cleat and clipless pedals

[newriderinms]

Hello everyone! I'm new to riding....got my first bike in 20 years for Christmas this year. It is a Trek 2.1 wsd road bike. Last week I road to 20 miles and found it frustrating that my foot kept slipping off the platform pedals, so I thought it might be time to upgrade to clipless pedals. I found a good deal online for the Shimano R540 SPD-SL clipless pedals as well as the Adidas Women's Karma road shoes, so I thought these would be a good start.

Here goes the total newbie questions......While I was looking at the cleats and pedals last night just to see how they worked I noticed that the cleats didn't seem to clip in at the back. Should I be able to maneuver the clipping action without the pedal installed on my bike or the cleat on my shoe? I'm worried that if I can't figure it out in my hands I'll never get it on a bike :confused:

Also, is it necessary to have a LBS install the pedals and cleats or can I do it myself?

[ZenSojourner]

Pedals - you can install them, but you need a pedal wrench. Other tools don't work as well (or at all sometimes)

Cleats - they need some adjusting, it's usually pretty cheap to have it done at by your LBS - I think it cost $5

Clipping/unclipping sansa bike - DON'T TRY IT!

I tried this, put the clips on the shoes, held the pedal in one hand, tried a little clip/unclip action - I could NOT get the shoe off the pedal! A male friend of mine could NOT get the shoe off the pedal! I had to take it to the LBS where they laughed at me while they pried it off with a giant size screwdriver and the help of a vise.

What comes off easily with a little torque when the pedal is firmly in place on the bike doesn't work so well when you're trying to hold it in your hand.

[Zen]

Before you make that big investment you might want to try these (http://yhst-84224226242177.stores.yahoo.net/mkshalfclip.html).
I have them on my city bike and love them so much I'm considering putting them on all my bikes.
Cheap, too.

[tctrek]

You can practice clipping in/out on a spinning bike at your local gym. They support SPD cleats. Or install the pedals on your bike and put it in a trainer and practice that way. But you cannot practice clipping in/out without a bicycle :) -- the action of your feet/ankles is necessary. There are tons of posts about going clipless on the forum.

[newriderinms]

Thanks everyone for the tips especially yours ZenSojourner. My LBS guy already thinks I'm a little bit of a goofball from another incident that I will not mention, so the last thing I need is to go in there with my pedal and cleat stuck together. :)