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 T.C. O'Rourke on July 28, 2010 at 7:08pm
I installed my very first set of cleats upside down. Vexing!!

Vando said:
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 Shawn C. on July 29, 2010 at 2:36am
I just bought some dual platform spd pedals 2 months ago (Shimano PD-M324), but I'm still using the platform with the cages - I need some time in an empty padded parking lot to try the other side...
Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on July 29, 2010 at 2:49am
Shawn,

I think that's a good idea (at least the 1/2 platform, 1/2 cleat pedals part). It helped me become more aware of my feet in traffic.

And Kelly B from the beginning thought going cages first helped her.

Shawn C. said:
I just bought some dual platform spd pedals 2 months ago (Shimano PD-M324), but I'm still using the platform with the cages - I need some time in an empty padded parking lot to try the other side...
Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on July 29, 2010 at 2:49am
HA!

T.C. O'Rourke said:
I installed my very first set of cleats upside down. Vexing!!
Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on July 29, 2010 at 2:50am
Terry, I'm thinking about starting a Lurkers Group here on Chainlink. Will you join?

terryg said:
[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 29, 2010 at 4:44am
Can you mass-add most of the site's users to that group? :)

Julie Hochstadter said:
Terry, I'm thinking about starting a Lurkers Group here on Chainlink. Will you join?

terryg said:
[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 Jamie Elenbaas on July 29, 2010 at 4:55am
Julie, Welcome to club Tomba! It only gets better.
Permalink Reply by GabeW (not the other Gabe) on July 29, 2010 at 5:54am
Like driving stick? No...not really...unless you say twisting your foot to un-clip is like the heal-toe motion to blip the throttle with the side of your foot while braking with your toes in order to downshift as you slow down.....but some people plant the ball and arch of their foot on the brake pedal and then roll their toes over to the gas pedal. It all depends on your anatomy and pedal configuration. I used the second method in my MG, the first in the WRX.

Actually, I would say clipless is more like driving a race car and bikes in general are manual trans - unless you ride fixed or with one of those auto shifting bikes. Even fixed is like a manual since you're so in touch with rpm in relation to speed.....so like stick, with blown 1st, 2nd, and 4th gears. But yeah, a race car...cause you don't really "get in" to race cars, you practically "put them on" as you slip into the tight cockpit and strap in. You're not going anywhere - it's all about tight connections. Parts that flex and give are in the suspension. Only. Everything else is rock solid, firm, and connected.

Congrats on clipping in :)
Permalink Reply by Marco Rayos on July 29, 2010 at 6:23am
I have yet to try clip less. I'm still getting used to riding fixed...

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