can I learn to love my road shoes?

[VeloVT]

I have trouble clipping in and then my foot slips off. W/the mtn bike shoe I could just sit on top of the pedals if without clipping in, and my foot would stay put. W/these, I can't do that.

I made the same switch, but I use Speed Plays; I never had any issues. I don't really understand what the issue is. With Speed Plays, you put your foot down and it's in. Once in awhile I miss, but the motion is so natural, my foot just slides in.

Crankin, the motion for clipping in with SPD-SLs/Looks is different -- you can't just step on the pedal. You kind of slide in and down. You have to catch the pedal just right or the cleat will just slide right over the top of the pedal.

That said, it's totally a muscle memory thing. When I first started riding clipless it would take me a long time to clip in, but with repetition it becomes like clipping out -- you don't have to look down, your body knows where the pedal is. Like someone else said, I would say just give it time. I love my road pedals.

If you get nervous at intersections because you are concerned that you might not be able to clip in fast enough, always remember that with clipless pedals, it's quite easy to keep yourself going pedaling with only one leg. Assuming you only clip out one foot at lights, you can get yourself going with the leg that's still clipped in, and take your time to get your other foot in. When I was helping my boyfriend learn to use clipless pedals, and he had anxiety about getting clipped in, I demonstrated that you can actually go pretty fast with only one leg by riding down the bike path in front of him with one leg clipped in and the other lifted out to the side. He thought it was pretty funny -- apparently I looked like a dog at a fire hydrant .