Unclipping agony...

Apart from clips & straps I've never seen a shoe retaining system that disengages to the rear. But there's quite a range between the different brands. First thing is: do it snappy. Even I would find a slow unclip painful. Next is: pick the point in the rotation. I've almost come to grief the time I've tried unclipping at the top of the pedal stroke.
I use Crank Brothers, and find them milder than Shimano. Time pedals are very similar. CB offers two orientations of the cleats, one which is softer than the other. You might also ask around for a pair of partially worn cleats, or hit yours with a Dremel. A bit of wear often soften things up.

I have a bad left knee and sometimes unclip from the left pedal by turning my heel in toward the bike instead of out. Also a small bit of grease on the cleat contact points can make disengaging much easier.

I am not that Familiar with SPD I use Look. One thing you could try is to reposition your cleats so that they require less rotation to disengage. This can be done by turning the cleat on your shoe towards the direction of disengagement as far as possible,

Thank you all for taking the time to help me- I'll look into all suggestions!

Much appreciated!

For [censored] and giggles, I would schedule a doctor's appointment for a professional assessment. If given the OK, you might go simple by trying some toe clips. You could also, dare I say, just use platform pedals with whatever shoes you like best. One of the fastest rider's in our group wears tennis shoes and platform pedals with reflectors.

I agree with Scotty, that you should probably get your knee checked to see it isn't damaged. It could be a freak thing but unclipping should be easy and painless. Have you tried it again since?

What if you just twist your foot on top of platform pedals? The motion is the same and I'm willing to guess that you've already done that (unwittingly) without a problem.

It could also be a muscular issue. You may need to build up some stabilising strength around your knee joint.

When trying to find a medico, it's best to try to find one who cycles or at least understands the mechanics of cycling. The average GP doesn't have the time or patience to deal with relatively trivial issues like this (let's face it, it isn't life threateneing and there are probably a lot more worthy patients than realtively fit people like us). In that situation the average GP is likely to just recommend you give up on clipless pedals (or on cycling all together), when there is possibly another, more elegant, solution to the issue (though more time consuming to find). A GP has to be interested in your problem otherwise they are unlikely to really be a great help.

And ALL clipless pedals rely on a twisting motion to pull out. If you could unclip directly from the top then the pedal would be useless. You are asupposed to be able to pull on them in order to improve your "stroke".

Thanks for the help. My knee still feels a bit sore from the unclipping. I will stick with the toe clips for now, and try again with clipless in a few months- maybe my knee will be a bit stronger then, and I can try wearing down the cleat, and applying a good amount of grease to get an easier unclipping action. I'll keep you posted! Who knows, I might try and invent a new pedal system to save the knees! 🙂

Great to find a good forum, where people are willing to take the time to help others.

Thanks so much.

Some pedals, such as the Shimano 105 or Look Keo, have a tension adjustment. Do yours? Shimano also makes a pedal that's clipped on one side and a platform on the other. WIth those, you can ride clipless on good-knee days and wear regular shoes on bad-knee days.

Get that knee checked. It's amazing how many knee problems can be fixed with physical therapy. So many knee problems are caused by soft tissue injuries, and even arthritic problems can be healed with proper PT. I have trick knees myself that have had several injuries. I keep them from screaming (and they can scream) with PT exercises, kinesio taping (special elastic tape that acts like a brace, but without the heavy brace), and an occasional cortisone injection when I have a nasty flare-up. Good luck.

Are you talking about standard (mountain) SPD, or "road" SPD-SL? I've found that worn MTB SPD cleats can be pulled out of worn SPD pedals in just about any direction, ie by simply pulling straight up, as long as the latch spring tension is wound back a lot. They are still reasonably secure in this configuration, but I wouldn't go for a mighty sprint, especially out of the saddle.

Is it not the case that at least one of the Speedplay pedals allows clipping out by rotating the ankle out in the absence of any resistance?