Last edited by Irulan; 07-09-2010 at 08:38 AM.
When I first started riding clipless on my mountain bike, I agree, it took all the joy out riding from me and I asked myself why, why was i doing this to myself?? Then the light went on - I didn't have to stay clipped if I didn't want to when hitting the gnarly stuff. I clipped out and planned ahead and clipped back in when I was ready. Sometimes our brains tell us that we have to stay clipped in for every inch of trail, but you don't have to ride every bit of trail clipped in. And when I did clip in yes, it made me a better and stronger rider on sections of trail that I was comfortable riding when clipped in.
That's why I love the Crank Brother Candy pedals because of the platform and having the ability to clip out when required and still continue to ride. I know there are a few people on the forum who have a bad experiences with the Candy's and that's perfectly ok. You have to go with what's comfortable for you. Even if you have to go back to platforms. That's perfectly fine - I almost did as well.
That's what I have now. I use the bike in question for commuting and errands and thus it must be rideable wearing regular sneakers.
Oooh! Lots of color choices! OK, these are now on the list of possibilities.
I climb up so many steep grades that I must be able to apply power on the upstroke. This means some sort of attachment. When using this bike for commuting, I'm terrified of dropping a foot off the front of a pedal while spinning out in top (MTB) gear racing a city bus to the next bus stop. This also calls for attachment.
I had toe clips for 19 years. This was rarely a problem.
This was my primary motivator to trying clipless. Not so much for trail riding issues, but more for carving high speed turns on roads. My old toe clips were getting horribly scratched up from dragging on pavement when not clipped in.
That's what I've been doing now - clipping out of the SPDs for the gnarly stuff. However, the resulting reduction of control makes the gnarlies even gnarlier.
Last edited by laura*; 07-09-2010 at 12:41 PM. Reason: Another reply
I have an entire assortment of chain and chain ring scars - but if that is the price of gaining bike skills then I happily will pay it. My pedals look very much like the image that Irulan posted - and while the metal spiky thingies are flat on top the edges get me almost every time. It generally happens when I have to walk my bike for some reason and a pedal brushes my leg - it doesn't take much as I think the edges are sharper than they appear to be.. At least I haven't gotten any new chain ring scars in two weeks
Knotted - those pedals look interesting. I seem to be slowly mangling one of my current pedals from previous inelegant dismounts and the occasional falls over the last few months - it hits the ground when I lean my bike over for mounting. I may well replace them with these pedals - it is good to hear that they cause fewer boo-boos.
My LHT deserves good looking pedals as well as other parts - when I finish re-learning how to stop/dismount - having to break a very bad habit that I've had from the beginning... The Wanderer deserves to look good!
What kind of mountain biking are you doing that involves carving high speed turns on roads?This was my primary motivator to trying clipless. Not so much for trail riding issues, but more for carving high speed turns on roads. My old toe clips were getting horribly scratched up from dragging on pavement when not clipped in.
Standing on your little SPDs? Yes, that would give anyone problems.That's what I've been doing now - clipping out of the SPDs for the gnarly stuff. However, the resulting reduction of control makes the gnarlies even gnarlier.
My DH has the crank bros combos.. those work too but it sounds like you don't really want to do anything different.
You completely missed my point. Practice and take all the other elements out of the picture. There's no pressure in your living room. You won't fall. You will find the right spot with practice.
I was hit by a car - on the road - and I "had time" to unclip. It becomes second nature. Unclipping and putting your foot down is 1 motion.
You've already made up your mind so go to flats - but it really just takes practice - just like riding a bike......
99% of my riding is on pavement. I ride a MTB because of the monstrously steep grades - and because the occasional offroad connection avoids traffic and/or a long detour.
Even though I live in what some would consider a mountain biking mecca, there are very few off road areas* that allow bikes.
They're combination pedals - SPD on one side, and a platform on the other.
I don't like toe clips, but clipless has been a disaster so far. I'd love to find something clipless from which I can unclip as easily as from toe clips. That probably means being able to move my foot in one continuous motion with no resistance from the pedal to the ground. I'd also have to be able to clip in instantly 99.9% of the time.
