Took delivery of my new SPDs last Friday and, thanks to all the advice on this fourm, was certainly aware of plenty of the common pitfalls/pratfalls. I haven't come a cropper yet, but have been taking it steady, from clipping in/out propped up in the kitchen, to road practice, to easy trail so far. A few near misses …
The only hiccups I've had so far have been with an over-enthusiastic fussy dog (with no fear of bikes) and a sudden steep and rocky ascent that was enough to make me unclip and walk. I'm not sure if I would have walked it on flat pedals … would have been a close call.
All in all, so far, I love the feeling of being clipped in and not having the risk of my feet slipping off – I do prefer this. It's really positive on the uphill bits.
I suppose my next question is, how do I push the limits of what I can do? Is it a steady progression of trying things out and tottering off when all else fails, or are there SPD-specific techniques that you guys can advise on? I'm up for giving it a go and can't realistically see myself going back to flats for the time-being. Thanks for the heads up on this 😆
BTW I've got bog standard Shimano M520s (on the slackest setting) and (comfortable but deeply unfashionable) Shimano WM41s.
