Road Cycling - falling on Look pedals ouch!

Yes I'm new to road riding & I've purchased a bike with Look pedals & took a ride today with my sidi genius 4 shoes. I live & ride in NYC so I have to get in & out of my pedals more often than many. I've had three embarrassing falls all while stopping & having to wait for a pedestrian to pass, car or a horse. I will loosen the hex on the pedal but have to ask if there's something else I might be missing beside getting used to these pedals. Accidents happen & rapid release I'm sure was taken into account in the construction of these pedals. How do you professionals do it?
Thanks
Neil :rolleyes:

clip out well before you have to stop.....find a quiet road sumwhere and practice. Stop at every streetlamp and unclip etc.....if u have trouble unclipping just start riding off before you stall and try at the next one.

Or practice in a field!

Brendon

I have found that problems with clicking out of LOOK pedals come from loose cleats. If they are too loose, your shoe moves but the cleat doesn't. Even at fairly high pedal tension, the act of clicking out should not be difficult. Check to see if your cleats move at all when you try to move them with your hand. Also check visually to see if the cleat has changed position since installation. If either is the case, position them properly and tighten them up.

Good luck.

Rich

Yes I'm new to road riding & I've purchased a bike with Look pedals & took a ride today with my sidi genius 4 shoes. I live & ride in NYC so I have to get in & out of my pedals more often than many. I've had three embarrassing falls all while stopping & having to wait for a pedestrian to pass, car or a horse. I will loosen the hex on the pedal but have to ask if there's something else I might be missing beside getting used to these pedals. Accidents happen & rapid release I'm sure was taken into account in the construction of these pedals. How do you professionals do it?
Thanks
Neil :rolleyes:


Which LOOK pedals do you have? The better LOOK pedal (competition ones)
have much tighter spring tension, so will still be much more difficult to release even with the hex fully loose:

CX-7 Spring Tension: 12 to 18 Nm
CX-6 Spring Tension: 12 to 18 Nm
A5.1 Spring Tension: 11 to 16 Nm
A3.1 Spring Tension: 8 to 12 Nm
PP206 Spring Tension: 6 to 11 Nm

Yes I'm new to road riding & I've purchased a bike with Look pedals & took a ride today with my sidi genius 4 shoes. I live & ride in NYC so I have to get in & out of my pedals more often than many. I've had three embarrassing falls all while stopping & having to wait for a pedestrian to pass, car or a horse. I will loosen the hex on the pedal but have to ask if there's something else I might be missing beside getting used to these pedals. Accidents happen & rapid release I'm sure was taken into account in the construction of these pedals. How do you professionals do it?
Thanks
Neil :rolleyes:

First of all, i just wondered if you know the technique of taking the shoes off the pedal. I did the same thing when i got my new bike with a look pedal. I would practice taking my shoe off the pedal while in a starting position- left shoe on the ground and right shoe on the right pedal with cleat lock on the pedal. In this position with the cleat lock to the pedal, rotate your foot inward by bring your heel outward to 35-45 degrees and you should hear a click when the cleat comes out of the pedal. Most important aspect is to also anticipate what's going on i front of you and be ready to take it off while you're still far enough to make a stop. If your doing a lot of stop and go, you might consider changing the pedals.

How do you professionals do it?


Track stand!! ;)

Track stand!! ;)
I can't stand with Looks or it might be the road bike I have. I'm used to riding a mountain bike & up to the point it was stolen I track stand'd (?) all the time. The chain & crank don't lock on my Bianchi Campione road bike as they did on my Trek mtb. Is it the pedals or the bike?
thanks neil

Neil, it's you!

was that you on the interborough tailing a truck going 60mph then trying to clip out? i thought so.

Looks are good for long distances on the bike, but suck around town. I try to avoid being behind other club members with Looks when riding in a group, since they take so long to clip in when starting from a light or stop sign. I use Shimano SPD two sided MTB pedals and MTB shoes. Speedplay makes road and MTB pedals that are two sided. No worrying about pedal position around town with frequent stops. You get used to just putting your foot on the pedal in exactly the right position every time. Many people think MTB pedals on road bikes aren't "cool", but I go for efficiency before "coolness". (I'm not a pro, though).

I can't stand with Looks or it might be the road bike I have. I'm used to riding a mountain bike & up to the point it was stolen I track stand'd (?) all the time. The chain & crank don't lock on my Bianchi Campione road bike as they did on my Trek mtb. Is it the pedals or the bike?
thanks neil

what do you mean by "chain & crank don't lock"?

its easier to track stand on a mountain bike because of the lower psi in the tires. as far as clipping in and out of Looks, it takes practice, after awhile it just becomes second nature. you should always use the same leg to clip out, and in the beginning, cliip out early and coast to the stoplight.

I use spds on my fixie and looks on my geared bike, the looks have a wider platform which is much more stable. spds tend to develop hotspots in the foot if your shoe is not stiff enough.

spit out your gum. apparently you can't track stand and chew gum. common problem for the uncoordinated. you are trying to do to many things for a simple klutz.

have you considered some wide platform dh pedals?

[QUOTE=ewitz]spit out your gum. apparently you can't track stand and chew gum. common problem for the uncoordinated. you are trying to do to many things for a simple klutz.

it's too for too many & you're knowledge of sentence use is horrible. Thanks for the feedback but you missed your mark.

Track stand!! ;)

seconded. i can track stand on all of my bikes (two tracks, a road, a BMX and a mountain bike). i think everyone should learn how to do it on any bike. it's fun and it weirds out the drivers at stop lights. i generally track stand every time i stop unless i've been riding my road bike and i'm too worn out to a) concentrate that hard, and b) my legs and arms are all rubbery feeling. or if the terrain is too treacherous.

or just clip out before you have to stop...or just plow right through the peds.

it's too for too many & you're knowledge of sentence use is horrible.

those of us who live in glass houses should not throw stones...

[QUOTE=ewitz]spit out your gum. apparently you can't track stand and chew gum. common problem for the uncoordinated. you are trying to do to many things for a simple klutz.

it's too for too many & you're knowledge of sentence use is horrible. Thanks for the feedback but you missed your mark.


Maybe my sentence structure and improper use of to(sic) offend you. But i can keep the rubber side down when i hit a stoplight. Next time i see some poor slob keel over at a traffic light i'll laugh extra hard at him.

Maybe my sentence structure and improper use of to(sic) offend you. But i can keep the rubber side down when i hit a stoplight. Next time i see some poor slob keel over at a traffic light i'll laugh extra hard at him.

that's just unkind.

LOVE, people, LOVE!

I never had a single fall- over with clipless pedals until last year when I got Looks (the laurent jalabert model). The very first ride, I'm at a stoplight and CLONK. I had to adjust them a bit and get used to them, getting my foot out before stoplights. I've had one or two falls since then, but no more than anyone else does.

There are two things that are probably giving you problems. AFAIK, the cheaper Looks' default spring setting is the lightest. That said: 1) You need to break your pedals in. The plastic friction points wear over time and allow for an easier movement. 2) You need to practice. A lot. Once you think you've mastered it, practice emergency clip-outs. Especially if you're riding in urban areas where cars, animals, and pedestrians come out of nowhere. There's nothing worse than falling over at a stoplight.

Your cleats will become less stiff over time and easier to disengage. Until you can get in and out of your pedals with your eyes closed, you should avoid the streets.