Road Cycling - Please Hurry Up & Click Already!!

Fellow Roadies.....
I've been noticing this on my weekly Sat morning training rides where we have an average of roughly 150 riders. I find riders with SPD's tend to take a bit longer to click in than those equipped with Speedplays, Look, or Time. I use Speedplays and when the entire pack takes off at a green light for instance, both my feet are clicked in, say within a single revolution of my wheels which usually translates to about one second and I'm on my way. I observe many SPD users 'feeling' their way to click in, therefore rolling very slowly for a few seconds before they're able to pedal. But I would say only less than 10% of the riders on this ride use SPD's, in my estimation. I would say a good majority of them use the Look style.
My point is that I sometimes find it annoying that someone directly in front of me with SPD's taking a long time to click in, holding everyone up directly behind him/her, meanwhile the rest of the pack is already 10 yards ahead of us. Nothing against SPD's......I use them on my MTB......and sure enough, it takes me a bit longer to click into them as well, relatively speaking. Thank you.

I have spds. When I miss the initial clip in, I just continue pedaling. I use my heel to pedal while I wait for the next revolution for an opportunity to clip in then. Just a habit of mine. I don't like looking down to find my pedal, nor do I like stop my pedaling just to get both feet in.

I'm assuming you're talking about MTB-style SPD or are you referring to SPD-SL or SPD-R as well? I no longer use SPD pedals (MTB) but when I did, I would sometimes found myself hanging the cleat up on various protrusions of the pedal mechanism without clicking in completely thus forcing me to wrestle myself free and try again. Other times, I'd hit the sweet-spot just right and it took me no longer to click in than with any other pedals system. Sometimes I would have to hover around or do the grind to try and find the right spot to engage. I have no such problems however with my Speedplays on my RB or my ATACs on my MTB. They seem to engage first time over 95% of the time.

Well, I use DA SPD-Rs, and clipping in correctly on the first try is a matter of probabilities... I can't say enough bad things about these pedals. Actually, they're okay for riding, just as long as you don't have to clip in or out. Or buy shoes for them. :irritated

I'm waitin' for 'em to die, trying to decide if I want to try some Campys (yeah, they make clipless... how come you never hear about 'em?) or SPD-SLs.

you are the reason i dont do group rides, give people a ****ing break, maybe, just maybe they all arent as good as you.

Originally posted by djbowen1
you are the reason i dont do group rides, give people a ****ing break, maybe, just maybe they all arent as good as you. Believe me, Mr. Bowen......I ain't as good as you think I am. Like about a fourth of the riders do, I drop out of the pack like a fly midway thru because I can't take the heat. No one on this ride disses or make comments to these SPD'ers. In fact, they have no idea they're holding up traffic. These are just observations some of us make during these group rides and we talk about it over java. We can evaluate what equipment works well and what doesn't. It may even help people reading this thread help decide whether to go with this piece of equipment or not.
I honestly don't believe you don't do group rides because of people like me. That is a cowardly excuse. If it is, get in there anyway and take the heat. I did and I still do.....or try to.......
;)

Must just be the area you live in. I've used SPD (double sided ATB) pedals for years on my road bike and I always clip in faster than all the ones you list.

I think there may be an issue with SPD road becaue they may not have the weight to point up proper like looks.

I'm now converting over to egg-beaters just to see how they feel and they work pretty good. The thing I like so far about the beaters is something I liked about the SPDs over the rest but the beaters are even better than the SPDs. That is engagement. The SPDs seemed to handle walking around in the muck better than speed-plays (i'm relating this to road BTW) and they also allowed me to use high-performance ATB shoes (stiff soles) and not worry about slippin and slidin starting/stoping at intersections (yes I stop for red lights) and also not to fall on my arse when I have to take a pee at a gas-station where the floor is slick and just totally nasty! The SPDs eventually would need some attention, grease/grime/sand... The beaters look like they won't get engagement woes ever?!!!

Well I just switched from spd to Look on my road bike a few weeks ago, and man! What a difference, I can clip in almost 100% 1st try with the looks!
I still have platform/spd pedals on my knock around/commuter and do have more problems clicking in.

perhaps its just technique.

I didn't have problems with my SPDs, Specialized MTB double sided.

My right foot is always clipped in when at stop in traffic. As I move it only takes one stroke down on my right, and at midway (9-o'clock) when my right foot is moving up I have already clipped my left.

I can remember when I used toe clips 10-12yrs ago when I had to tighten the straps as I pedalled.. Now that takes time....:D

Originally posted by dexmax
I can remember when I used toe clips 10-12yrs ago when I had to tighten the straps as I pedalled.. Now that takes time....:D

... and you had to first flip the pedal right side up... and if you didn't, not only could you not secure your foot but you also risked snagging the clip and/or straps on something. :eek:

Originally posted by khuon
... and you had to first flip the pedal right side up... and if you didn't, not only could you not secure your foot but you also risked snagging the clip and/or straps on something. :eek:

:D :D :D yup! there was a time that my straps caught something on the side of road, almost broke an arm when i hit the sidewalk.

ouch!

Originally posted by dexmax
:D :D :D yup! there was a time that my straps caught something on the side of road, almost broke an arm when i hit the sidewalk.

ouch!

I was riding with toeclips offroad and snagged a stump. Luckily I just had remounted after a prior crash and was trying to get going so I wasn't holding much speed but nevertheless, having the bike ripped out from under me really didn't do wonders for my riding pleasure. Erf!

This is because SPDs don't have the HUGE ASS cleats that all the other pedals feature. The contact area is much smaller, which results in more "feeling around" until you click in. On the flipside, with SPD shoes, you don't have to put on cleat covers and walk like a tortured duck.

I agree however, that SPD pedals are not appropriate for road racing, where walking comfort is not a factor.

Originally posted by khuon
... and you had to first flip the pedal right side up... and if you didn't, not only could you not secure your foot but you also risked snagging the clip and/or straps on something. :eek:

This is not an issue.. I ride toe clips and don't consciously flip my pedal. It's purely automatic and it always happens within the first pedal revolution.

You say the people with SPD's are slower, but yet they are starting in front of the people with other pedals?

They must be faster pedaling, and they probably talk about how the people hold them up on the road. LOL

Just kidding.:D :beer:

Originally posted by shrimpx
This is not an issue.. I ride toe clips and don't consciously flip my pedal. It's purely automatic and it always happens within the first pedal revolution.

Whether it's an automatic action or not is not the issue. It was automatic for me too after a while but I still got bit by the fact that it introduces another action which must be completed thus contributing to "serialisation delay" before one can apply power. Sometimes that precious second makes a big difference.

It could be that they're new to the pedals or don't practice enough? I got SPDs cause they saved me a ton of $. I'm still trying to get used to the right spot. I actually do better when I don't worry about it. Maybe they're just thinking about it too much?