[Closed] Riding clipless. Just hateful...

It's really not that hard.

Give it a couple more goes.

i have started using spd's again after a few years on flats.
my feet go numb, my feet get cold far quicker, i am more nervous, especially on the round going round corners, i dont feel as comfy, walking into pubs on slippy hard soles is crap.

think i may be on flats again soon.

Mtfu and learn, oh padowan.

road pedals are different from MTB ones.

everyone falls off when they first get them
I found it weird riding on flats after years and my foot used to slip off on the down stroke pedal as i was used to being clipped in

Its essential for road use IMHO MTB less so

Flats are better on some rides.
Clipless are better on some rides.

That's a scientific fact, people.

Old dog, new tricks etc. Maybe I am beyond help 🙂

Keep at it, it will get easier.

Flats on MTBs are good (though I'm an avowed cliplees user) as you need to get off and on, and stick your feet out. On the road bike clipless is far more efficient, as you stay clipped in for most of the ride, and you can pull on the pedals up hills.

I'm not a big fan of road clipless pedals though - bulky cleats, silly shoes, and you tend to get less float which buggers up you knees. I always run MTB ones on the road bike. Means I can use the same shoes too.

Double sided pedals are a thing.

Double sided pedals are a thing.

A bad bad thing.

A bad bad thing.

Only if you care what other roadies think.
I had some disparaging comments from some of my roadie 'friends' when I did the Topsham 100 the other year. Still kept with them the whole way round.

It's a nerve racking experience at first, but on a road bike it becomes second nature after a while. It's just the remembering that you're clipped in. It's only when you forget and try to unclip in a panic that it all goes wrong: employing brute force in an attempt to release, rather than the gental twist required. I always twist my feet off the pedals now, even when on flats...it has become instinctual.

Ton, you can get comfy SPD shoes with proper rubber soles.

A bad bad thing.

Only if you care what other roadies think.
I had some disparaging comments from some of my roadie 'friends' when I did the Topsham 100 the other year. Still kept with them the whole way round.

Yeah, I'd agree with using SPDs too. Easy to clip in and out, you can set them dead loose. And they're as good as anything really. Some roadies will be puzzled by them, but I'm yet to be convinced there is any disadvantage in comparison to traditional road pedals. You get a lot of discussion around hotspots and stuff, but I think that is more down to the shoes than the fitting...

I'm completely the opposite - really dislike flats on road or mountain bike, only happy riding clipless now.

I'm completely the opposite - really dislike flats on road or mountain bike, only happy riding clipless now.

Show off.

Put some MTB spds on OP: much easier to clip in and out of. Just make sure you swap them if you've got any plans on riding a Sportive, otherwise you'll get sneered at by men who look bad in lycra. That's the problem with darkside riding, it's bent.

Only if you care what other roadies think.
I had some disparaging comments from some of my roadie 'friends' when I did the Topsham 100 the other year. Still kept with them the whole way round.

Crossed wires I think. I meant those pedals that are Spd one side, crappy hard plastic flat the other.

I genuinely don't think there's that much in the clipped in being good for climbing. The odd sprint or low speed grind you might pull up on the pedals and to be honest of m520s weren't so cheap and good

But I wouldn't want to be using road cleats/shoes even walking in and out of cafes/pubs/shops. The first broken bone I heard about at the Glasgow velodrome was someone slipping down one of the ramps and breaking an arm!

Anyway if you like flats use flats, no one who matters will care. The really snobby roadies are all noobz anyway!

Probably worth sticking with for more than one ride, but definitely not worth sacrificing your knees or enjoyment for. The only REAL. Drawback of flats on a road bike is the aesthetic.

I feel exactly the opposite. Riding flats is completely unerving, and I can't comprehend why you wouldn't want your feet firmly attached to the peddles. Do a season of cross and you'd be able to clip out and dab in a nano-second.
For the record I use spd's on my road bike too and have never had anyone commment about it even in road races and crits.

Started with flats on the both the roadie and MTB. Went to clipless on the roadie and after the obligatory comedy falls, got used to them quickly. Stayed like this for a long while with spd's on the roadie and flats on the MTB but then had a spell where I used the roadie a lot and when I went back to the MTB on flats, found I really missed being clipped in. Tried some trail SPDs (M530s) and never went back. Love them.

Clipless on both road bikes, 1 MTB with flats, 1 MTB clipless. Kind of what you want to ride when you want to ride it but I wouldn't ride a proper road bike without them. SS pub hack, flats only.

