Question on Pedals and Shoes

[rcannon100]

Got Frogs yesterday from REI.

First, I installed them backwards. :rolleyes:

Boy are they different! In terms of causing pain to an old sprained ankle – none. There is none of that snapping motion that is required to release the SPDs I had. You just float off the pedal. Slide off.

Second, knees. Again, the float is tremendous. I really dont think my knees were enjoying having my feet stiffly clamped to the pedal. The saleswoman said she didnt like Frogs because they had too much float. I can see what she means!!! For me, that’s going to be a feature. But it is a tremendously different feel. It is going to take some time to get confident with them.

And for those keeping track, I dropped another $200 at the bike store. New pedals, new yellow shirt, cog brush, grease. Just love how much cycling saves me money (and before anyone takes me two seriously, we are a one car family —- yes, that saves a tremendous amount of money!)

[TwoWheelsDC]

Maybe sorta threadjacking here…I have reversible SPD pedals on my commuter and put the same ones on my road bike for simplicity…but now I’m thinking of putting proper road pedals on the road bike (probably spd-sl, as that system seems to do a serviceable job of acting like a platform pedal for the times I ride without my cycling shoes).

The real question for me is whether I just buy two sets so I can put a set on my commuter as well, or just change up the road bike. Changing both bikes would keep me from having to have two pairs of shoes laying around and would expand my shoe options, but I do like the walkability of my MTB shoes. Anyone commute with spd-sl cleats and like/dislike it?

[vvill]

Personally I like having one universal set of interchangeable cleats + pedals and walkable shoes. But each to their own/YMMV

I have 3 sets of Crank Bros pedals/cleats. Never failed me yet, and clips in a lot faster than most of the casual road pedal group riders.

[americancyclo]

@GuyContinental 21027 wrote:

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)

I’ve been looking at these to replace my 8+ year old Shimano MTB shoes. The new version has the BOA lacing which I like since I have narrow feet, and I can still use my SPD cleats and pedals until I can afford a set of Speedplays. Upgrade in increments…

[eminva]

Hello All —

When I had my fitting with Clovis, the one thing I complained of was foot pain, so he had me switch from my old, flexible soled MTB shoes/SPD pedals to a road bike shoe with a stiff sole and Look pedals.

A week in, I am finally starting to get used to how much more difficult it is to clip in (clipping out seems to be the same), but I’m worried the cleats are going to wear down fast. I have to drop a foot a lot commuting 28 miles a day. One week in, they are already showing some wear (especially on the right side, which is the foot I drop). As soon as I noticed this I started putting them on on my front porch and switching to flip flops at the garage at work so I am not walking on them at all. I swear I do not do a Flintstone stop so I don’t think I’m dragging them on the ground at all.

Do any of you have experience with this? What do you do to preserve the life of road bike cleats?

Thanks.

Liz

[Certifried]

@eminva 21542 wrote:

I swear I do not do a Flintstone stop so I don’t think I’m dragging them on the ground at all.

Do any of you have experience with this? What do you do to preserve the life of road bike cleats?

Thanks.

Liz

Liz,

Thank you, so much, for the visual this morning! LOL My question is what’s the best way to clean coffee off my monitor and keyboard?

I have SPD-SL (same things basically) also with a stiff road shoe. I haven’t had them all that long, but have also noticed wear on mine. So I looked in to this a little bit. First, they can wear pretty far down before they have to be replaced. You don’t need to worry about it until the color portion is completely worn through, or if the clipping in/out isn’t as smooth. I do flintstone stops, walk around in my shoes, and am always stopping for red lights, stop signs, etc. So I’m always clipping in/out. I haven’t worn down mine far enough to replace, even though they look pretty ragged. So, just check the color indicators to see how far down that is. Maybe not as far as you think.

When it does come time to replace, definitely look around for prices. I know for the SPD-SL cleats, I’ve seen prices anywhere from $20 to $30, so a pretty large difference depending on where you buy them.

Here’s a picture of a worn cleat
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v223/botto/photo-32.jpg

time to change!

one suggestion I saw to lengthen the life of the cleats is, rather than walking, scoot around on your butt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhwbS-Y-6ls

[Dirt]

It has been years since I rode Look road pedals, but I used to get pretty good wear out of the cleats. Where they usually got thin was at the toe-end. The little tab that sticks into the front of the pedal would get pretty thin. The back was never really a problem.

