Road Cycling - Clipless pedals are producing a fear of riding in me

It may seem weird, but I've been riding all my life on bikes with plain pedals. I can pop my feet off both pedals easilly at any time I want to. Well, I can now afford a better bike and got a new Giant OCR2 road bike with clipless pedals. I feel trapped in these things. I am locked into the bike. It is not easy to clip out, and I have to clip out of them one at a time. In fact, I have to clip out of the left, come to a stop and then clip out of the right. Most times I can remember to do so, but my muscle memory is so strong that the right foot should just be ablte to step right onto the ground that it does try to do so and the bike starts leaning over, I lose my balance, and fall.

This keeps happening and I am developing a phobia of riding, which is so weird for me. I've always been a very confident rider - never been afraid of cars, traffic, riding a road bike on a gravel road with no helmet.

Help! What can I do? What about Power Grips? I need something, because I just don't know if I can keep going in this downward spiral into a fear of riding.

If I ride on the other side of the pedals (Shimano M505) with street shoes, I feel fine, but then I haven't been out riding hard that way.

Oh you'll fall eventually... lol.
Try to loosen them all the way so it's real easy to clip out. Alternatively, try the shimano multi-release cleats, they allow you to not only twist your feet side to side but also tilt your feet outwards or inwards to release.
Since I'm in NYC, I only clip in on a long stretch of road or a bike path. Otherwise, it's too much traffic I just ride on the other side.
Just take it easy and keep your mind clear and alert. Remember, if you learn to fear your bike, the terrorists would have already won.

Well if its as hard as your saying to clipout then there must be something wrong with your pedal. I ride with Look and their great, they clip out easily and don't get stuck or anything like that.. I can un clip both at the same time, just a matter of twisting both your feet inward or outward at the same time. Another type of pedal I hear is easy to unclip is Speedplay. Remeber when you ride with regular pedals you don't get the full stoke in, none of your power is going to pulling the crank up.

AH HA!! Another benefit of toe-clips and straps :D Theoretically there's an
infinite amount of different tensions you can use, from completely undone, to
done up so tight that your foot goes numb in 10 seconds! So, if you're feeling
a bit insecure about being too secure, you can loosen them a bit, yet still ride
around. It's nice to ride through a busy shopping strip with your straps loose,
knowing you can slip your foot out in a jiffy :)

Just kidding, clipless are obvioulsy superior, but the one thing I didn't like when I had
them for five minutes, was that there was only 2 options during a ride: totally in or
totally out. With straps (as I said) you can be half locked in, or totally locked in, etc.

Snapz, you should get used to it. I hear the guy at my local shop telling new customers
to try to spend a whole day riding up and down their street, clipping in and out of the pedals
before going out on the road. And like the others guys said, it sounds like some adjustments
are required.

If you're doing a lot of commuting in busy areas where you have to un-clip frequently,
maybe you could get cheaper bike with a more "commuter friendly" pedals, and save your
fancy bike for longer rides on quieter roads. Sometimes, if I'm commuting in a very
busy area, I just ride along in running shoes with toe straps, and loosen right off
in dangerous streets. There's nothing like the security of knowing you can whip your
foot out in a split second and stomp on the pavement with a huge rubber sole. :)

Hmmm....did I answer your question? I don't think so.

I tried loosening one of the pedals, but it just seemed to make it so there is more play in it, more movement left to right, but it was still hard to clip out.

I'm thinking about trying to ride on the other, flat, side and see how that works. I'm also going to see if I can find anyone at a bike store that can help recommend a different kind of pedal system without giving me the "you'll get used to it" line.

You bought a better bike to do what - ride it the same way you've always ridden? I doubt that but the question is clear - what do you want to do with this new bike? If all you want to do is toodle around the neighborhood with the kids or the occasional market run, then change them back to what you are used to. But if you bought this bike to "get more into it" - then now is the time to be analyzing all your riding habits and making decisions as to what new techniques you want to incorporate and what old habits you want to discard.

Confidence comes with practicing what you know is right. Good luck.

55/Rad

Snapz if you want it so you have no play, where the slightest movement left or right will unclip, then adjust it so theres no float. I can see you problem.. It the pedals your riding with, their not exactly the easiest to cilp in/out. I first road with SPD and it took awhile to learn to clip in, sometimes it'd even be hard after riding 1000's of miles with those pedals. Then I got LOOK and it was a dream. No practice at all.. Clips in and out very easily. SPD's don't unclip as smoothly and can get caught sometimes. I reccomend you switch pedals..

ditch the shimano pedals right away!!!! seriously consider investing in speedplay pedals...the basic speed play pedal is a little spendy at 100 bucks but they are by far the easiest pedal to clip out of (at least of the ones ive used, spd, spd-r, and some really sketchy richey pedals) speed plays are nice because your range of motion is greater then other clipless systems and they are easy on the knees....honestly, speedplays rock!!!

ditch the shimano pedals right away!!!! seriously consider investing in speedplay pedals...the basic speed play pedal is a little spendy at 100 bucks but they are by far the easiest pedal to clip out of (at least of the ones ive used, spd, spd-r, and some really sketchy richey pedals) speed plays are nice because your range of motion is greater then other clipless systems and they are easy on the knees....honestly, speedplays rock!!!
Time ATAC's are just as easy.