* Offroad (non)possibilities:
- State park half a mile away. One 2 mile paved MUP with serious grades. One 1 mile dirt trail that requires fording a river and the end of which is essentially a dead end for bikes. Two trails that allow bikes but which are impassable because of too much sand.
- State park 1.5 miles away - no bikes allowed.
- County park 2 miles away - closed 2 out of every 3 years and no bikes anyway.
- City park 5 miles away - no bikes except for a half mile connecting trail.
- Railroad tracks with a path alongside - NO TRESPASSING under threat of federal prosecution.
- State university 1 mile but an hour of strenuous riding away - maybe 4 miles of flat wide gravel fire roads - gotta get there first.
- State park also 1 mile and 1 hour away, or 10 miles by car - plenty of bike trails but the local microclimate is perpetually freezing.
- Forest - No trespassing, logging area.
- Forest - No trespassing, quarry area.
- Forest - No trespassing, watershed area.
- Forest - No trespassing, pot growing area.
She's been riding clipless on SPDs for a year - so it's not like she hasn't given these a chance.
So either clipless isn't going to work for her or the SPD style of clipless isn't going to work. I don't think spds are goign to get any easier for her with practice.
I know my speedplay frogs are an awful lot easier to get out of than the few days that I tried spd cleats - I can get in them instantly and out of them instantly. It did take a couple weeks to get to that point - but definitely not a year.
Ditto for my Speedplay Frogs. http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.frog No moving parts, passive release. Gotta love it in my little universe! I like showing off how easy they are to get in and out of by "clicking" my empty shoe in with a gentle 2-finger push, and "clicking" out by letting go of the shoe and letting it just untwist itself right off the pedal and fall off.
Thank you for clarifying what you were looking for, Laura.
Speedplay Frogs are ABSOLUTELY easier for me to get out of than toe clip/cages. I used cages for many years, and I was pretty darn good at managing them, but Speedplay Frogs had them beat all hollow within a couple weeks.
Last edited by KnottedYet; 07-09-2010 at 05:16 PM.
"If Americans want to live the American Dream, they should go to Denmark." - Richard Wilkinson
Same here. Once I tried Frogs I never looked back. I use them on my road bike and my MTB.
When I take spin classes I don't like those SPDs at all - glad the spin bikes don't tip over.
I did not read all of this thread, so I do not know if this was mention.
Don't change the spd...change the cleat. They make a muti-direction release cleat that I have been using for 5 years. You do not have to twist your heel. Any way you pull it will release, and it do not come out unless you want it to.
It is a 20 dollar item and it changed my life.
trust me and give it a try.
Interesting....how far do you have to twist your foot to get out of them? My fitter would like to see me eventually try the Speedplay cleats, but not the frogs - there is another kind that he likes can't think of the name of them. He did say that you have to twist your foot further to release them because of the increased float.
Eventually I am going to try clipless again, though I already have SPD pedals, cleats, and shoes I am not sure that I want that on my bike again.
Laura --- Do what works for you.
I'm a fan of SPD pedals---have MTB SPD pedals on all of my bikes (road, cross and MTB). Like some of the other posters, clipping out has become instinctive for me. Second nature. When I first converted to clipless, I was extremely mindful and I anticipated situations where I thought I might need to unclip. In addition, I keep my cool and do not let myself panic. I think these are the primary reasons that I have never taken a spill due to forgetting to unclip or not clipping out in time. My one clipless incident was due to neglecting the check the tension on newly mounted SPDs. Big mistake---it was so high that I could not unclip. I told myself, don't panic....pulled up next to a parked car, stopped, leaned against the car, and took off my shoes! I used my multi-tool to correct the pedal tension and was on my way.
Luna Eclipse//Terry B'fly
Luna Orbit//Sella Italia Ldy Gel Flow
Bianchi Eros Donna//Terry Falcon
Seven Alaris//Jett 143
Terry Isis (Titanium)//Terry B'fly
Frogs are by far the easiest of all pedals to clip in/out. I have them on ALL 3 of my ROAD bikes, as do most of my friends. Had them on my hybrid too but kept them when I sold that bike. Took them to Europe on my bike vacation as well and put them on the rental bike. I will never go back to any other pedal.