Question on Pedals and Shoes

[rcannon100]

Reviving an old thread – and reading through it, it is very informative but adds more questions.

Succumbing to peer pressure, I went clipless. I bought Pearl Izumi SPD shoes with pedals that are flat on one side and SPD thingy on the other. LOVE IT. Would definitely say I found another gear or two, and another few miles per hour.

BUT here is the thing – and someone mentioned it a few posts back. I have an old sprained ankle. Torquing my foot out of my pedal puts strain on the foot exactly on the spot of the old sprain. After BTWD I could barely walk. I read thru stuff, and am confident that it is not ankling (its in the front of the foot, not the back).

Is there a solution to this? Are Egg Beaters easier to get out of?

My solution is to by different shoes. If I cant get the shoe off the pedal; I could get the foot out of the shoe. Get velcro strap shoes and just take them on and off.

But reading through the posts, the comment about bad knees and float also concern me.

First, is there a solution to getting out of the pedal and the pain it is causing my foot? Second, is that the same answer for float and bad knees?

Gracious.

[mstone]

@rcannon100 20194 wrote:

Reviving an old thread – and reading through it, it is very informative but adds more questions.

Succumbing to peer pressure, I went clipless. I bought Pearl Izumi SPD shoes with pedals that are flat on one side and SPD thingy on the other. LOVE IT. Would definitely say I found another gear or two, and another few miles per hour.

BUT here is the thing – and someone mentioned it a few posts back. I have an old sprained ankle. Torquing my foot out of my pedal puts strain on the foot exactly on the spot of the old sprain. After BTWD I could barely walk. I read thru stuff, and am confident that it is not ankling (its in the front of the foot, not the back).

Is there a solution to this? Are Egg Beaters easier to get out of?

My solution is to by different shoes. If I cant get the shoe off the pedal; I could get the foot out of the shoe. Get velcro strap shoes and just take them on and off.

But reading through the posts, the comment about bad knees and float also concern me.

First, is there a solution to getting out of the pedal and the pain it is causing my foot? Second, is that the same answer for float and bad knees?

Gracious.

Have you adjusted the screw on the pedal that changes the clipping force? Try just turning that down. Alternatively, there’s a version of the SPD clip that allows you to unclip in any direction.

[rcannon100]

@mstone 20205 wrote:

Have you adjusted the screw on the pedal that changes the clipping force? Try just turning that down. Alternatively, there’s a version of the SPD clip that allows you to unclip in any direction.

Yup. Thanks for the suggestion. I have been scanning pedals for information about float and other specs – there is very little information out there. Do you have a rec for the SPD clip that allows unclip in any direction.

Gracious.

[KLizotte]

I went clipless for the first time this weekend and loved it!

I got SPD pedals that have the cleat on one side and flat pedal on the other and Specialized MTB shoes (so I can walk around easily). No problems clipping out at all and only minor issues with clipping in on occasion. I find having to flip the pedal to the correct side to be an occasional annoyance so I may eventually go with a double sided pedal but it’s not a big deal at the moment. I went for a 48 mile ride in Baltimore on Sunday that included lots city riding and hills so there were many opportunities to clip/unclip and try them out on some big hills. My legs felt fine the next day and the clipless made the hills easier to go up.

Unfortunately it turns out the shoes were half a size too small for my feet and my toes kept hitting the end of the shoes. The LBS was kind enough to take them back and order me a different pair in another size. Keeping my fingers crossed these fit better! Until they come in I can continue to ride the bike on the flat side of the pedals.

Note: I was previously riding with PowerGrip straps so I was already used to having my feet attached to the pedals and having to kick my heels outwards to disengage. I think I would have had a harder time adapting to clipless if I didn’t have the PowerGrips experience. I also have the tension on the cleats quite low but was pleasantly surprised to discover they didn’t pop up when out of the saddle going uphill.

Other than that, I love clipless. I’m hoping and praying my new shoes arrive and fit in time for the long weekend.

[creadinger]

@rcannon100 20208 wrote:

Yup. Thanks for the suggestion. I have been scanning pedals for information about float and other specs – there is very little information out there. Do you have a rec for the SPD clip that allows unclip in any direction.

I was on a ride in Delaware a couple of years ago and stopped at a shop to have them replace my rear derailleur cable… anyway, the guy and I got to talking about good pedals for touring/commuting etc.. and he mentioned Speedplay Frogs as an upgrade over the traditional SPDs. I don’t know much about them because I never ended up getting a pair but they seem pretty cool. The FAQ says they’re easier to clip into and out of since they’re not spring tensioned like SPDs. I’m not sure, but you may need to get new shoes though to be compatible with these pedals…

http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.frog

Just in case you haven’t looked down this avenue yet.

[brendan]

@mstone 20205 wrote:

Alternatively, there’s a version of the SPD clip that allows you to unclip in any direction.

Note: you need to be cautious about this, your foot length and your bike geometry. I first rode clipless on the xtracycle and had a unidirectional clip/cleat setup. When I started training on a road bike, I learned (the hard way) that rotating my heel inward is a possible way to have the heel of my shoe strike my rear spokes.

