Pedal Preference?

[telegirl]

The fact that you came in second to a pro is majorly impressive, spokewench! I'm out in the NE - Vermont specifically, and we have been getting tons of wet weather. My bro-in-law was at the Nationals in Providence RI last year and talk about wet, ice, cold, frozen snow- He said he spent more time off his bike than on it, so it sounded like what you went through!

I guess I just need to figure out what I feel comfortable with - And, like Velo said, HAVE FUN!

Pedals, I think I have narrowed down to staying with SPDs or trying Candys...leaning toward the Candys......Oh, crud....now SHOES!?

Ummmm, do you think that you Cycloxperts could just set up a hotline for me?? I'll probably need to know what brand of kleenex to use next......

[spokewench]

Actually, I think you already picked it! Kleenex is a brand of paper hankie, synonomous in America with paper hankie!

[Kitsune06]

see, I don't do ccx, but I'm wondering if eggbeater Mallets wouldn't be a good idea, because they've a big enough platform for all that onagain-offagain, mount/dismount stuff, you wouldn't *always* have to clip in. just a thought. Then again, they are sorta heavy.

[velogirl]

Mallets are downhill pedals. Not only are they very heavy (more a concern when you have to carry your bike as you run up hill or over barriers), but they're also really big and have sharp edges (which would hurt when you shoulder or if you hit yourself with a pedal). If you dismount correctly, your left pedal falls right where your spine is when you shoulder the bike -- ouch!

You don't really need a big platform for cyclocross. I would've stayed with the eggbeaters but the candies are pink (and I wanted to add some pink touches to my bike). Silly, I know.

[julypace]

I have been using Shimano SPD pedals on my mountain bike. One of the reasons why I like it is its multi angle release cleats. Some years ago, I was using the single release cleats and hurt my right ankle when I crashed because my right foot did not come off (or I could not let my right foot come off quick enough). Since then I have been using the multi release cleats..

Eggeater pedals look promising as far as shedding mud is concerned but do they have multi release cleats?

velogirl - any thought / advice?

Thanx!

[velogirl]

All the Crank Bros pedals use the same cleat (which is cool). Depending on which side you place the cleat, you have a larger or smaller release angle (off the top of my head I think it's 10 degrees or 20 degrees, but don't quote me). I tried clipping out by turning my ankle in toward the bike the other day (just for kicks) and it was a bit tighter but it worked. So I guess the answer is yes, kinda.

FWIW, I don't think multi-release cleats are that much value. Your situation is pretty rare, JulyPace (not clipping out when crashing resulting in an injury). I've found most times I crash my pedals somehow mysteriously release. Not that I crash all that much. Really, I don't.

[velogirl]

BTW, many of you are referring to pedal preferences for mtn bikes. While you can race a mtn bike in a cross race, I think everyone realizes we're discussing pedal preferences for racing cyclocross, right? The technical demands of pedals are different if you're just trail riding versus racing where you need to dismount, run, mount, etc.