The Chainlink

Deep Thoughts from a Clipped In Newbie

Today was my first day riding clipped in.  I only fell once so far.  A nice samaritan helped me up.  I had to make sure he knew I was clipped in and not just a klutz.... I don't even know if he knew what I meant when I said I was connected to the pedals :))

I digress....

Why does EVERYONE tell you to turn from your ankle? You clearly turn from the bottom of your toes (the balls of your feet).

And does anyone else relate it to driving stick? 

PS - I wanted to thank all of those people who helped me get to this point in my cycling career especially  Michael A, Terry G, Kelly B, Martin H to name a few.

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Permalink Reply by Joel on July 28, 2010 at 4:14pm
Knock on wood, but I've never fallen all the way while clipped in. The day I got clipped pedals I went to a nearby, empty park that had a paved track and road around in circles for 30 minutes. I probably clipped and unclipped at least a hundred times. I'm sure I looked like an idiot, but I gave up on that a long time ago.

I like my Shimano A530 pedals since they are clipped on one side and decent platforms on the other. You can ride unclipped for a while in hairy situations.
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on July 28, 2010 at 4:41pm
Julie, you are turning your ankle when clipping out. The ball of your foot may be the fulcrum so to speak, but moving your ankle and heel outwards is what detaches you from the pedals.

That's why. :)

Oh, and shortly after going clipless, I fell over one day going northbound on Halsted - twice.

Have someone who knows SPD pedals make sure they're set so clipping out needs the least effort possible.
Permalink Reply by Michael A on July 28, 2010 at 4:48pm
Only two types of cyclists who use clipless pedals, The one who have fallen, and the ones who will fall

Welcome to club
Permalink Reply by Liz W. Durham on July 28, 2010 at 5:19pm
Welcome to the club! I fell on my first non-practice clipped in ride. And thus far, that has been the only time. Even when hit by a car a few years ago I managed to unclip and land on my feet instead of under the car.

It seems to me that you do turn from your ankle. The ball of the foot turning is not enough...the force for actually exiting is from the ankle/heel turn out.

Once you learn it, it becomes an automatic non-thinking process.
Permalink Reply by terryg on July 28, 2010 at 5:50pm
[I de-lurk to acknowledge my friend]

Julie, congrats!  I hope you weren't too hurt, beyond pride, on your first clipless ride. 

FWIW I've actually failed at getting my feet out of toe clips more than once, with funny (for some) results.

I hope to see you out there on the road Real Soon Now!  My bones are healing and I'm ready for dealing in some wheeling!
Permalink Reply by Tank-Ridin' Ryan on July 28, 2010 at 7:38pm
So automatic that you'll find yourself doing it on platform pedals if you find yourself on platforms again sometime.

Liz W. Durham said:
Welcome to the club! I fell on my first non-practice clipped in ride. And thus far, that has been the only time. Even when hit by a car a few years ago I managed to unclip and land on my feet instead of under the car.
It seems to me that you do turn from your ankle. The ball of the foot turning is not enough...the force for actually exiting is from the ankle/heel turn out.
Once you learn it, it becomes an automatic non-thinking process.
Permalink Reply by Vondo on July 28, 2010 at 7:55pm
I myself have recently decided to go clipless finally. I am online shopping for some SPD shoes. How hard is it to do a good job installing the cleats myself? Should I go with an LBS or is it pretty straight forward? Any tricks to it?
Permalink Reply by Joel on July 28, 2010 at 8:03pm
At least with the shoes I've used, it was really straight forward. If you have the tiniest bit of coordination and can turn a screw driver, you can install cleats. There is some flexibility on the positioning, so you may end up having to adjust that a bit, but I don't think you can tell unless you take them for a test spin and make the changes as needed.

Vando said:
I myself have recently decided to go clipless finally. I am online shopping for some SPD shoes. How hard is it to do a good job installing the cleats myself? Should I go with an LBS or is it pretty straight forward? Any tricks to it?
Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on July 28, 2010 at 8:05pm
Very easy. Better off doing it yourself as you may need to try a particular position and then change it in a few days.
The biggest mistake people make is orienting the cleat completely according to the shoe rather than to the angle of the rider's foot as it rests on the pedal. I'm happy to help you get them set up. I also have many many pair of SPD pedals (and shoes) I haven't used in years.

Vando said:
I myself have recently decided to go clipless finally. I am online shopping for some SPD shoes. How hard is it to do a good job installing the cleats myself? Should I go with an LBS or is it pretty straight forward? Any tricks to it?
Permalink Reply by Joel on July 28, 2010 at 8:10pm
Yes. Take a good look at how you position your feet naturally without clips. Try and position the cleats so they position your feet that way. If you notice excessive pressure or pain while riding, you did it wrong.

H3N3 said:
Very easy. Better off doing it yourself as you may need to try a particular position and then change it in a few days.
The biggest mistake people make is orienting the cleat completely according to the shoe rather than to the angle of the rider's foot as it rests on the pedal. I'm happy to help you get them set up. I also have many many pair of SPD pedals (and shoes) I haven't used in years.

Vando said:
I myself have recently decided to go clipless finally. I am online shopping for some SPD shoes. How hard is it to do a good job installing the cleats myself? Should I go with an LBS or is it pretty straight forward? Any tricks to it?
Permalink Reply by Vondo on July 28, 2010 at 8:21pm
Very good point on orienting the cleat. My feet angle out when I walk like my toes farther out than my heels, so it makes sense to compensate for that on the cleats. I will give it a shot when I get the shoes and if I still need some pointers, I may take you up on the offer to help.

Thanks

H3N3 said:
Very easy. Better off doing it yourself as you may need to try a particular position and then change it in a few days.
The biggest mistake people make is orienting the cleat completely according to the shoe rather than to the angle of the rider's foot as it rests on the pedal. I'm happy to help you get them set up. I also have many many pair of SPD pedals (and shoes) I haven't used in years.

Vando said:
I myself have recently decided to go clipless finally. I am online shopping for some SPD shoes. How hard is it to do a good job installing the cleats myself? Should I go with an LBS or is it pretty straight forward? Any tricks to it?
Permalink Reply by Michael Perz on July 28, 2010 at 8:47pm
Cleat mishaps. Ah, jolly good fun. Equally delightful are the little jolts one gets when switching from a fixed gear bike to a geared road bike and back to fixed. In either case there is no way to make any I-meant-to-do-that gesture with even a shred of dignity intact.

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