Daft question

Chris Nowak said:

I know this sounds daft but I got a new bike today. It has pedal 'cages' for
your feet. Not sure of the technical term.
That's not the question though, its how do you get your feet into them
without falling off. I will be riding in London traffic and its not safe to
look down to engaged them.

Sounds like toeclips&straps.

The technique for getting your foor in does indeed take a little
skill. The usual method is to get the toeclip to engage with your
foot, rather than getting your foot to engage with the toeclip.

In the natural position, the weight of the "cage" (cage normally
refers to a type of pedal) will make it hang upside down beneath the
pedal. The technique for getting your foot in is to place your toe
against the upper rear part of the pedal, and "flick" the pedal round
half a turn so that the toeclip engages onto your foot.

With practice, it can be done without looking. If it doesn't enage
first time, don't panic. Simply place your foot on what is effectively
the underside of the pedal and have another attempt when you have
assessed your safety. (*some* pedals which are designed for use with
toeclips are not flat on the underside, so do take care)

It is normal to keep one foot (commonly your right foot) always
clipped in.

If you feel safer, you could try removing the straps, giving you a
slightly easier engagement. Replace the straps as you become more
confident.

Remember also that if you panic-stop, you need to pull your feet
backwards to release them!

HTH

"Chris Nowak" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I know this sounds daft but I got a new bike today. It has pedal 'cages'

for

Quoted message said:

your feet. Not sure of the technical term.
That's not the question though, its how do you get your feet into them
without falling off. I will be riding in London traffic and its not safe

to

Quoted message said:

look down to engaged them.
Any answers should be address to "Mr Wobbly"
Ta
Chris

If you are not used to riding in them; London 2005 is not a good place to
learn; take the cages off and buy some SPD's, seriously.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I know this sounds daft but I got a new bike today. It has pedal 'cages' for
your feet. Not sure of the technical term.
That's not the question though, its how do you get your feet into them
without falling off. I will be riding in London traffic and its not safe to
look down to engaged them.
Any answers should be address to "Mr Wobbly"

Get one foot in before you move off. Tap the back-side of the other
pedal and slide your foot forward as the cage rolls upwards. Easy.

If you don't engage in them the worst that can happen is that you'll
grind them on the floor.

--
Hywel http://kibo.org.uk/
I do not eat quiche.

Chris Nowak said:

That's not the question though, its how do you get your feet into them
without falling off. I will be riding in London traffic and its not safe to
look down to engaged them.

Start off with one foot in, and don't worry about the other to start
with. The clip and strap will naturally rotate the pedal so it's facing
down, so just use the back. This is enough to get going, and it means
no worries about getting out next time you stop. Flip it with your toe
as others have said once you're rolling happily.

But clipless pedals like SPDs are, IME, easier to use and more
effective, the only gotcha being you need specific cycling shoes, but
for any sort of distance cycling shoes are a /lot/ better than anything
else: more comfort and more power, so I'd get a pair even if you keep
with clips and straps. Most these days allow a SPuD cleat to be fitted
(but don't require it) so you can move to SPuDs later and still benefit
from the shoes.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"Peter Clinch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

But clipless pedals like SPDs are, IME, easier to use and more effective,
the only gotcha being you need specific cycling shoes, but for any sort of
distance cycling shoes are a /lot/ better than anything else: more comfort
and more power, so I'd get a pair even if you keep with clips and straps.
Most these days allow a SPuD cleat to be fitted (but don't require it) so
you can move to SPuDs later and still benefit from the shoes.

Pete.

Another vote for clipless here (But I use Look ones). Being an unintentional
convert to clipless, I've never regretted the change from platform pedals to
clipless - even though I've had the standard incident of forgetting to
unclip before stopping... the one positive attribute of a large ar*e - more
padding, less pain ;-) The move to clipless has saved my knees from pain and
the greater efficiency in pedalling is noticeable.

Cheers, helen s

MartinM said:

I also use Look for road riding but for riding in London with its inherent
de-clipping would probably go for SPD.

I actually use Time ATACs rather than yer ackshewal Shimano SPuDs,
finding they engage more easily and more positively and suffer less with
wearing cleats, plus there's no pratting about with tension adjusters
and they don't need so much (i.e., basically any) cleaning. They do
cost a little more, but hey!, I'm worth it! ;-)

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"Helen C Simmons" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Peter Clinch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

But clipless pedals like SPDs are, IME, easier to use and more

effective,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

the only gotcha being you need specific cycling shoes, but for any sort

of

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

distance cycling shoes are a /lot/ better than anything else: more

comfort

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and more power, so I'd get a pair even if you keep with clips and

straps.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Most these days allow a SPuD cleat to be fitted (but don't require it)

so

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

you can move to SPuDs later and still benefit from the shoes.

