Toe Clips??

[mimitabby]

nice posts, everyone. THank you. Good point. The fellow that told me I WOULD fall is 30 and buff, and he doesn't care if he falls or not. I would probably spend hours clipping and unclipping before i ever decided to try the spd's too.

[PAP103]

Well, I guess, if I were afraid of falling, I wouldn't be on a bike to begin with. Last summer, while riding my hybrid with sneakers (no cages), I stopped, put my right foot down and promptly toppled over into the bushes!

I bought a new road bike (Trek Pilot 2.1) and they put flat pedals on for me because I was afraid of the new bike, let alone being attached to it. But after a few rides, I decided that I should try the cages. I have been riding fine with them - no toppling over. So my next investment will be clipless pedals. But it won't be until after my Bike New York Tour on May7th.

Right now I'm leaning toward the Speedplay Frogs but I'm going to my LBS to get some more info on the different types.

I'm still new to all this cycling stuff so I'm going to take it a little at a time!
Many thanks to all of you for your opinions and advice. It makes a newbie feel like a real cyclist!!

Patty

[FreshNewbie]

Hey Patty, just wanted to add that SadieKate is right- don't be afraid of clipless, in the end you will love them and will never wanna go back. I got my clipless pedals one months after i started riding a bike, and I never had a bike when I was a child. Be confident and practice , practice , practice. It took me 2 times of park visits and 2-3 hours of practice to become comfortable enough to ride with a bike club and in traffic. Don't think about falling, think about the joy that biking gives you. Good luck!

[Grog]

I must add that, if you can do toe cages, it's maybe even EASIER to have clipless pedals!! I have always been scared of those cages, and find it's much less natural to get out of them, easier to get my laces tangled in them, etc. With clipless, especially mountain SPDs with little tension, I just moved my foot to the side and free I was.

I agree with SadieKate about the negativity surrounding clipless pedals. Don't let others put you down about things you have not even tried yet... See for yourself!

Good luck!

[KnottedYet]

At the moment I'm quite happy with my toe-cages. When I'm a stronger biker and feel I'm not getting enough out of my bike AND have money, I'll look into Speedplays or something.

One of my worries (and I have many) is that I won't be able to find shoes with a wide enough toe-box. I think I'd buy bike shoes first, then look into the clipless pedals.

I know that I DON'T like riding on flat pedals after using toe-cages for so long. Feels like I'm not attached to the bike enough and like I'm wasting energy.

[doc]

One of my worries (and I have many) is that I won't be able to find shoes with a wide enough toe-box. I think I'd buy bike shoes first, then look into the clipless pedals.

Men's shoes are wider than women's. I doubt you'll have a problem finding shoes to fit. I have 3 pairs all men's.

[Crankin]

Sidi makes shoes in a Mega width in almost all of their styles. I have a bunion on my left foot and after a few times of my foot swelling in hot weather, I got shoes in a bigger size, Mega width, when i switched from spds to Speedplays. You might also want to get shoes with the "ratchet" thing that allows you to adjust how tight the shoe is, in addition to the Velcro straps. If it starts getting really hot, I will stop and loosen up the shoes.

[Brina]

I know that *if* I go clipless, I will go with the pedals that go both ways. (I always just said I was too cheap to get them... but now that I have spent beau coup bucks on a bicycle powered blender I guess that's hard to support - but hey! I can't afford clipless, I'm broke buying the blender!) I looked at some Shimano's on a guy's bike last week - one side for the funky bike shoe, the other side if I am in my sneakers. I don't mind having to fondle the pedal with my feet to get it on the right side (as it is I do a fun little flip to get the clip right-ways up). The guy said he liked those pedals for his week-long rides, because sometimes after the main ride he'd wnat to just go a mile to a store or something, and didn't feel like walking around on the bike shoes.

(Oh, and I have a Trek hybrdid - 7500FX and a Giant Nutra Hybrid.)

This is what I have on my hybrid. If I am going out with my boys on their bikes and my daughter in her burly to ride a few miles then I use my cycling shoes. But if the guys and I are just riding to school together, (about a half mile) I wear my sneakers. I love having the option.

On my road bike I have Keo peddles and love them.

[KnottedYet]

As of this morning's bike skills class, I've removed my toe-cages. Feels odd. Now I'm looking into Frogs.

Robyn, thanks for the info on the Sidi Mega width shoes. I've got a neuroma I need to give lots of room.

Sure do like the sound of two-sided pedals! I like putt-putting around in my sneakers.

[Aggie_Ama]

Sadie is right- I *thought* I would fall and boy did I. It is mental. After struggling, I kept waiting for the next fall. When I stopped telling myself I would fall, I stopped falling.

[DirtDiva]

It so is. I went clipless when I bought a bike that came with SPDs. I'd read all kinds of horror stories here and I just thought "Bugger that - I am not going to let myself fall!" I took all the good advice I had seen here and practiced a little in my hallway before going for a spin around the very quiet streets in my imediate neighbourhood. I am yet to fall because I haven't unclipped in time. (I have, however, found some much stupider ways to come off: cornering at speed on pavers covered in gravelly bits in the dark, for instance... )

[runner2]

Do What Is Works For You.

Or Make It Work For You By Practice.

Be Safe.

[Hammer]

It so is. I went clipless when I bought a bike that came with SPDs. I'd read all kinds of horror stories here and I just thought "Bugger that - I am not going to let myself fall!" I took all the good advice I had seen here and practiced a little in my hallway before going for a spin around the very quiet streets in my imediate neighbourhood. I am yet to fall because I haven't unclipped in time. (I have, however, found some much stupider ways to come off: cornering at speed on pavers covered in gravelly bits in the dark, for instance... )

That's actually a good way to come off... How did you manage to fall WHILE moving at speed and NOT get hurt enough to use a emoticon instead of a THAT's what I have to figure out... the art of falling... in case it happens again.

[Grog]

That's actually a good way to come off... How did you manage to fall WHILE moving at speed and NOT get hurt enough to use a emoticon instead of a THAT's what I have to figure out... the art of falling... in case it happens again.

Tuck and roll. Stick whatever you can as close to your core as you can, especially your neck. Do not try to stop the fall with your hands (broken wrists guaranteed). Maximize the surface that touches the ground (ex: arm instead of elbow).

This being said, falling is not fun, but it makes me feel like a kid who can still play. As long as nothing's broken too badly, falling once in a while makes a good story to tell and makes me feel alive. I could stay at home and do nothing and try nothing outside of my comfort zone and I wouldn't fall, but then I would instead of . Dunno what the Neo-Zelander thinks about this though, I just speak for myself here!

[DirtDiva]

As far as the not goes, this Neo Zealander is just young and stupid still, I guess. I would have remebered the gravelly bits were in that spot if I'd thought about it, but I was having fun leaning my bike as far over as I could on the corners and totally overdid it on that one; it wasn't so much that I was going fast as just too fast for that situation. It was much more "duh!" than "ow!" (and I had a sweet bruise on my forearm/elbow to show off). Grog's right - falling has a perverse enjoyablity in it's feel-alive factor. (Or I'm just a bit odd. )