New bike - clipless question

The happy news is that I bought a bike over the weekend. It's a lovely celeste green Bianchi Veloce. :) The less than happy news is that I'm having a heck of a time getting used to the clipless pedals.

It seems to take a lot of force to snap the cleat out. I think I understand the foot action to use, to swing the heel out, but while practicing I can't get it to go every time. I'm practicing while standing over the bike. Is this normal, that it seems very tight to budge? They apparently set it up as loose as they could. I was having trouble forcing the cleat out with the original pedals, so we upgraded to the Shimano ultegra while I was at the store.

I finally realized I was getting too freaked out about this, and just went out with my gym shoes on. I'm really not used to this lightweight bike, or the shifting, so one new thing at a time.

I learned a lot during the sizing / fitting exercise at the store. They used a laser light gizmo to line things up. Pretty impressive.

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Originally Posted by dachshund

The happy news is that I bought a bike over the weekend. It's a lovely celeste green Bianchi Veloce. :) The less than happy news is that I'm having a heck of a time getting used to the clipless pedals.


I learned a lot during the sizing / fitting exercise at the store. They used a laser light gizmo to line things up. Pretty impressive.

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is your bike a WSG type?

Congrats on the new bike! (Isn't this the same bike Lise has?) Where did you end up getting it?

Sometimes I have an easier time unclipping if I point my toe down just a little bit.

Now it's time to come ride with your NorCal TE buddies!!!

The cleat should come out easier, if not, you can adjust the tension. What cleat did you have trouble with? The Ultegra? If so, something is wrong. I have Dura Ace (not much different than Ultegra) and it just snaps out.

Edited to add: I kept thinking about this. I do think its harder to just sit on the bike and try snapping out. While riding the natural progression of the pedal stroke will help you get you foot loose. Try in in a driveway or alley before going out on the street. Just practice rolling on the bike, snapping in and out. The pedal is really easy to use. Remember the movement is fairly quick, literally a "snap" out.

I bought it at Pacific Bicycles in SF. They're near work and I've gotten to know the guys in there a bit. Getting the bike adjusted in the future might be a pain, I suppose, but for whatever reason the salesperson at the local store had me on a bigger frame. He didn't seem interested in my comments on feeling really stretched out, and I got more of a "warm & fuzzy" from PB.

Anyway, I admit my ankles might not be very strong or flexible. I had more trouble with the original, which was a "wellgo". The Shimano seemed better. Thanks for advice on trying this while riding. I fell down once already, in the parking lot of the store, in front of the salesperson. I can stand the embarrassment, but hitting the pavement is something I'd like to avoid. :p There's a big park with lots of grass nearby, so I think I'll take my little cleat-shoes over there and give it a go. Maybe if I strategically place some gardening knee-pads on my arms and legs, I'll be more brave. Now that will be a fine look! :D

I'm still feeling real dork-like on this bike, and I'll be a slow poke for a while. But it would be great to have people to ride with.

And... I don't know what WSG means.

thanks,
Amy

Amy - never feel like a dork. Falling happens even to experienced riders. Make sure you find someplace where you have lots of room, where you don't have to worry about having to make a turn or stopping and just pedal, unclip, pedal, clip, etc. Remember you don't have to clip in immediately but can pedal first then once you have some momentum, clip in. Clipping out should be just as easy as getting in. Quick twist, not too hard. Make sure your shoes are properly tightened. If they are too loose, it takes a while for your foot to actually turn the shoe (hopefully you understand this). If you start to fall, don't panic, just "round: up alittle (arms in, head tucked) , don't put your arms out. It's best just to go with the flow. Learning how to fall properly is part of cycling.

bcipam - thanks for the advice! I'll check the shoes. The "dork" comment also applies to being on a bike after 15 years. Some of it's familiar, some not. This is a speedy little bike and I have to get used to it.