I don't think there is enough benefit for me to run "road" Clipless on the road bike, but MTB clipless are ace for me. Just take some getting used to.

I much preferred Look Keo to SPD-SL when I did try full roadie though.

I see the problem here. Look pedals are specifically optimised for human feet. Their sister company Ook should have something to suit your monkey feet.

Took up road cycling

That's your problem right there. Ditch the road bike and go mountain biking all year round.

I'm completely the opposite - really dislike flats on road or mountain bike, only happy riding clipless now.

+1

I was a roady at 14yrs and wore bang tidy Sidis coupled to a pair of - hot at the time - Look pedals. Took to them straight away and have never ridden flats since, regardless of the bike or terrain.

Worth persevering with IMO.

I moved to flats because of hurty knees with spds.

I commute most days in flats (22 miles round trip), tour, ride my tandem, mountain bike and go bike packing on my fat bike all in flats.

I do miss spds at times as I like the certainty of foot placement they bring. But at the same time it's great to be freed from stupid shoes and have pedals you can ride in anything.

I guess you have read this and people will probably tell me it's been quoted lots before but just incase [url] https://www.rivbike.com/pages/the-shoes-ruse [/url] May be a bit opinionated but an interesting perspective.

That article is bollocks. It's based on this:

"The argument in favor of Special Shoes is this: With a firm connection to the pedal, you will be able to apply power for the full 360-degrees of a pedal revolution."

Which isn't true.

That article is bollocks. It's based on this:

"The argument in favor of Special Shoes is this: With a firm connection to the pedal, you will be able to apply power for the full 360-degrees of a pedal revolution."

Which isn't true

THe article sounds alright to me. I've lost count the amount of times I've read "pulling up" during the pedal stroke as one of the benefits of clip in pedals.

everyone falls off when they first get them

speak for yourself there mr, some of us are riding gods, now where did i put that ice pack.

Go old school, platforms, clips and straps? 😆

For the road the clipless thing takes a few goes to get comfy with. It is worth a good try it does get easier.

A man who suggests crocs and socks are acceptable footwear should be ignored.

i thought the stiff sole on a spd would be a aid, but it is proving not to be.
standing to pedal with spd's puts to much pressure on the front of my foot causing my ankle to try to bend, which it wont.
flats allow me to stand with the pedal in the arch which works.

comfort is gonna be my choice for flats.

I've lost count the amount of times I've read "pulling up" during the pedal stroke as one of the benefits of clip in pedals

Yeah but he says *the* argument, as in singualr.

oh

I practised on grass. Still had some superb slow motion falls at junctions afterwards though. All part of life's rich tapestry. Oh and slacken the spring tension right off.

I use flats on MTB though and sometimes find myself twisting my foot to unclip!!!

I've lost count the amount of times I've read "pulling up" during the pedal stroke as one of the benefits of clip in pedals.

does not make it true.

does not make it true.

Says who ? I pull up all the time on my road bike pedals. Most frequently on short power climbs, you don't change down and spin, just stand up and sprint into them. Plenty of pulling up going on.

Studies into what pro riders do show that they don't pull up.

Studies into what pro riders do show that they don't pull up.

*something I'm sure is perfectly doable with enough skill and careful timing but clipless allows those lacking in both to do it

edit from that article

The good pedalers----the guys in the logo costumes and the white sunglasses and shaved legs----minimize the downward force on the upward-moving pedal more. They don't pull up on it or even unweight it.

It is possible to pull up without exerting an upwards force on the pedal - just less of a downwards force. Perhaps this is where the confusion is arising?

erm how do they get their foot out of the way of the upstroke without pulling it up or unweighting it? Shirley they have to do atleast one of those.

I think the point is that they are not doing anything with the back leg i.e it is passive they are simply driving the lead leg.

Better to think of it as an unweighting of the rising pedal, if you weighted it then you'd be working against yourself 😮 So you need to "pull up" at the same rate as the pedal is rising. You aren't putting any force into the pedal.

I think the point is that they are not doing anything with the back leg i.e it is passive they are simply driving the lead leg.

