Commuting - wide feet, big sandals, pedals dont release (pedal extenders??)

good morning from the chilly North east.

Well after my torn betwwen 2 pedals post I decided to try a set of speedplay frogs. I was originaly looking at Crank bro and time But the frogs appealed to me for the amount of float they had.

long story short I read the instructions and info card that came with the frog pedals and was looking at the compatable shoe list and to my dismay spd style sandals will not work due to the said larger "Toe" box

speedplay also mentions any cycling shoe that is made as "Wide" will also not work.

I have wide MTB shoes and lake sandals.

I took a spare crank arm and set up a pedal and Yep The sandal will only release with the pedal at the very bottom or at the top but also my Lake MX101 shoe is the same.

Ive been using SPD so I decided to try both shoes on the one spd pedal.


HMM same thing the shoes are only free to release when the pedal is at the very bottom or top.

I never had a close call and always unclipped on the SPD when the pedal was at the bottom but if Im going to take a fall im out of luck if the crank/ pedal is anything but straight up or down.

I was thinking of returning the froggs but I do believe Ill have the same problem with any pedal with the 45/46 SIZE sandal and my wide mtb shoe!!

actually the sandal hits the crank ARM while peddling and my mtb shoes are only a mm from hitting the crank arm (I never noticed untill now).

speed play sells longer spindles 1/2" is max (dont think long enough) but Im sure they are very $$ SO I do believe pedal exteders/knee savers would probably save the day?? and will work with any pedal in mind.

I see they are avail in 20mm 3/4" 25mm .98" OR 30MM 1.18"

ANY THOUGHTS OR EXPERIENCE, I have to do somthing cuz its not right, even what Ive been using isnt real safe now that Ive realy looked at the situation.

would the xtra "Q" factor hurt anything Im a clydesdale anyway so wide is usually a good thing

"WIDER IS BETTER" :D

many thanks

"John"

Im the only one with this problem?

I cant be

Oh well.

"John"

Silly Question: can't you move the cleat inwards on the sole? That would solve the problem. Make sure you move it towards the crank.

John, lets step aside from the whole stock-special order pedals bit. Make some inserts that you can thread into the crank arms then thread the normal pedals into the inserts. Find a good machine shop that can do both right and left handed threading. Get two pieces of alloy rod. Put a right-handed and a left-handed thread on one and the other that match the threads in the crank arms. Drill holes in the other ends of the inserts and tap them to match the pedal threads. These inserts should be just long enough to give you the off-set you need.

A simpler choice would be to contact the company (Cannondale? Trek?) that made a custom bike for the 7 foot plus Basketball star. I read about it last year in BICYCLING. See how they handled his size 16 or something feet.

Maybe even easier. Contact a custom bike builder and offer to buy the pedal system from him/her if your need can be solved.

Why make 'em?
http://www.loosescrews.com/index.cgi?d=single&c=Pedal&sc=Adapters&tc=&item_id=SC-PDA&id=567127724528

I use Time Atac pedals, set on shallow release (least amount of angle required of the two settings) and a shimano sandal. My sandals touched the crank originally but moving the cleats to towards the cranks the 2 mm or so max adjustement was enough to remove any touching.

Ive never had a problem unclipping with mine but im also not as large a shoe size as you.

Is there any way you can return with your shoes/pedals/cleats to your LBS and see if a different pedal system will work? Maybe also some creative cutting on the shoes might help, but i'd do that as last resort :)

THANKS FOR THE REPLIES.

I did order a set of Knee savers to extend the pedal out.

the gent I talked to said that quite a few folks ordered the Kneesavers not so much for knee problems but to compansate for larger sized shoes.

I looked at 3 different pedals and with both my sandal and My mtb shoe I could only get a release if my crank was straight up and down thus the toe box was well forward of the crank,

no easy release if the crank was anywhere near the shoe on either shoe with any of the three pedals I have. Ive been riding spd but never noticed this problem as I always unclipped to get off bike (NO FALLS)

THE the 45/46 sandal rubs the crank just a hair.

the one pair of road shoes that I own were ok but then again they have flared rounded sides and thus has some room to play with , but road shoes are not practical nor comfy for commuting and light tour stuff.

Im sure the Knee savers will do the trick HOPEFULLY WONT CAUSE ANY OTHER GRIEF!? ,What a pain!!!, its not like I have custom shoes, both the sandal and the MX101 are stock sizes

the spindles from speed play were $60.00 (no thanks)


THANKS AGAIN

"John"

Hello John,

I have the same problem (ie big feet & desire to use speedplay pedals). I was surprised and disappointed that Speedplay refused to consider selling pedals with the longer spindles pre-installed. I have not tried the knee savers yet. Adjusting the cleats might help with the release, but does not help with getting the foot squarely over the pedal.

What length knee saver did you purchase?

Thanks - Jim

THANKS FOR THE REPLY.

I thought I was all alone with this problem. actually ill bet that many people with larger size shoes

the 11 - 13 w crowd has only marginaly safe clipless pedal performance and dont know it , I didnt!!

as for speedplay spindles the largest they offer is 1/2" longer which would have probably been ok with the shoes but not the sandal.

I told the gent at SCOR "kneesaver' what my reason for inquiring and he asked my foot size, my foot was a 11.5 EEE and I also tole him Im wearing the lake sandal.

he reccomended the 25mm size as it should get me good clearance for the sandals.

I would bet the 20mm would be fine if I were just using the lake shoes but Im wearing the sandals and they are much wider than My ATB shoe.

"John"

i don't understand why you're having release problems.

i run size 45 mtb shoes and shimano sandals on frogs, both old style and new style cleats, they release fine most all the time (sometimes seems to require extra rotation to get out). in fact been using them for 5 years.

i've never noticed at what point in pedal rotaion where they release since its so natural, but i think i'm coming out with right foot when pedal is at the 6-9 oclock position (as viewed from drive side). my left foot has some nerve damage so i favor the right foot for standing at stops, although i try to trackstand a little if i've got a few feet to move forward.

the sandals do run wider and tend to rub the crank arm or chainstay occasionally, gotta be a little more careful there. i rub a bit whenever using neoprene booties.

i assume you're aware that the cleat has to be mounted at just the right spot where you don't rub but still get release with minimum foot rotation. its not too hard to find this mounting position.

anyhow hope you get it worked out, frogs are easy on the knees. and the sandals are nice in the heat.

ps you may have noticed you lose some pedaling efficiency with the sandals since the soles are not super stiff in order to make them better walking shoes.