Switching Pedal Styles-Need Advice

[Em-a-Lee]

Oh, and do the Looks automatically flip to the side you need to clip in or do you have to fumble around with flipping them over? Mine now are two sided so I can do etiher side and no flipping.

[pumpkinpony]

Oh, and do the Looks automatically flip to the side you need to clip in or do you have to fumble around with flipping them over? Mine now are two sided so I can do etiher side and no flipping.

I don't know if there is a difference between the Look pedals, but the pair I got on my bike yesterday hang naturally upside-down, so I'm fumbling with flipping them over... they spin well too if you flip them too hard.

[indysteel]

I don't know if there is a difference between the Look pedals, but the pair I got on my bike yesterday hang naturally upside-down, so I'm fumbling with flipping them over... they spin well too if you flip them too hard.

When I first got them, I went back to the bike shop totally confused as to why they do that. Whatever they said at the time didn't really make sense to me. In any event, thye do work. When I'm stopped at a stop light, I make sure to rotate the pedal with my toe so that's at pedal is in the midnight or 1 o'clock position. I then rest my foot gently on the and that my foot is resting lightly on it. Once the light goes green, it's a question of hoisting myself to the saddle while at the same time pushing the pedal around and exerting enough pressure to clip in as the pedal reaches about 5 o'clock (I'm approximating here because I'm not quite sure where that perfect spot it on the revolution). If i get it right, I should be able to clip in that first revolution. If I get it wrong, I just continue to pedal through the intersection and fuss with it as soon as I'm through.

I'm making it sound harder than it really is. While i'm sure everyone fumbles around a bit, I actually think Keos are pretty user friendly. Other than making sure the cleats are mud free and replacing them as they wear, they're relatively maintenance free and un-fussy. I've never had a problem with them.

[OakLeaf]

I'm having trouble visualizing that. Which foot is on the ground then???

I'm not going to trust that my muscle memory is talking to my verbal brain correctly, on where exactly in the pedal stroke I clip in. I'd guess it's somewhere just after 12:00, after the pedal I'm launching with has passed the bottom of its stroke, but I wouldn't swear to that.

But the deal is, the pedal hangs tipped up so that you can catch it with your toe on the way around and just slide your foot right in. It winds up being a clamshell-type motion more than stepping on top of the pedal. Front of cleat hits pedal, catches front of clip, pushes pedal to horizontal, rear of cleat pops in.

And yeah, if you miss and send the pedal spinning, you can always pedal one-legged until you're through the intersection (or whatever).

[indysteel]

I'm having trouble visualizing that. Which foot is on the ground then???

I'm not going to trust that my muscle memory is talking to my verbal brain correctly, on where exactly in the pedal stroke I clip in. I'd guess it's somewhere just after 12:00, after the pedal I'm launching with has passed the bottom of its stroke, but I wouldn't swear to that.

But the deal is, the pedal hangs tipped up so that you can catch it with your toe on the way around and just slide your foot right in. It winds up being a clamshell-type motion more than stepping on top of the pedal. Front of cleat hits pedal, catches front of clip, pushes pedal to horizontal, rear of cleat pops in.

And yeah, if you miss and send the pedal spinning, you can always pedal one-legged until you're through the intersection (or whatever).

I unclip with my right foot. Left is on the ground. When I'm ready to go--say, when the light turn's green--I hoist myself up and, as I do that, my right foot starts to spin the pedal down and around. Somewhere after 12 o'clock and before 6 o'clock, I clip in--assuming I got my timing right.

Next time I'm on my road bike, I'll pay closer attention to it. It's so automatic now; I can't say I have all the details right. Sadly, I haven't been on my road bike in a few weeks, either.

[OakLeaf]

Ah, so you're rotating the left pedal with your toe until you clip in. I think I get it now - pretty much the same thing I do.

[OakLeaf]

I've been paying attention the last couple of rides, and it turns out that what I do is actually catch the pedal with the top of my toe on the "back" side, before it hits 12:00, maybe around 10:00 or so. Then as the crankarm comes around, I push the pedal horizontal with my toe and slide the cleat into it. It's probably around 2:00 where I click in, just in time for the power phase of the pedal stroke with that foot (yeah I know I could pedal more evenly ).

[Kiwi Stoker]

No one is going to be looking at your pedals in a Half Ironman trust me. Everyone there is going to be impressed you are DOING it.

Honestly there is a bit of running you have to do in transisitions as you have to push the bike out of the holding area and mount elsewhere, also you have to dismount and run the bike in to park it at the end, so what would you feel most comfortable running your bike in?

I am not sure I would want to run in road cleats.

[pll]

I used to have SPDs and, in one bike, I had the single sided SPD (platform on the other side) and found them to be a pain. The platform side is always up.

The Look pedals are very nice. This season, I switched to Keo 2 Max (which supposedly has the widest support platform in their product line). I like a lot, I have more power pedaling and my feet are less tired in long rides, but I have not mastered the art of clipping in yet! As a contrast, with the SPDs, I think the pedals clipped in as soon they saw my foot approaching... Unclipping from the Looks is not a problem at all. The Looks flip to almost perpendicular to the ground. Here's a picture so you can see what I mean: