SPD Encouragement needed

[deskrider]

I'm asking because I will be in a similar situation. I tried clipless pedals about 20 years ago and never got past the creepy feeling I had about wanting to get my feet out fast. Half the time I rode with one foot out, which was dumb because it made my other leg work harder. Having not ridden in at least a decade I decided to buy a bike and try again so I know the pedal issue will come up again. Surely these things work better than what I had 20years ago, but I want to try the best/easiest to start with. The SPD that you described sounds good, but are there others I should consider?

[Biciclista]

I found someone to give me a lesson. It cost $90.00 but it was money well spent. I had already fallen and it hurt BADLY.
What I really had to learn was to unclip before I applied the brake. That's the main part i needed know. After 100 years of riding a bike, I knew I had to apply the brakes first to stop. that's the whole sequence. But now I had to learn a new thing.
So try just clipping in one foot. and for goodness sake, make sure the things are at their loosest set point. worry about tightening them up later (I like them loose!)
When i was first learning this, i clipped and unclipped constantly.
And in an emergency, if you can't just pull free, they're too tight!
i hope this helps. It took me years to get to the point that i was comfortable with my SPD's

[indysteel]

Catrin, when I first started with clipless pedals, I used the dual-sided SPDs that you're planning to use, and I did more or less what you have in mind. I sometimes rode clipped in, others times I didn't or with only one foot clipped in. Before I truly got used to using them religiously, however, I bought my road bike and had Look Keos pedals installed immediately. That's when I truly learned to use clipless pedals--primarily because I had no other choice at that point. From there, I mostly did what Muirenn did. I went to a parking lot and practiced stopping over and over and over again.

In my own personal experience, it's all well and good to ride down a straight road clipped in, but you're likely only going to get proficient at using clipless pedals if you practice coming to a stop with them. The act of unclipping, slowing down, leaning a bit to unclipped side and putting your unclipped foot down has to become largely automatic, And it only becomes automatic by doing it repeatedly. You also have to practice getting moving and clipped in again with them, which can be almost as hard.

The best place to do this, IMO, is on a road/parking lot/route where you're going to have few other distractions. Always unclip with the same foot and otherwise follow the same routine each and every time. In time, it should become automatic.

[Catrin]

Catrin, when I first started with clipless pedals, I used the dual-sided SPDs that you're planning to use, and I did more or less what you have in mind. I sometimes rode clipped in, others times I didn't or with only one foot clipped in. Before I truly got used to using them religiously, however, I bought my road bike and had Look Keos pedals installed immediately. That's when I truly learned to use clipless pedals--primarily because I had no other choice at that point. From there, I mostly did what Muirenn did. I went to a parking lot and practiced stopping over and over and over again.

In my own personal experience, it's all well and good to ride down a straight road clipped in, but you're likely only going to get proficient at using clipless pedals if you practice coming to a stop with them. The act of unclipping, slowing down, leaning a bit to unclipped side and putting your unclipped foot down has to become largely automatic, And it only becomes automatic by doing it repeatedly. You also have to practice getting moving and clipped in again with them, which can be almost as hard.

The best place to do this, IMO, is on a road/parking lot/route where you're going to have few other distractions. Always unclip with the same foot and otherwise follow the same routine each and every time. In time, it should become automatic.

As I remember, it wasn't the getting started that was the problem, until I just got plain gun-shy, but stopping (I had regular SPD pedals at that time - still have them waiting in the wings). I get the pedals installed tomorrow, likely won't clip in for my long ride Saturday, but Sunday afternoon am planning to get out and work with them - both stopping and starting.

I have learned since the last time that I just do not like to start, or stop, with my left foot - so I do both with my right. That knowledge should help this time When I get more confident then I will have my regular pedals installed... this is the more expensive approach but I think this will help!

Thanks!

[DarcyInOregon]

Not everybody does the unclip one foot and lean thing. I don't and I am aware of many other cyclists that don't. So Catrin, do what works best for you. Take the advice in this forum and from your trainer, and figure out what works best for you.

I unclip both feet in advance of the anticipated stop. I have two-bolt SPD pedals, so I wear high end mountain bike shoes or cycling sandals, which means I can pedal on the back end of my shoes and not have pedals that flip over. If I don't have to stop after all, I clip both feet back in quickly and off I go. If I want to approach the intersection slowly, I can pedal very slow or teeter, then clip back in as I cross the intersection. Or I can come to a halt, plant both feet on the ground, and there is no falling over at all. I clip my right foot back in while I am waiting to cross the intersection, then off I go when it is feasible. I unclip one foot and lean when it needs to be an emergency stop.

All I am saying is just because cyclists tell you that you have to unclip one foot and lean, it doesn't mean you have to do it that way. Figure out what works for you, and do it that way.

[OakLeaf]

On a road bike with seat height properly adjusted to protect the rider's knees, neither foot will touch the ground unless they lean. It's hesitation or confusion about which side to lean, that leads to people falling over. I've done it recently, and only ever in that situation.

[indysteel]

When I say "lean," it's actually part of one fluid movement of slowing down/stopping and unseating myself while I plant my unclipped foot on the ground.

Here's a video from REI that offers a good visual:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcSF-7oJ1Ac

[snowroo]

I use multidirectional release cleats. They seem to hold when I need them and just pop out when I don't.

[DarcyInOregon]

Oakleaf, it isn't about hesitation in unclipping for some people. There are other reasons, usually physical in nature, such as having a lame foot, or having an artificial joint, or having a balance problem in the ears. Other people wear road shoes that are smooth on the bottom, and have a problem with unclipping just the one foot. It is different for everyone, that is why there is not only one way to unclip and stop. There is the recommended method, which is feasible for many cyclists, but not all cyclists. And as we see more aging cyclists on the event rides, with bunions, neuropathy in the feet, and other ailments, we see more unusual ways on how cyclists clip, unclip, start and stop. The results are the same, no matter the method, and that is start, stop and be clipped in while riding. The method of the start and stop doesn't impact the cardio endurance or the speed.