
> Thanks in advance Bob

--
Mark Wolfe http://www.wolfenet.org gpg fingerprint = 42B6 EFEB 5414 AA18 01B7 64AC EF46
F7E6 82F6 8C71
> This job is heavily NDA'ed,
You will be at the bo'nenkai, won't you? Full house (beers over nihonshu) beats a pair of NDAs with
an ace kicker any time. I'll even buy.... ;-)
- Stephen Turnbull

 

[Mike S.]

"Bob O'Keefe" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> This Spring I purchased Shimano Ultegra SPD-SL pedals and new shoes. The cleats are almost worn
> out and the shoes are coming apart. Also I couldn't release and fell on a tour. I am fed up with
> clipless pedals and am going
to
> try toe clips and a good pedal from Rivendell. Do you all think that this will make that much
> performance difference?
>
> Thanks in advance Bob
>
I don't quite know what you're doing or not doing, but my Nike Poggios and 3 pair of SPDRs are going
strong 18months on. Its just now time to change cleats.

You're better off finding a pair of pedals that you are more comfortable using.

Talk about not being able to get out of a pedal! I remember not getting straps undone in time at a
light and toppling over sideways. Oops!

Mike

 

[Dan O'Brasky]

To answer from a performance stand point, big loss of power.

If you bought a cheap pair of shoes all I can say is buy quality--it comes with a pricetag, but is
well worth it. Well I don't know how many miles you have ridden or how many times you have gone in
and out of your pedals, so you statement means nothing. By the way, just how are the shoes falling
apart? And cleats are an inexpensive consumable. Would you complain if your inkjet printer needed
new ink 4x a year? How many times does one get one's shoes shined over say the 10 years one owns a
pair if they are taken care of? More than the cost of the shoes themselves I am sure. Hell I pay
$250 3-4 times a year to have my car thoroughly detailed inside and out--for the extra care I will
get 400-500,000 miles out of a car that would cost over $100,000 today. Point is, if you are getting
caught in your cleats then you tried to disengage improperly, probably you tried to lift your heel
rather than clicking out horizontally and level. But if your shoes are wearing from defect, bring
them back to where you bought them. Next pair you buy, try a company that just makes shoes, not one
that manufactures metal mostly. My 2 cents--don't blame, solve your style problem and stay calm when
you need to disengage, even in a difficult situation--we've all been there and yes sometimes we pop
out of our pedals (I did once cornering at over 30mph and trashed my shoes but stayed upright
somehow and managed to come to a stop) or panic and get caught in them, and yes over you will go.
Your luck probably had it that there was a hot chick you were trying to make time with and you felt
humiliated rather than having a laugh about it at your own expense. Good luck whatever you do. Dan

"Bob O'Keefe" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> This Spring I purchased Shimano Ultegra SPD-SL pedals and new shoes. The cleats are almost worn
> out and the shoes are coming apart. Also I couldn't release and fell on a tour. I am fed up with
> clipless pedals and am going
to
> try toe clips and a good pedal from Rivendell. Do you all think that this will make that much
> performance difference?
>
> Thanks in advance Bob

 

[Dan Brussee]

On Thu, 21 Aug 2003 04:18:33 GMT, "Dan O'Brasky" <[email protected]> wrote:

>To answer from a performance stand point, big loss of power.
>
>If you bought a cheap pair of shoes all I can say is buy quality--it comes with a pricetag, but is
>well worth it. Well I don't know how many miles you have ridden or how many times you have gone in
>and out of your pedals, so you statement means nothing. By the way, just how are the shoes falling
>apart? And cleats are an inexpensive consumable. Would you complain if your inkjet printer needed
>new ink 4x a year? How many times does one get one's shoes shined over say the 10 years one owns a
>pair if they are taken care of? More than the cost of the shoes themselves I am sure. Hell I pay
>$250 3-4 times a year to have my car thoroughly detailed inside and out--for the extra care I will
>get 400-500,000 miles out of a car that would cost over $100,000 today. Point is, if you are
>getting caught in your cleats then you tried to disengage improperly, probably you tried to lift
>your heel rather than clicking out horizontally and level. But if your shoes are wearing from
>defect, bring them back to where you bought them. Next pair you buy, try a company that just makes
>shoes, not one that manufactures metal mostly. My 2 cents--don't blame, solve your style problem
>and stay calm when you need to disengage, even in a difficult situation--we've all been there and
>yes sometimes we pop out of our pedals (I did once cornering at over 30mph and trashed my shoes but
>stayed upright somehow and managed to come to a stop) or panic and get caught in them, and yes over
>you will go. Your luck probably had it that there was a hot chick you were trying to make time with
>and you felt humiliated rather than having a laugh about it at your own expense. Good luck whatever
>you do. Dan
>