Pete.

Another vote for clipless here (But I use Look ones).

I also use Look for road riding but for riding in London with its inherent
de-clipping would probably go for SPD.

"MartinM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I also use Look for road riding but for riding in London with its inherent
de-clipping would probably go for SPD.

I don't have a problem clipping in and out frequently of Look and I'm
lucky - my shoes have the cleats recessed into the sole, so I can walk
normally :-)

Cheers, helen s

Peter Clinch said:

I actually use Time ATACs rather than yer ackshewal Shimano SPuDs...

I'm interested in perhaps fitting ATACs to my road bike. I appreciate
they require different cleats to my current SPD type, but do they
require different shoes or can I fit the Time cleats to my current shoes
(Specialized Taho)?
--
Brian G

Brian G said:

I'm interested in perhaps fitting ATACs to my road bike. I appreciate
they require different cleats to my current SPD type, but do they
require different shoes or can I fit the Time cleats to my current shoes
(Specialized Taho)?

The cleats will fit the same things as standard SPuD cleats: I use them
in Specialized Rockhoppers, Roos uses them in Shimano M[think of a
number] touring shoes and we both have them in Shimano SD-60 sandals.

Cleats come with the pedals, and are available from bike shops as
separate replacements.

They are similarly profiled to SPuD cleats so you can still walk
normally if your shoes have a cleat recess (and these don't affect the
use of the pedal).

I have the original ATACs on the 'bent, MTB and freighter, Roos' are
actually "ATAC Aliums" but they use the same cleat and seem functionally
about the same.

You'll probably do a bit better with Looks for max performance on a road
bike, but then you will need new shoes and unless you can find rare
examples of Look shoes with recesses then forget about walking anywhere.
They're for the bike, of course, but I like being able to go to places
and get off my bike as an option. Mileage varies...

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

in message <[email hidden]>, Chris Nowak

(') said:

I know this sounds daft but I got a new bike today. It has pedal
'cages' for your feet. Not sure of the technical term.

They're called toeclips, or more tersely just clips.

Quoted message said:

That's not the question though, its how do you get your feet into them
without falling off.

You don't _need_ to get your feet in them; you can ride perfectly safely
with the pedal upside down. However the general technique, especially
when learning, is

1] Get one foot (e.g. right) in the toe clip, while keeping the other
(left) on the ground

2] Push off with the left foot and start to ride with the right foot in
the clip and the left foot on the upside down pedal, until you get up
to a comfortable speed and can safely coast.

3] While coasting, flip the left pedal over with your foot and slide
your toe into the clip. As you get more experienced you will find you
can do this without coasting.

You've now got substantial extra power for the same amount of effort.
However, for even more,

4] Lean down and pull the toe straps *really* tight.

This has the great benefit that you can't get your feet out quickly and
so it's much easier to fall off.

In my opinion toeclips are now obsolete, and you should replace them as
soon as possible with a pair of 'clipless' pedals, so called because
they really do have clips to hold your feet, unlike the ones with what
you graphically call cages. If this is the bike for the Finland ride
you will want shoes (you will need shoes compatible with your pedals
and vice versa) with recessed cleats, which means your choices are
Crank Brothers' Eggbeaters, Shimano SPDs (or various clones), Speedplay
Frogs, and Time ATACs. I think the opinion of the group - certainly my
opinion - is that the ATACs are about the best of these.

<URL:http://www.wiggle.co.uk/?ProductID=5360012887>

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; Diplomacy, American: see Intelligence, Military

in message <[email hidden]>, Brian G

(') said:

Peter Clinch said:

I actually use Time ATACs rather than yer ackshewal Shimano SPuDs...

I'm interested in perhaps fitting ATACs to my road bike. I appreciate
they require different cleats to my current SPD type, but do they
require different shoes or can I fit the Time cleats to my current
shoes (Specialized Taho)?

ATAC cleats have the same bolt pattern as the classic and MTB type SPDs
(but not SPD-R) and so work with the same shoes.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; It appears that /dev/null is a conforming XSL processor.

Peter Clinch said:

Brian G said:

I'm interested in perhaps fitting ATACs to my road bike. I appreciate
they require different cleats to my current SPD type, but do they
require different shoes or can I fit the Time cleats to my current
shoes (Specialized Taho)?

