Fifty Plus (50+) - suicide pedals

Well I just got those clipless pedals and they don't feel to bad. I've gone about 3 blocks already and no problems,but I know I probably will.George:D

To see how good they are- Try pedalling on on the upstroke of the leg- It can now be done with ease but watch out for the new muscles that you will find. Don't do it for too long but eventually- you will get into pedalling in circles and not only on the down stroke. You will also shortly find out about the falling down syndrome that does not involve any strong beverages. Just hope that you do it in front of a crowd of strangers and not your neighbours or riding partners.
It has happened to all of us but please, please, please, tell us about it on the forum so we can all gloat and say we told you it would happen.

Naaaaaa.... if you've ridden them 3 blocks already your fine.:rolleyes: Forget about it, you aren't going to fall....:rolleyes: :p :D

I hesitate to change to clipless binders without making the change on all 5 bikes.

I hesitate to change to clipless binders without making the change on all 5 bikes.

smart move. Once you change one, change them all.

And once you change, you will see how great they are. It's the one modern component I really enjoy on my vintage rides. I wish I could buy a set for my '66 Collegiate. George, I use the SPD system. I've never fallen because of the pedals. Now if we can get your Brooks saddle issues settled.

I hesitate to change to clipless binders without making the change on all 5 bikes.

Why? Different pedals for different bikes is OK. I have Look pedals on the tandem and the main road bike, Egg beaters on the MTB, platforms and toe clips on the all-around road bike.
Nothing wrong with making them all alike if that's what you want to do, but don't hold off on changing one bike because of wanting to do them all. For that matter, you can move the pedals from bike to bike.

Pastorbob, they said the saddle wasn't to narrow that I am sitting to far back.When I get it back(Monday I hope) I'm going to do all the adjustments again and if I cant get it squared away I'm thinking about going to get a bike fit.I measured from the handlebars to where the sit bones are suppose to be on the stock seat and I got 29". That's what I'm going for with the B17. Thanks again George.

Why? Different pedals for different bikes is OK. I have Look pedals on the tandem and the main road bike, Egg beaters on the MTB, platforms and toe clips on the all-around road bike.
Nothing wrong with making them all alike if that's what you want to do, but don't hold off on changing one bike because of wanting to do them all. For that matter, you can move the pedals from bike to bike.

I'm with You BD! Except if you take the bike elsewere to ride, make sure you take the same type clip/shoes combo. I use Speedplays, SPD, Look & cage.

I always reccomend putting the bike on a trainer and just practicing "clipping out". Do it over and over till you build up a bit of muscle memory.

Naaaaaa.... if you've ridden them 3 blocks already your fine.:rolleyes: Forget about it, you aren't going to fall....:rolleyes: :p :D

Forget about them indeed........which you will at a stop..........which you will then fall........which afterwards you will from then on mostly remember them so you fall very seldom.

I ride platform pedals on my non-recumbents and SPDs on the 'bents. Jane won't ride more than a couple of miles without her SPDs on any bike, so she has Shimano M324s on the bikes she uses around the neighborhood.

We both have the tension backed off to the minimum and never accidentally pull out. One problem some people have with releasing is when the sole of your shoe contacts the release mechanism. We cut a bevel on the back end of the cleat hole to prevent this.

I just tightened the setting in 1 full turn and everything seems to be working fine. I don't know when I should take it up more than that. I guess when my foot slips out of the pedals.George

I just tightened the setting in 1 full turn and everything seems to be working fine. I don't know when I should take it up more than that. I guess when my foot slips out of the pedals.George

Bingo! That is a very good sign that they need a bit more!

Why? Different pedals for different bikes is OK. I have Look pedals on the tandem and the main road bike, Egg beaters on the MTB, platforms and toe clips on the all-around road bike.
Nothing wrong with making them all alike if that's what you want to do, but don't hold off on changing one bike because of wanting to do them all. For that matter, you can move the pedals from bike to bike.

The why for me and probably others is that we don't want to deal with multiple pairs of shoes. I do use two systems, one on the MTB (SPD) and one on the road bike (Look). When I get a touring bike it will probably have SPD's. Two cleat systems is bad enough, I wouldn't want more.

Pete

I fell a couple of times; I won't say exactly how many times.
Even now, a couple of years later, I periodically set myself up for a fall and see it coming just in time.
It can still happen.

Forget about them indeed........which you will at a stop..........which you will then fall........which afterwards you will from then on mostly remember them so you fall very seldom.

Yep! Valuable training exersize! Why do I have to learn everything the hard way?

