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Hi all,
I'm fairly new to clip-in pedals and have found that the Time pedals I have bought propably weren't the right ones for me. Clicking in and out of these pedals have given me a sore knee and hip :(
Can any of you recommend any pedals that are easy to get in and out of without putting to much pressure on leg joints?
Much appreciated
Chrissie.
Speedplay Light Action are supposed to be easier on your knees, though I think more during use than trying to get in and out of them.
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes..._20000__400048
(Speedplays. Not suggesting you buy from them or anything, I just happened to have it bookmarked.)
Someone else may be able to suggest others too.
Do you find it really takes a lot of force/torsion to clip in & out, and that is for sure what is hurting your knee & hip? Or is it riding itself that hurts, indicating maybe your cleats just aren't aligned properly (assuming saddle height/position/etc stayed the same when you switched to clipless)?
If it's the definitely the clipping in & out, on my Look Keo pedals there's a place where the spring can be wound tighter or looser using a small allen wrench. I keep mine on the looser end for easier entry & exit. Do your Time pedals have any similar adjustments? If so you could try loosening the tension to see if it helps, and if it doesn't I'm sure that others here will have excellent suggestions for other types of pedals you could try.
I just got some Speedplay light action pedals and they are really easy to get in and out of. It took a little adjustment to remember to clip in with the foot straight down (instead of toe down first to get into my Shimano pedals). But the Speedplays are really, really easy to clip out of). I love the float too - easier on the knees.
My +1 got some Speedplay zeros at the same time and he is thrilled because he no longer gets knee pain (he trashed his knee skiing a few years ago)
Thank you!
I think it is the clipping in/out doing (at least) the most damage. I had my bike and cleats adjusted a few weeks ago and although it does feel better I feel that the force of unclipping is too much.
Time pedals don't seem to have much adjustment on them :( apparently they were on the easiest when I hurt myself.
I've been recommended both speedplay light action and Looks Keo easy and Max. My only worries are that I've heard that the keo easy accidently unclip have any of you had this problem? Speedplay look so odd! And I was worried that they looked like a novelity... Though since you all recommend them so highly I'll think I might give them a trial.
Any other pedal recommendations?
I just moved away from Time (hard to clip in, float was sticky) to Looks. Although I really wanted to spend for the flashiest & lightest, I found that these tend to be aimed at men & therefore require more force to get out of. I guess men are scared of pulling out by mistake - women are more concerned about being able to get out easily. So I ended up going w/ the bottom of the range - the Look Easy as this has the lowest force of all of them to click in & out. Much better than the Times in terms of clicking in & also having free float (I use the red cleats, rather than the less floaty greys that the pedals come with).
We do a lot of bike fittings for customers & have found that the float of SPD-SLs is 'stickier' than Looks - Speedplay are the free-est of all (some people say it's like standing on an ice cube). I didn't go w/ Speedplay because I didn't want to always wear covers on the cleats (they will really mark wooden floors inside & must not get grit/mud in outside).
Well, speedplays may look odd but they are effective :)
And as for them being a novelty, a significant number of pro riders use them. Fabian Cancellara recently won the Paris to Roubaix using them. Of course, he wasn't using the light action ones which are not suitable for racing simply because they are easier to get out of and wouldn't necessarily be reliable in a full on race sprint.
So, unless you're planning on some really agressive race sprints you should be fine :)