Brendan

PS – A friend also noted that when I ride bikes without clipless pedals, I still rotate my heels outward before stepping down. Probably best to have that ingrained…

PPS – Oh and as KLizotte said: I suspect starting with powergrips made my transition into clipless pedals much easier.

[mstone]

@rcannon100 20208 wrote:

Yup. Thanks for the suggestion. I have been scanning pedals for information about float and other specs – there is very little information out there. Do you have a rec for the SPD clip that allows unclip in any direction.

The ones that come with the pedals are SH-51’s, the others are the SH-56’s. The obvious caveat is that if you can yank them out any which way, they’ll also be less secure. Depending on your needs, the might suit.

[jabberwocky]

@rcannon100 20194 wrote:

BUT here is the thing – and someone mentioned it a few posts back. I have an old sprained ankle. Torquing my foot out of my pedal puts strain on the foot exactly on the spot of the old sprain. After BTWD I could barely walk. I read thru stuff, and am confident that it is not ankling (its in the front of the foot, not the back).

Is there a solution to this? Are Egg Beaters easier to get out of?

Eggbeaters work roughly the same way as SPDs. My recommendation would be Speedplay frogs. The technique is the same (rotate the ankle to get out), but they have no spring tension, and as such are usually recommended for folks with ankle or knee problems.

They do use the same shoes as other MTB pedals.

[Lt. Dan]

I’ve been riding SPD mountain bike pedals for about 15 years… I like them so much, I just moved my old SPD’s to my road bike, and put new SPD’s on the mountain bike!

[KelOnWheels]

I have SPDs on my mountain bike… they’re probably worth more than the bike

[rcannon100]

Today REI sold me a cleat that is suppose to release in multiple directions, not just laterally. That’s the cheap solution. If that doesnt work, I will try the Frogs. They look cool. REI salesperson said she didnt like them bc they have too much float. But for me that might be a feature.

Got a new helmet, a new trunk, and some new shirts as well. BOY this cycling thing sure is saving me money! :rolleyes:

Thanks for the help.

[hencio]

I’ve been thinking about switching to frogs, but I’ve got several pairs of SPDs. Apparently I am far too cheap to switch! For what it is worth, I notice that when the SPD cleats are new, they can be a little tight. But they seem to wear in and seem to loosen up and are much easier to get out of.

[SteveTheTech]

I am a new convert to a Look setup. I had SPDs on my bike. It worked great for a while, I had a bit of an issue going from the spin bike at the gym to my real life bike but other than that the convenience of having MTB shoes on a ride outdoors here was my main justification for keeping them for so long. I was very reluctant to cross over to much tinier contact points and more involved clips.

Initially I was not keep on clipping my second foot into the Looks. Prime example of when dual sided pedals win was Tuesday on a group ride. We came down the hill on Belle Haven at the shopping center and are taking off from the light there. It is a mildly competive group. I’ve got one shoe in and start moving but have stepped on the opposite pedal upside down. Now moving >20 mph with some hustle and I cannot get the other pedal flipped easily. I feel like it is muscle memory that will develop over time but loosing a few upstrokes is still costly when it comes down to it. I can see why many people prefer lollipops.

I have however noticed an immediate improvement while on the computrainer. Power transfer is increased nicely and fatigue of my feet is down significantly.

I plan to try these for a little while longer but my shoes have spd holes and may be getting those if they keep aggrivating me, although I can only imagine that that would make those shoes nearly impossible to walk in.

[JimK]

On my road bikes I have Speedplay’s Frog pedal/cleat. The cleat is recessed, which is essential for me when communing (I have nearly killed myself walking on tile floors with protruding cleats). Also, the Frog has great play and holds up well. In my experience the pedals last forever. I usually replace cleats every 3-4 thousand miles (replacement cleats are about $30). Lubing the cleat and pedal helps to prolong the life of the cleat. The Frog also is self cleaning (for the most part). They are more popular among mountain bikers, but they work well on road bikes or hybrids.

[GuyContinental]

@JimK 21005 wrote:

On my road bikes I have Speedplay’s Frog pedal/cleat. The cleat is recessed, which is essential for me when communing (I have nearly killed myself walking on tile floors with protruding cleats). Also, the Frog has great play and holds up well. In my experience the pedals last forever. I usually replace cleats every 3-4 thousand miles (replacement cleats are about $30). Lubing the cleat and pedal helps to prolong the life of the cleat. The Frog also is self cleaning (for the most part). They are more popular among mountain bikers, but they work well on road bikes or hybrids.

Although I don’t use them (I use Speedplay X2 and Eggbeaters) I think that Frogs are probably one of the best commuter pedals out there- lots of contact with the cleat, no complicated parts, free float, ability to use a MTB shoe. I think that I said this in another thread but a stiff carbon MTB shoe plus a MTB pedal will give the 95%+ of the power and stability of a traditional road shoe/pedal combo and be a heck of a lot easier to clip into and walk on. Obviously, if you are a racer, the reduced ground clearance and small loss of power makes MTB pedals nearly a breaker, but for the rest of us they are fine.

That said, there is a HUGE difference between a stiff shoe and a floppy shoe. I’ve had great luck and lots and lots of miles with the Specialized Comp Carbon series (both MTB and Road) and they aren’t ridiculously expensive ($150)

[Author]

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