First winter ride pictorial.

[amg]

I think it was actually more in the cleat. I would step down on the ground or walk a hill and they would get really tightly packed with snow/ice. It would take a while to get it all out before I could clip in. My husband didn't have too hard of a time with it but I would say like 60% of the ride I only had one foot clipped in.

It's defintely worth trying out. Just be ready to work hard on a once easy trail! I hadn't gone for a ride for about 3 or 4 weeks because of fractured ribs so maybe some of my conditioning was lost too.

Maybe try using some grease on your cleats next time to keep the snow from sticking. I think that's what people do to shod horses hooves in the winter to keep them from balling up with snow. Another option is to just pick up some cheap flat pedals for snow rides. That's what I do - we get fairly wet snow up here and it packs into things SO easily!

[newfsmith]

The most frusterating part...trying to get clipped in!! I love my pedals, but the were terrible in the snow. Riding in the snow is like riding in sand, the second you stop pedaling, you stop moving.

I eventually swapped my winter bike's SPD pedals for platforms with MTB mini toe clips made by Zefal for this reason. The toe clips keep my foot reasonably stable on the pedals, let me easily raise a pedal to take off from a stop, but still give me an instant out if I need it. That also allows me to switch to a well insulated pair of 8 inch boots that are more waterproof, have a solid bottom that doesn't conduct heat away as much, gives me a windproof barrier up above my ankles, and lets me skip struggling into neoprene shoe covers. I prefer not to use "pac boots" because they restrict my ankles too much.