February 4th rides

[salsabike]

Trisk, the PT guy said that SPD's would be easier for me than frogs.
I actually didn't understand why, but I was already to get frogs and he said
nope. who knows. Everyone in my family uses the SPD's and they are all doing okay, i am just a timid slow learner.

Thanks for the encouragement Ace!

Mimi, Erik is pretty wedded to SPDs because the less float, the more efficient the pedaling cycle. He tried to make them work for me the best he could, and when they ended up bothering my knees again, I switched back to Frogs, which make my knees happy. I did buy some Quattros to try (more float than the SPDs, less than the Frogs), but just haven't gotten around to them yet. Anyway, I actually loved SPDs and found them easy to use. We keep ours pretty loose. It's just that my knees hated them. If they work for you, great--if not, you can still try Frogs.

[Triskeliongirl]

Mimi, Erik is pretty wedded to SPDs because the less float, the more efficient the pedaling cycle.

It is simply not true that having less float is more effecient. Your hip and knee has a natural rotation to it, and float just lets your body move naturally, instead of being confined to move the single way its pinned down. Speedplay X2s with unlimited float are very popular in the pro peleton, and you would think those guys would be concerned with effeciency now wouldn't you. While spds bothered my knees, getting in and out quickly was an issue for me, especially when commuting in traffic. I just feel a lot safer with my frogs.

[Aggie_Ama]

SPD's here (for now) and I had a lot of problems learning. DH finally adjusted the tension on them to real loose and I like them. The only reason I am changing is a don't have dual-side entry. I test rode my bike with some store SPD's and nearly wrecked. I had to get the tension loosened to even get out cleanly.

We did 53.6 miles today. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! Sunny and 60's with practically no wind. The ride was a Beast, lots of climbing. I am sore but grateful to have logged 107 miles on a weekend the weather man thought would be ridiculously cold.

[emily_in_nc]

Mimi, congratulations on trying to ride with clipless! No matter which style of pedal, it takes a little while to get used to, but getting your courage up is most of the battle. So glad you did!

Emily

[SalsaMTB]

Well, my ride on Sunday turned out to be quite the disappointing ride. We have a weekly group social ride on Sundays and normally have good turnout, even on rainy days. I guess the cold got to everyone because this was our group:

Just two people (myself and DH)



This was the reading in our car before the ride:


There were 15mph winds so it felt like -18F. Brrrr.....! We rode down about one mile and turned around. I started to warm up, but DH was feeling nauseous from the cold. -4F is a tough temp to ride in. Legs, torso, arms, and feet all felt fine. Hands were freezing, the exposed skin on my face was killing me, and my eyes were not handling the cold so well either. So, we only did 2 miles. I could have pushed on further, but I think it was a good idea we turned around. I don't think it's good to have exposed skin at such cold temps. It's tough to cover the skin around the sunglasses. Also, I think I need chemical warmers for my hands. Pretty pathetic, but now I know I need to dress differently at that cold of temps or just ride the trainer!

[mimitabby]

SalsaMTB
thanks for the great pictures!! you made me laugh out loud. They are priceless.
I didnt even know that car gages went below zero!
I'm glad you were tough enough to go out but smart enough to give up at 2 miles.

My SPD's are as loose as they can be, they don't feel too loose, (but how would I know)
For now, I am going to keep them on the hybrid bike, I am nowhere near ready to go on a group ride with those things on!!

[Eden]

My SPD's are as loose as they can be, they don't feel too loose, (but how would I know)
For now, I am going to keep them on the hybrid bike, I am nowhere near ready to go on a group ride with those things on!!

With your bike safely on the trainer try hard to pull straight up out of them - maybe even use your husband as a spotter - cause you might tip over if one foot pops out. You really don't want to accidentally disengage - my hubby had a non-shimano pair of SPD pedals that had some release issues (even all of the way tightned down) - pulled both feet out in an intersection once and took quite a spill.