Sorry.. still trying to justify paying $1000 a year to detail the car. Do you really get it that
dirty? I've heard that a clean car will get better gas milage - just like a clean bike goes faster -
but a clean car gets another half million miles? This is assuming that your "detailing inside and
out" is the same as what I know of - a detailed wash, wax, polish and a detailed cleaning of the
interior - maybe even the engine compartment. This does not include any tuneup or maintenance.

I know... way off topic, but statements like this tend to make me loose site of your point.

This being said, I think what you were trying to say is correct. Pay for quality, and use it like it
should be used.

Dan Too

 

[Weezerbot]

Personally I am not a huge Shimano fan...unfortunatley they are everywhere...some places you can avoid them, some you can't. I agree with Dan by saying shoes is one of those places you can avoid them. As for the pedals, I tend to be a nervous nelly whenever I clip in, so I just adjust them to the point where I can easily get out of them even if I am panicking, and not easily pop out of them while riding. Then I practice, practice, practice, cliping in and out. I would give them one more try before you go with the others.

Coaster

 

[Lewis Campbell]

You must be doing something wrong, Bob.

I have been using the same shoes, cleats and SPD pedals (Shimano 747) for about 8 years now and they
are still going strong.

I'm not Mr High Mileage but I have over 25,000 miles in that time.

Lewis.

**********************************

"Bob O'Keefe" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> This Spring I purchased Shimano Ultegra SPD-SL pedals and new shoes. The cleats are almost worn
> out and the shoes are coming apart. Also I couldn't release and fell on a tour. I am fed up with
> clipless pedals and am going to try toe clips and a good pedal from Rivendell. Do you all think
> that this will make that much performance difference?
>
> Thanks in advance Bob

 

[Ru]

I've got SPD 747s, Shimano shoes, ride nearly 3000 miles a year, commute to work and wear the shoes
all day, and haven't worn out anything but the shoestrings. With the multi-release cleats, two-sided
entry, walkable shoes, they simply can't be beat. Unless you're a racer, I can't figure out any
reason to use 'road' pedals: single-sided, difficult to clip in, difficult to release, not walkable.
Lose the SPD-SL road pedals, get mountain-bike SPD's, and all your problems (well, the ones you
mentioned) will be solved.

"Bob O'Keefe" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> This Spring I purchased Shimano Ultegra SPD-SL pedals and new shoes. The cleats are almost worn
> out and the shoes are coming apart. Also I couldn't release and fell on a tour. I am fed up with
> clipless pedals and am going
to
> try toe clips and a good pedal from Rivendell. Do you all think that this will make that much
> performance difference?
>
> Thanks in advance Bob

 

[Rick Onanian]

On Wed, 20 Aug 2003 18:43:22 -0500, Bob O'Keefe <[email protected]> wrote:
> This Spring I purchased Shimano Ultegra SPD-SL pedals and new shoes. The cleats are almost worn
> out and the shoes are coming apart. Also I release and fell on a tour. I am fed up with clipless
> pedals and am going try toe clips and a good pedal from Rivendell. Do you all think that this will
> make that much performance difference?

I'm sure I'll echo a lot of replies, but I'll say it anyway.

It's not necessary to give up on clipless.

I suspect that most road pedals are unpleasant business. I have gone to mountain pedals on my road
bike; Nashbar Special SPDs to be specific. They are extremely easy to get in and out of, but do
retain my foot well (they haven't released unexpectedly).

The cleats are inexpensive standard SPD cleats, but for that matter, the pedals are only $20 with a
pair of cleats. They seem to be made from a harder metal than the cleats that came with my Shimano
mountain pedals (on my mountain bike), and I suspect they'll wear longer.

If you're willing to spend more, you could certainly get nicer pedals than I got, but mine are
enjoyable. The point is, it's not necessary to go to clips and straps (I find them annoying,
though tolerable) to get ease of use and comfort...there are many very good mountain clipless
pedals out there.