I have always thought that clips and straps were harder to deal with than clipless pedals and I wouldn't even consider having no retension system on a bike that was used for much more than buzzing around the neighborhood.

I don't think I ever just stopped and fell over due to clipless pedals. I started with them on my mountain bike back when SPD's first came out. I did have a few controlled falls in tricky technical climbing situations, mainly because I refused to give up on making some move until too late. This was only in the first week or two and was always a controlled fall against a dirt bank or something.

When I have crashed with clipless pedals on, it was never a problem that I was clipped in. I have never fallen on a road bike because I forgot to clip out. I guess it was second nature by the time I had them on a road bike.

I have come closer to injuring myself because I clipped out accidentally. I don't understand the fuss or worry about going clipless.

Pete

I don't think I ever just stopped and fell over due to clipless pedals.

I have come closer to injuring myself because I clipped out accidentally. I don't understand the fuss or worry about going clipless.

Pete


Man, have you ever just put a jinx on yourself!

Man, have you ever just put a jinx on yourself!

Yeah I thought about that before I clicked "Submit Reply", and decided it was silly and sent it any way.

I have been riding clipless since whatever year SPD's came out so it is pretty second nature now. So I am not too worried.

I will let you know if I fall over any time soon :)

Pete

i hate to say this, but you almost certainly will fall at some point with clipless . . . but probably when you've come to a stop. only your pride will be hurt - - but clipless is the only way to go. you're most vulnerable when you have to stop suddenly for some reason - - and you're in a high gear and haven't had time to unclip.

The why for me and probably others is that we don't want to deal with multiple pairs of shoes. I do use two systems, one on the MTB (SPD) and one on the road bike (Look). When I get a touring bike it will probably have SPD's. Two cleat systems is bad enough, I wouldn't want more.

Pete

I don't really see any disagreement in what we are saying. I suggested that the OP didn't need to have clipless pedals on all his bikes before putting them on one.
I also use two systems, Egg Beaters for MTB and Look for road. I don't think I would want to use the same shoes for those two kinds of riding anyway, so 2 pairs of shoes is not a problem. I would probably go with some version of Egg Beaters for consistency on a touring bike or my beater bike if I decided to go clipless there. The walking around advantages, which are a non-issue for me on the road bike, would matter more on a touring bike or the around town bike. The platform and clip pedals currently on the beater don't need special shoes. I just wear my sneakers.

I like the clipless pedals but I like the idea of the toe clips as well. I guess the shoes are the biggest issue.With the toe clips I can just jump on and go.I do have the Shimano shoes with the reset clips but I got a few pair of shoes that feel a lot better and again I can just get on and go.George

I've been using clipless on my road bike(s) for several months now and have never fallen due to the pedals.
I've also changed my MTB to clipless. As far as falling due to the clipless, well, let's not go there.

There's a lot of oldtimers on this sub-list, but I don't detect too many that have been riding on the track since the 70's. Otherwise, somebody would have mentioned that Adidas, for a brief time in the 70's, actually sold a pedal that we all called the "Suicide Pedal." This was the M-71, and I think it was a response to the need for track sprinters to have a pedal attachment that did not come loose under any circumstances!

Back then, we all used toe clips and straps, but sprinters used toe clips with two sets of straps. Some sprinters, like Australian John Nicholson, actually bolted their shoes to the pedals. They'd arrive at the start line in sandals, then they'd spend time getting on the bike, getting their feet into the shoes, and tieing in. If these guys crashed, they were pretty well screwed; the bike would not release from their feet.

So Adidas came out with a pedal and cleat system, the M-71. You didn't clip in, you slid the cleat into the receptacle on the pedal, and then you locked in by pressing in a tab. There was no way to release the tab while riding, unless you were pedaling very slowly. Hence, suicide pedals.

Nowadays, track sprinters attach toe straps to their clipless pedals for additional security.

- L.

I can honestly say I do get more power out of the clipless. I've been practing pedaling with one foot so I can get the full benefit using the clipless pedals and unless I'm doing something wrong I don't loss any speed.I see another bike in my future already so I was thinking too have one clipless and one toe clips.

I got clipless last week and have fallen twice, once on my way to work and once on Friday when I had clipped out of the right pedal and was still upright then my wife saw a car in a parking lot and said look out and since I was starting to push against the left pedal down I went on the same knee I skinned up Tuesday, It hurt more the second time and she felt bad cause the car was so far away ( she is very paranoid) and warned me when she really didn't need to. Oh well at least she worries enough to say something. My first wife would have probably pushed me in front of the car. :)

If you keep falling whenever your wife points something out to you- Who needs a wife- it is 1 all- One down to you and one to the wife. Are you certain about the second wife?