taking the training wheels off

I went into the bike shop today for a bell and walked out with shimano road pedals and my first pair of cleats. Until today I've had toe clips on my pedals and just worn old running shoes. I think that was the way to go in the beginning because until a month ago I had never ridden a road bike and the idea of clipping into the pedals scared me. I rode my bike over to the shop so they could put the pedals on and then they put me on a trainer so I could practice clipping in and out. After a few minutes I felt like I had the hang on it. The guy even played red light / green light with me so he could make sure I could start and stop without looking at my feet. He swore I was a natural but yes he did call the house later to make sure I had gotten home. It turns out that clipping in and out is actually easier than wrestling my shoes into the toe clips.

I'm really glad I did it.

The bell didn't work out though. The bar on my bike is too big so it wouldn't fit.

Great job! And I'm impressed with the customer service you received. Sounds like a great shop!

I have clipless pedals and I have a really hard time clipping in and out - I've fallen over a couple of times because I couldn't clip out. :) I'm thinking it shouldn't be that hard. How long did it take you to get the hang of it at the LBS?

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Originally Posted by Celeste1013

I have clipless pedals and I have a really hard time clipping in and out - I've fallen over a couple of times because I couldn't clip out. :) I'm thinking it shouldn't be that hard. How long did it take you to get the hang of it at the LBS?

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What kind of pedals are you using?

Shimano - one side of the pedal contains the clip and the other side is flat.

what cleats are you using? i switched from the cleats that came with the pedals to the multi release sh-56 and that made a huge difference.

I think I fiddled with them for maybe 10 minutes in the shop. Someone on the ride Sunday was talking about how hers were really hard to get in and out of and the guy at the LBS lubed them so now they work fine.

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Originally Posted by Celeste1013

Shimano - one side of the pedal contains the clip and the other side is flat.

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Have you tried to adjust the tension of then? Right out of the box, the tension will likely be set pretty hight, but they can be adjusted so as to make it easier to get out of them. Did you get them at a bike shop? If so, run the bike into the shop and have them adjust them.

Now, getting better at clipping in might just take some more practice.

Thanks everyone for the great responses!:)

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Originally Posted by indysteel

Have you tried to adjust the tension of then? Right out of the box, the tension will likely be set pretty hight, but they can be adjusted so as to make it easier to get out of them. Did you get them at a bike shop? If so, run the bike into the shop and have them adjust them.

Now, getting better at clipping in might just take some more practice.

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Adjusted the tension today! Feels much easier - now to practice!