That's a bummer about the shoes. What brand/model are they? I'd like to know so I can avoid
those shoes.

> Thanks in advance Bob
--
Rick Onanian

 

[Jeff Starr]

"Bob O'Keefe" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> This Spring I purchased Shimano Ultegra SPD-SL pedals and new shoes. The cleats are almost worn
> out and the shoes are coming apart.
Hi, could you give us some numbers, such as miles ridden. What brand are the shoes? I have the same
pedals and have found that if I have my shoes too loose, then I have some difficulty releasing. I
would buy a new set of cleats and some decent shoes. Nashbar has the Pearl Izumi Vortex $49.99 [list
$109.99], in sizes 43[10US]- 47. I can't speak to longevity, but as far as comfort goes, they are a
good shoe. If you are absolutely going to replace the SPD-SL, consider an SPD like the 324, they are
very easy to exit, when adjusted that way and you can wear a shoe that recesses the metal cleat. I
never used full toe clips, just the type without straps and found the clipless to be much better in
all ways, including performance and safety. Life is Good! Jeff

Also I couldn't
> release and fell on a tour. I am fed up with clipless pedals and am going to try toe clips and a
> good pedal from Rivendell. Do you all think that this will make that much performance difference?
>
> Thanks in advance Bob

 

[Rick Onanian]

On Thu, 21 Aug 2003 05:00:15 GMT, Dan Brussee <[email protected]> wrote:
> Sorry.. still trying to justify paying $1000 a year to detail the car.

Yikes! That sounds expensive. I can't even find the time to empty mine to get it detailed, let alone
the money to get a cheap detail job done (maybe $60-80).

> Do you really get it that dirty? I've heard that a clean car will get better gas milage - just
> like a clean bike goes faster - but a clean car gets another half million miles? This is assuming
> that your

With proper mechanical attention, loads and loads of miles can be had from a car.

However, when the dashboard is cracked, the window sill has solid black gunk on it, and the
carpet is worn through, you're not going to want to bring it to the mechanic every time you hear
a new sound.

Of course, finding the right mechanic must be hard. Most mechanics I've ever met tend to have the
same attitude as most drivers -- Fix something when it REALLY breaks, maintain the car somewhat
properly, and replace it after [insert any number from 2 to 10 here] years or [insert any number
from 60,000 to 300,000 here] miles.

I tend to err on the side of trying to maintain it a little better -- I've found that I'm quite
disappointed when I have to spend hundreds of dollars on repairing a car that I no longer like
because it rattles, or it's icky inside, or it's dented outside, or whatever...

> I know... way off topic, but statements like this tend to make me loose site of your point.

Well, just as a pretty bike gets ridden more, a pretty car has a happier owner.

> This being said, I think what you were trying to say is correct. Pay for quality, and use it like
> it should be used.

He also seems to have said that he has a lot more money than I suspect everybody else here has...
certainly a lot more than me. However, it's still not necessary to tolerate bad pedals; there's so
many good ones available inexpensively. Same goes for shoes.

> Dan Too
--
Rick Onanian

 

[John Albergo]

Bob O'Keefe wrote:

>This Spring I purchased Shimano Ultegra SPD-SL pedals and new shoes. The cleats are almost worn out
>and the shoes are coming apart. Also I couldn't release and fell on a tour. I am fed up with
>clipless pedals and am going to try toe clips and a good pedal from Rivendell. Do you all think
>that this will make that much performance difference?
>
>Thanks in advance Bob
>
>
>
>
A drop or two of oil on the cleats can do wonders. You want to get it on the part that actuates the
pedal release mechanism when you twist your foot sideways. Just a bit of oil can make the difference
between barely being able to disengage and doing so reliably. It lasts quite a while and you'll know
when it's time to do it again before it gets too hard.

There's nothing inherent in clipless design that makes the shoes prone to "coming apart".

To get equivalent benefit from toe clips they need to be cinched tightly, such that they must be
manually released prior to stopping. Twisting your foot sideways on a clipless pedal is easier.

My advice - try the oil, get a different shoe - preferably one that has the cleat recessed enough so
it doesn't grind the pavement when you walk, new cleats if you need 'em, adjust the release tension
on the pedals (once you've done the oil bit).