Help with clipless decision

On Jul 6, 11:57 pm, "[email hidden]" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I have been cycling with toe clips since before some of you were
born ;-). I am not what __you__ would consider to be a "serious"
cyclist. But I do enjoy it when I can.

Now I am considering going clipless. I have a lot of questions. I
hope I don't start any "wars". I am looking for practical answers
based on experience.

BTW, I am interested in recessed cleats -- the so-called MTB style --
even though I do very little biking on trails -- almost none. Also, I
have no concern about the weight of the cleat-pedal system. I am not
good enough for it to make a difference.

1. Shimano v. Speedplay. Speedplay makes a good case for "free
float". But is it really that critical? Generally, I am inclined to
go with the overwhelming market leader, when there is one, for a
variety of reasons. Can I really go wrong with Shimano?

2. Single-sided v. dual-sided pedals. On the one hand, the rationale
behind DS pedals makes good sense to me: easier to engage if you do
not have to worry about which side of the pedal you're on. On the
other hand, I am used to SS insofar as pedals with toe clips are
"single-sided"; I am used to it, and I never need to look down. On
the "third" hand, I am concerned about the time it takes to engage the
cleat already; DS might give me added confidence. On the "fourth"
hand, I cannot image riding a narrow trail or similar situations
without having the option of not "locking" in. It has happened to me
on rare occassion.

3. Single-directional v. multi-directional. Initially, I thought MD
might be helpful in getting started with clipless. But I do try to
lift in my stroke, especially on hills and starts. I am worried about
disengaging too easily. I know that the release can be tightened; but
I worry that that will make it hard while I'm learning. I know I will
go to SD eventually. Should I just start that way? That is my
inclination.

4. How to learn? Does everyone fall in the beginning? Originally, I
thought I would cycle to the shop to get the clipless pedals
installed, do some practice {en/dis}gaging for a little at the shop,
then "practice" on my ride home. Now I wonder if that's a bad idea.
I will be riding in traffic, with some stops on uphills. FYI, I am a
slow learner, to some extent. I fumble a lot in the beginning; then I
seem to have an epiphany and "voila!", you'd think I'm an expert.

TIA for your thoughts.

I went thru a similar transition this spring. Here's what I did - I
got bike shoes (new) on eBay for like $25, and I got some used look
pedals for about $15 bucks, sprung for new cleats at the local bike
shop, $16. You might want to go cheap to see how it goes, then upgrade
next year?
Then I practiced riding on my indoor trainer until I got semi-used to
being clipless. My first clipless ride started in an isolated parking
lot, and I didn't worry about speed or distance, just remaining
upright.
Key thing to remember is to keep moving and you can keep moving even
if both feet aren't fully clipped in. I haven't fallen yet.

Luigi de Guzman said:

Quoted message said:

I once fell over at a traffic light with only one toe strap on.

Yeah, I did that too, while riding with my brother. He laughed so hard he
cried.

My ego was badly bruised.

I did it too but injured my leg so bad I couldn't walk unaided,
sitting hurt and standing required using my arms to push up. The only
comfortable position was on a bicycle.

To mount, I had to stand on the good leg, lay the bike down, lift the
bad leg over the top tube and pick up the bike. I also had to be
careful where I dabbed.

I'd recently begun riding most frequently with Power-Grips. I went
back to riding with clips and straps because I couldn't twist my leg
to release. It was pretty gimpy for about 3 months. I could still
feel the injury eighteen months later. Shortly after that I broke the
same leg over a curb riding, at speed, a bike with flat pedals.

I attribute that to a number of factors from piddle-poor FMUP design
to the semi-recumbent bike design that slammed me from behind instead
of permitting a spontaneous dismount off the back.

My experience suggest that tendon and ligament damage takes longer to
heal than a broken bone while egos are mended with a shrug.
--
zk

I'm surprised no one put in a good word for the Time-ATAC MTB pedals.
Great clipless pedals, recessed cleat. It's what so many MTB pros use.
The basic design is mature as lately from year to year the
improvements/changes have been minor. A little pricier but they work
really well.

(full disclosure: I designed their website about seven years several
versions ago)

-Rick

Quoted message said:

I'm surprised no one put in a good word for the Time-ATAC MTB pedals.
Great clipless pedals, recessed cleat. It's what so many MTB pros use.
The basic design is mature as lately from year to year the
improvements/changes have been minor. A little pricier but they work
really well.

(full disclosure: I designed their website about seven years several
versions ago)

Funny you should mention that... when this thread was young I put
in my vote for SPD; up until that point, it was the system I'd had
the most luck with on my daily commuter.

I did have one gripe with the SPDs, however -- even when set to a
pretty high tension, they would occasionally let go of my shoe
without much warning, at (as tends to be the case in such things)
just the wrong moment. I'd read some good things about the ATACs as
opposed to SPD in this regard, so when someone advertised some
barely-used Time ATAC Aliums for cheap on my local Craigslist a few
days ago, I picked them up. The difference is amazing.

The ATACs offer a wider release angle than my SPDs (with my cleats
you can set it to either 15 or 20 degrees). But even more
importantly, the counter torque applied to your foot by the ATAC
cleat increases as you approach its release angle; it gives you
physical feedback before disengagement so you won't be caught by
surprise.

It takes a bit more effort (and therefore planning) to disengage the
ATACs than it did my old PD-M520s with SM-SH51 cleats, so I don't
necessarily recommend Time ATAC over Shimano SPD to this thread's
original poster -- or as a "my first clipless pedal" in general.
But Time ATAC is, as you say, a mature and effective design, even if
not as lightweight as Eggbeaters or as inexpensive as SPD. I
absolutely recommend it for experienced clipless pedal users who
want high confidence in their feet's connection to the bike.

--
Mark Shroyer
http://markshroyer.com/

Johnny Sunset aka Tom Sherman said:

Michael Warner said:

amakyonin said:

There are very few single-sided two-bolt pattern pedals available and
they are all marketed as low weight "road" pedals.

Except for the Shimano ones I once had, which have a plain platform
on the other side for trundling to the shop or (I suppose) riding unclipped
on difficult trails....

See
<http://bike.shimano.com/catalog/cycle/products/component.jsp?PRODUCT...

I ride one side platform, one side SPD on my grocery bike. For my
commuter though I found a nice set of M636 pedals used and they've
really grown on me. Basically they're double sided, large platform
shoes for BMX / Downhill stuff. Even if you clip out, you're still
standing on a nice size pedal.

--
Dane Buson - [email hidden]
"If you love democracy, you don't cheer when The People vote a dictator into
office. Similarly if you love free market capitalism, you don't cheer when
it allows a company to grow big enough to squash the free market. Governments
need to apply the minimum force neccessary to prevent the free market from
being squashed." - divec - As seen no /.