The cleats will fit the same things as standard SPuD cleats: I use them
in Specialized Rockhoppers, Roos uses them in Shimano M[think of a
number] touring shoes and we both have them in Shimano SD-60 sandals.

<snipped>

Quoted message said:

You'll probably do a bit better with Looks for max performance on a road
bike, but then you will need new shoes and unless you can find rare
examples of Look shoes with recesses then forget about walking anywhere.
They're for the bike, of course, but I like being able to go to places
and get off my bike as an option. Mileage varies...

Thanks for that info. FWIW, I call that one my road bike because
basically that's what it is and to distinguish it from my tourer and
MTB, but I don't race it or use it for performance stuff. Like you, I
like to spend time on foot if it suits me during a ride, so I invariably
use so-called off-road shoes with cleat recesses.

--
Brian G

In article said:

Chris Nowak said:

That's not the question though, its how do you get your feet into them
without falling off. I will be riding in London traffic and its not safe to
look down to engaged them.

Start off with one foot in, and don't worry about the other to start
with. The clip and strap will naturally rotate the pedal so it's facing
down, so just use the back. This is enough to get going, and it means
no worries about getting out next time you stop. Flip it with your toe
as others have said once you're rolling happily.

But clipless pedals like SPDs are, IME, easier to use and more
effective, the only gotcha being you need specific cycling shoes

Unless you use the sort of SPD pedals with clips on only one side.
You do then have to learn to flip it to the side you want, but that's
no harder than with traditional clips. When using non-cycling shoes
you aren't held as securely as with traditional clips, but if you
are worrying about that you probably want cycling shoes anyway,
for the reasons Peter gave.
Even pedals designed only for "clipless" use aren't always too bad
for casual use with non-cycling shoes.

(You can't sensibly put traditional clips on the non-"clipless"-clip
side because they would constantly bang against the ground when you
were using the SPD side. Not the end of the world, but more annoying
than traditional pedals doing it just a few times until you flip them
over while getting the hang of it. Actually on some setups it might be
possible to tighten the straps enough to flatten the traditional clips
enough when you aren't using them to avoid that. It wouldn't be a
problem on most recumbents.)

Alan Braggins said:

Quoted message said:

But clipless pedals like SPDs are, IME, easier to use and more
effective, the only gotcha being you need specific cycling shoes

Quoted message said:

Unless you use the sort of SPD pedals with clips on only one side.

I was more thinking of it from the other way: the "gotcha" is that a
pair of SPuD-u-likes without investing in associated shoes is completely
pointless.

Quoted message said:

You do then have to learn to flip it to the side you want

I'm wondering if something like the Time Z Freerides may get out of
this. They're an ATAC within a wide platform, designed for Loons on
descent courses for that extra whiff of stability. Haven't held one in
my paws, or clipped in so not 100% sure, but they look as if you might
be able to use them as a pretty normal platform pedal with normal shoes,
/and/ you've got clip in either side.
Anyone used these?

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

"Helen C Simmons" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"MartinM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I also use Look for road riding but for riding in London with its

inherent

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

de-clipping would probably go for SPD.

I don't have a problem clipping in and out frequently of Look and I'm
lucky - my shoes have the cleats recessed into the sole, so I can walk
normally :-)

Me neither, its just the constant wear by stepping on the cleats; I don't
have shoes with recesses; did not even know they existed, I just use the
cleat covers (not a good idea to try to put them on whilst on the bike ;-)

MartinM said:

Me neither, its just the constant wear by stepping on the cleats; I
don't have shoes with recesses; did not even know they existed, I
just use the cleat covers (not a good idea to try to put them on
whilst on the bike ;-)

I haven't seen a new pair of recessed-cleat Look shoes for ages, but an
acquaintance somehow managed to cobble a set onto a pair of Specialized MTB
shoes.

My main promble with Looks is remembering to take the cleat covers OFF
before locking the tailbox...

--

Dave Larrington - http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/
World Domination?
Just find a world that's into that kind of thing, then chain to the
floor and walk up and down on it in high heels. (Mr. Sunshine)

MSA said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
says...

Quoted message said:

My main promble with Looks is remembering to take the cleat covers OFF
before locking the tailbox...

That's my usual trick when I come out of the coffee stop!

Just wondering, is a promble an ineffectual attempt to clip into
clipless pedals when you havent realised there is something preventing
you from doing so?

...d

David Martin said:

Just wondering, is a promble an ineffectual attempt to clip into
clipless pedals when you havent realised there is something preventing
you from doing so?

Or the inelegant slide across a station concourse when running for a
train with look cleated shoes..

...d