[i]When elite pedalers and lousy rookie pedalers have been hooked up to machines that measure muscle activity during pedaling, the machines tell us this:
during normal pedaling at normal cadences, nobody pulls UP on the backstroke
[b]the elite/efficient pedalers push down less on the upward moving pedal than the rookies do.[/b]
Think about that until it sinks in and you're bored. The good pedalers----the guys in the logo costumes and the white sunglasses and shaved legs----minimize the downward force on the upward-moving pedal more. [b]They don't pull up on it or even unweight it.[/b] They just minimize the downward pressure on it, so one leg isn't fighting the other as much.[/i]

Pedantry fo sho. I assume pros just get used to spinning in circles with a technique few of us mortals can manage, at a guess it's syncing the motion of your feet with that of the pedals rather than a specific pull up. I'd still class that as unweighting the pedal but in a circular motion instead of a choppy piston-like push down pull up manner. But I reckon most of us regular cyclists, certainly any roadies/SSers, have a good bash at spinning rather than "pistoning" our legs, with or without clipless.

If I try and 'spin' the pedals on flat like I do with SPDs on flat/gentle inclines, my foot keeps coming off the pedal.

I just went with mountain bike pedals/shoes for everything, I use Shimano A600 touring pedals on my road bike, nice and light. Didn't get too many comments and I can walk around on paved ground without sliding around. I commute in with a pair of Bontrager mtb shoes too, which are just about casual enough to get away with, the cleat is recessed enough to stroll around the office or to the shop.

I don't know about extra efficiency, I just like being able to pedal over rough stuff. I find on flats I'm investing too much effort in stopping my feet fly off to be able to get the power down. I'm sure there's a tiny benefit to when you spin up really quickly as well.

My bold, how do the "push down less on the upward pedal" without pulling up or unweighting

Pushing down on something it is appyling a force/pressure, unweighting is applying no Force/pressure, pulling up is applying a force in the opposite direction

I read it as the pro are applying some downward pressure on the returning pedal i.e it is not zero pressure/unweighting

I think the idea of spinning circles is related to the pulling up on the backstroke idea and not really what they are doing as they are only driving with the lead leg and not pulling up on the trail leg.

I'm currently trying hard to get into clipless, using SPDs, after a lifetime using flats on my MTB. The reason being, that I've got seriously into road riding and even joined the local club (who have group rides for all abilities). There is certainly an element of the 'old dog new tricks' here and I have practiced and practiced, but come the slightest difficult situation I panic and try to lift off the pedal instead of twisting! So far all my falls have been nothing more than bruised elbows, knees and pride, but I worry this might happen at a right turn and I fall into oncoming traffic. BTW, a club member recommended Shimano SH56 multi release cleats, which I find are a big help.

If you're worried, just unclip before you stop. I can only comment on Shimano SPDs, but all the shoes/pedals I've used, I've still been able to pedal lightly using the area just in front of the cleat.

If you're worried, just unclip before you stop. I can only comment on Shimano SPDs, but all the shoes/pedals I've used, I've still been able to pedal lightly using the area just in front of the cleat.

Thanks, Toasty, I've seen some of the guys do that, and I've started doing it myself, but it's the unexpected situations that freak me out!

Anyone want a set of Look pedals, used once

If you're worried, just unclip before you stop.

Exactly. All these people struggling with clipless, makes me wonder how we ever managed with clips and straps!!!

When you are spinning on a fixed wheel at 140 RPM, you want your feet locked onto the pedals, believe me! As for pulling up, well you can, but only if you are grinding along at about 30 RPM.

OP, try riding off-road on double sided spds (or even the 324 flat one side and clipless the other). You'll get plenty of practice in mentally unclipping subconsciously. The link between "I'm going to stop" and "unclip" become instant. And falling off is softer 😉 . Everyone falls off. The 324's are nice because when it looks gnarly (read a tinsy bit technical for me), you can ride the flat side, they are also indestructible. I started off-road like this, but graduated to double-sided XT pedals.

I rather like spds with a rigid carbon sole and some grip. I started with them originally on the road (not mtb) because holding up a tandem in Look cleats at traffic lights is not easy. I normally ride Look for road and track, but still indulge with spds on the cross bike, and rode 100km on the road without dying, (or hot spots).

Good shoes make any differences moot, to be honest.

I've seen some of the guys do that, and I've started doing it myself, but it's the unexpected situations that freak me out!

Yeah, there's a definite learning curve to it as well. My last pedal related fall was a good few years back, it was just after buying a brand new set of pedals/cleats though, wheel slipping going up a slow technical climb and not managing to get my foot down in time 🙂

I think all the SPD related falls have been super slow motion to be honest, all my flat falls are due to bouncing off the pedal and losing my footing, generally far less comical. Genuinely feel less safe when I'm on flats now, it's odd how used to it you get.