bwfox

What are others using for pedal retention on the prosthetic foot? With the limited ankle movement and limited twist out I have a hard time finding a clipless pedal solution.

benajah

This is a big issue for me and one that I have invested a lot of thought, not to mention money into.
first idea....SPD multi release, MTB pedals. I rode these for years, and loved them. They work great. If you don't race, where you're sprinting and doing all sorts of crazy stuff to your pedals and cleats, these are far and away the best choice on the market. The only downside is that you can pull out of them in a hard sprint, like where you are going balls to the wall, 2 heartbeats per minute from a heart attack. If you aren't going that hard, they are the perfect choice.
now I race a lot, and so worry about pulling out of the pedals. No road cleats work for me. The best thing I found that you can't pull out of are Speedplay Frogs. The downside is that it's still a "rotate your heel out" motion to release, and there's no other way to release.
ive ridden frogs for several years now, and am actually thinking about switching back to SPD as I have been in a few crashes where I couldn't get out of my pedals. I want my feet to release in a crash.
like you, I'm a BK amputee. I have both regular foot for riding, and a peg leg. I like them both, but the peg leg was the thing that led me to look for other pedal cleat systems. With a regular foot, Shimano SPD with multi release cleats are perfect, or at least as perfect as in what's on the market right now.

bwfox

How do you cant your toe to engage the cleat? Do you have enough twist with your socket to get out easily? I am using an spd on the right sidebut haven't used one on the prosthetic side yet.

benajah

With multi release cleats (they make two types for SPD, multi and single) you can just press right down into the pedal, and to get out, you can move your foot any direction to pull out. You can adjust the tension on the pedal to make it easier or harder.

bwfox

Do you remember the number of the multi release. I'll have to get some for my Tahoe shoes and Keen spd sandals .
Thanks!
Bert

bwfox

I went out in the garage and went thru my 25 year old box of spd cleats. I had some multi trelease ones. They are going to work great on my left shoe. I didn't realize they had different spd cleats.
Very cool.
Thanks!

benajah

Yeah I think they are marked with a capital M. They don't really look any different except for some beveling on the metal. I guess that's what lets them pull out at different angles.

Juan Foote

As an alternative, you might consider using Crank Bros Eggbeaters as well. I have been using them for several years now and like them a lot. I can even stand and pedal now that I have gotten used to them. I was not able to use a "peg" leg solution as I couldn't twist far enough to get out. Even at that, I never release my prosthesis until I come to a stop, so it has caused me a scary moment or two, but with a little thought and training it seems to be easy enough to avoid the issue. The nice thing about the eggs is that the cleat itself is what determines the release angle and the spring tension on the pedal side stays consistent. I have found SPD to be problematic in that the tension is often too hard to get out at a high enough factor to allow me to stand and pedal as well.

bwfox

I got in a 20 mile ride on Monday with the "M" spd on the prosthetic side and a regular spd cleat on the right, "normal", foot. It was awesome. First time I have been clipped in on prosthetic and easy release. I am 59 and I am strictly a recreational rider. I don't sprint or try and increase my workout. I ride relatively easy whether I am on our tandem or one of my 1/2 bikes.

Juan Foote

Glad that it worked out for you. It is awesome to see people overcoming these minor issues and moving on with the things they want to do.

esther-L

One caveat with eggbeaters is that you cannot use kneesavers or other pedal extenders with them. I have to use a pedal extender on the prosthetic side, or my socket hits the bike frame.

esther-L

I have used Look cleats and Speedplay frogs. I tried an ancient pair of SPD pedals that my husband had laying around, and could not reliably clip into them when biking on a trainer. I tried Look, and they were easy to clip in and out.

I switched to frogs to give me more options in shoes. I believe you can release from frogs by rotating out, or pulling straight back. I did not know there was a multi-release option for SPD pedals - do those have any adjustment in the release tension?

bwfox

I tried Crank Candy which are the eggbeaters with a platform around them. They are ok, but the spd with an M cleat on the prosthetic side are the easiest in and out and worked great. The adjustability feature of spd pedal is in the pedal and not the cleat, so it is still adjustable irregardless of which cleat you are using. I also use pedal extenders to maintain my heel clearance on the prosthetic side. I have been able to use these on all the different pedals I have tried.

mtndog66

Hi guys, I've been mountain biking for years on platforms, but I would really like to"get" into clipless. I'm still not sure how you guys are unclipping. I ride pretty hard and am worried about crashing. How "quick" can you unclip? It looks like multi-release is the way. Just wondering. By the way just found a $2000 full suspension for $1000 brand new 2012 "last" years model, so really want to go clipless, so I can ride harder, just scared I guess.

bwfox

It's pretty quick and easy to twist out. I twist out with my good leg and then plant my foot and then twist out with the prosthetic. I like convertible pedals wiith a platform to allow me to anticipate and twist out and have an option to ride through a slow technical portion and have my feet free to stop if necessary. For me the spd cleats with my prosthetic using the "m" or multirelease cleat works the best and gives me some peace of mind when using clipless pedals. I can't even begin to ride well without having the prosthetic clipped in.

esther-L

Seeing some able-bodied pro racers hit the ground while still clipped in made me feel less scared about falling while being unable to unclip on the prosthetic side. I watch pro road races on TV when I have time.
I use the same method as bwfox to unclip - I need to have the knee of the leg with prosthesis straight in order to twist out of pedal.