Funny story (and why you should never worry about being a dork). When I purchased my current bike, I was riding an old touring bike with stem shifters. My new bike has Shimano Ultegra and I have to get used to the handlebar/brake shifters. I was riding in the driveway of my apartment complex, had my head down watching the cassette and derailleur while shifting and didn't notice the wire strung across these two poles and yes... you know the rest. My first concern after picking myself up off the pavement was "is my new bike OK?????" It was and I have been happily riding it for years. Another story... (yes I have lots of them), when I first got pedals (after riding with cages for 20 years), I had several major falls. I stupidly put the pedals on and went the next day and did Cruising the Conejo. Let's just say it was an experience and my wounds have long since healed. It's just part of the sport. Relax, practice and learn to fall!!!! :D

Oh, yeah, that was the first think I checked after getting off the ground at the bike store - "is the bike scratched?" They joked about this at the store - Them: "if you fall, we have bandaids". Me: "but what about the bike??" Them: "that's what we meant".

I've caught myself many times with my head down trying to see what gear I'm in, so that's an easy one. "Hello, the bike is still moving forward!" Too bad Campy doesn't have that flight deck system, that would be very convenient.

I once fell when a car stopped in front of me suddenly. We were making a left hand turn from one of those 4-lane, one-way streets in SF. It was early morning, there was no traffic. Someone walked into the crosswalk, which I didn't see, and the car stopped. My wheel hit the back of his car, I went over the handlebars and flopped onto the back of his car. Then he drove off, apparently missing all this. I then flopped onto the pavement. I was not hurt at all (this was twenty years ago) although the bike had a bent fork. Anyway I picked myself up and just shook my head.

I too was freaked about my clipless pedals - just got them 1 month ago. I brought bike home from shop, took it off my roof rack , jumped on it and fell right over. I have spd cleats/pedals - I loosened the little screw and clipping out was a lot easier. Good luck with yours - you will get the hang of it. I really like them now - so much more power than without them.

Cool, thanks!

Hi Amy-

I struggled with mine a lot at first. I haven't been riding much more than a week and I have gotten the hang of it. My pedals are Ultegra too- I loosened the adjustment screw all the way and I can get in and out of them a lot faster. I know you mentioned they set them up loose in the store, but you might want to check that anyway. It made a lot of difference to me.

Wendy

Strangely, my 105 pedals are much tighter than BF's Ultegra pedals, and both are at the loosest setting. (I am a bit annoyed by that. And I don't seem to have the right hex key to try to loosen it up more.) Maybe it was a similar problem with your Wellgo... Anyone else noticed this?

While we're on the subject, what's the proper position of the pedal from which we're unclipping? I seem to want to be at the top - (1pm if not high noon) but I'm sort of pell-mell and inelegant.

I do SO want to be elegant.

I had been using SPD pedals for ever and decidied that now I am a REAL rider to progress to a road pedal/shoe system about 6 months ago.

I bought some new Look Keo pedals but had the hardest time getting in and out of them. I even took them to the bike shop to get them to loosen the tension as much as possible. They instead TIGHTENED the tension to the max and of course I had a tumble soon after.

And of course, once you have lost confidence, it all gets worse and worse.

The point of this ramble is, make SURE that the tension is as loose as possible and then practice, practice, practice.

Froggies: no tension, no moving parts, nothing to adjust. It's gotta be something simple to work with my simple mind....

Someday I might look into "real" roadie clipless, because I can see where Frogs let go too easily sometimes. That "slippery like ice" sensation that someone mentioned once can get a little freaky. But Frogs are a good introduction to clipless for me!

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Originally Posted by latelatebloomer

While we're on the subject, what's the proper position of the pedal from which we're unclipping? I seem to want to be at the top - (1pm if not high noon) but I'm sort of pell-mell and inelegant.

I do SO want to be elegant.

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At first I unclipped at the top of the circle, so the other foot wouldn't push 'round and catch my free leg. Now I'm sitting here trying to think what I do and I don't think it matters much any more. I may tend now to unclip towards the bottom of the circle. If I'm stopping, then that's the foot I'm going to stand on and I'll be keeping the other one raised anyway. I'm no longer afraid of spinning the loose pedal into my shins. That only happens when I tip over to the clipped side. :o Got a rather big bruise on the inside of my unclipped-foot calf after a near FU-fall Saturday. But it'll heal eventually. And I did manage a panic-speed unclip that saved me from falling.