There are companies that make little rubber things that fit over the cleats when you need to walk. 1) they give you more traction so you don’t slip around; and b) they keep you from wearing the cleats out. These are for the Keo’s http://www.amazon.com/Look-Road-Bike-Cleat-Cover/dp/B000UDBLQO

TSFKAC (The Shop Formerly Known as Conte’s… aka FreshBikes) will have them in stock.

Have the stiffer soles helped your foot pain?

[eminva]

@Dirt 21554 wrote:

There are companies that make little rubber things that fit over the cleats when you need to walk. 1) they give you more traction so you don’t slip around; and b) they keep you from wearing the cleats out. These are for the Keo’s http://www.amazon.com/Look-Road-Bike-Cleat-Cover/dp/B000UDBLQO

TSFKAC (The Shop Formerly Known as Conte’s… aka FreshBikes) will have them in stock.

Have the stiffer soles helped your foot pain?

Thank you for the suggestion — will try to get a pair of those asap.

Yes, my feet are feeling much better. That might also have something to do with the cleat being properly situated under the ball of my foot, rather than the middle of my arch (only a slight exaggeration).

Thanks, all!

Liz

[txgoonie]

I’m rocking the Speedplay Zeros and while I like the interface and how easy it is to clip in, I have never liked the cleats themselves. They’re so darn high profile and with the coffee shop caps, like the ones Dirt linked to above, they’re like reverse stilettos. And my main problem is that I slip around on them, which is no fun when you’re walking through your office lobby which is polished granite or when you’re pushing off from a dead stop. Stop light on an incline? Major fun times. Push off just a little bit, and my foot rockets back behind me and I can barely get going. So does anyone have a home remedy for the slippiness? Do other road pedal/cleat systems not have that issue?

[KLizotte]

FYI to newbies on clipless systems. This is a nice article (with lots of pictures) on some of the differences and how to use clipless:

http://drivemybike.wordpress.com/tag/pedals/

[jrenaut]

I just bought shoes and SPDs yesterday. It took me 5 minutes on the trainer at the shop to get one foot clipped in, even with guidance from the staff. I’m going out this afternoon during kid nap time to do circles around the parking lot by my house and practice. It remains to be seen whether I commute in the shoes on Monday. The pedals have flat backs, so I have options.

[KLizotte]

@jrenaut 21698 wrote:

I just bought shoes and SPDs yesterday. It took me 5 minutes on the trainer at the shop to get one foot clipped in, even with guidance from the staff. I’m going out this afternoon during kid nap time to do circles around the parking lot by my house and practice. It remains to be seen whether I commute in the shoes on Monday. The pedals have flat backs, so I have options.

Loosen up the tension up as much as you can; that makes it a lot easier to clip in and out.

[jrenaut]

@KLizotte 21702 wrote:

Loosen up the tension up as much as you can; that makes it a lot easier to clip in and out.

Yeah, they loosened it up all the way before I even tried. I’m told I will need it tightened back up after just a few rides – that seems absurd at the moment, but I probably said the same thing when I started off with toe clips years ago.

[jrenaut]

Ok, after a mile in little circles in the parking lot by my house, I feel a lot better. Maybe I was just uncomfortable on the trainer, or maybe I magically got the feel for where my feet need to be while I was sleeping, but I feel comfortable enough with the pedals and shoes to use them on my ride to work tomorrow. Glad that it seems to be easier for me to get my right foot in and out, and that’s the foot I usually put down.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@jrenaut 21698 wrote:

I just bought shoes and SPDs yesterday. It took me 5 minutes on the trainer at the shop to get one foot clipped in, even with guidance from the staff. I’m going out this afternoon during kid nap time to do circles around the parking lot by my house and practice. It remains to be seen whether I commute in the shoes on Monday. The pedals have flat backs, so I have options.

Funny, I just switched to SPD-SLs on my road bike and was having a hell of a time getting clipped in because it’s a bit different than the SPDs I’m so used to. With SPDs, it is so intuitive to me that I just put ut my foot down and I’m clipped without the slightest effort. But it did take me a few days to get used to the SPDs initially, so I’m sure it’ll be the same for the SLs, and I’m sure you’ll be used to it in no time.

Which pedals did you get? I just pulled the Shimano A530s off my road bike…I also have a set on my commuter and I may just keep running both systems since SPDs are so much more walkable.

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