I have two bikes. One with Looks, one with SPDs. I find the Looks to be much easier to get in and out of, though I'm quite used to both ... as YOU will be if you stick with it.

One thing I noticed, though, is that it's easier to kick out if you use a hard, swift motion, rather than trying to move your heal out gradually until you unclip.

I think clipless pedals are the safest things out there. You become trained to look ahead and anticipate.

Btw, what's wrong with clipping out on the left, coasting to a stop with your left foot down, and then unclipping your right? You shouldn't be coming to a stop with both feet off the pedals anyway.

To answer some of the questions above, I ride mostly as a hard cardio workout. I do a lot of speed and hill intervals and push it as fast as I can. I had been doing this on my mountain bike with standard pedals for several years before getting the road bike.

There's nothing wrong with unclipping one foot first, stopping, and then unclipping the other one, but (and get ready to throw rotten tomatoes here) I seem to keep falling this way. My subconscious muscle memory tells my foot to get off the pedal and step on the ground, my foot starts to move, the bike starts to fall over, my conscious brain says "no, wait, d@^^!t, you haven't unclipped from the midieval mechanical torture device you are locked into" - WHAM! It might not even be so bad, if it wasn't so hard to unclip while laying on the street with a bike on top of you.

Why does everyone say these "clipless" clips are safer? In an emergency, how can you have time to give both feet a hard twist out of your pedals?

I am going to shop around today for other brands of pedals, although all I recall seeing here in Kansas City is Shimano. Somebody's gotta have Look or Speedplay.

I'm not sure how clipless is safer either for road biking. In mountain biking, I guess being clipped in prevents you from falling off your pedals and smashing your boys.

As for having accidents unclipping one then the other, I had that happen once. Unclipped my left foot, prepared to plant it down on the ground cept the pedal somehow got rotated into the path of my foot and in planting it down on the ground, I ended up accidentally clipping in as I was leaning and fell.

There's nothing wrong with unclipping one foot first, stopping, and then unclipping the other one, but (and get ready to throw rotten tomatoes here) I seem to keep falling this way.
Are you trying to do this in the saddle? A properly fit road bike won't allow you to plant both feet firmly on the ground while in the saddle - the seat is too high. On shorter stops (lights etc.) most roadies wait with one foot on the ground and the other locked in while straddling the bar off the saddle - not 2 feet out, unless it is an extended stop.

That said, I agree the SPD's are difficult and you should consider changing them out. When I was getting into clipless, I started with a brand called Sakae and after 3 or 4 rides, I was questionning the whole idea myself. I would suggest a Look or Look compatible system like the the new (non SPD) Shimano's to get started. They're universal, easy to learn, inexpensive and easily adjusted. And they look good.

Bottom line - clipless are worth the time and effort but it takes more than just putting them on the bike. Just using them them forces you to think differently. But you need to start with something your mind feels comfortable with.

55/Rad

Clipped in is just more fun. When i started,i had mine as easy to unclip as i could until i got better with it. It will become habit.

Snapz, I totally know what you meant by having your muscle betraying your mind. You want to do one thing, but the feet want to do another. I'm pretty new at clipless too, but having been riding these pedals for a year, I have no problem clipping out.

As someone already mentioned, you should start thinking of the stopping process as (1) slowly coming to a stop, (2) unclipping only one foot, (2) leaning the bike toward that foot, (3) putting that unclipped foot down. You should never be able to stop while being your saddle. If so, the saddle is too low. And you should keep one foot clipped in so that you can start riding again immediately if needed. It takes a while to train your foot to unclip, so give yourself plenty of time to stop. Unclip way before the stop if you have too.

My problem with clipless pedals used to be clipping in, not clipping out. I would come to a stop, the light would turn green again, and with the road being uphill, I would pedal forward with the clipped foot but would not clip the other foot in fast enough to keep the bike moving so I would lose my balance and fall on the side of the clipped foot. Painful! Of course with time and practice, you'll clip in right away.

Having the right pedals is really important too. I actually started out with Look, but got so many bruises from falling due to not clipping in fast enough. I got impatient and got Crank Brothers Mallet C instead. It's basically Eggbeaters with a platform for my tennis shoes when I just want to bike 5 minutes to school. These eggbeaters are extremely easy to clip in or out. It has 4, not 2, sides to clip in! When I get a new bike, I'll probably go with the regular non-platform eggbeaters.

Again, good luck! I did have that fear of riding like you but I overcame it with time. I'm sure you'll do fine too. Clipless pedals are great. Don't let them intimidate you. :)

I just started riding clipless 2 weeks ago. I spent a week before that in the back yard practicing clipping-in and clipping-out. I also took this time to get the cleat position dialed in as much as possible. By the end of the week I decided I was ready. I took my maiden voyage and all was fine. I did have to fine tune the cleat position a little more.

I chose the Shimano system. Shimano pedals & Shoes. (SPD) No problems. I must say too that 100 miles on SPDs left my feet feeling much better than 67 miles on platform pedals with tennis shoes! Well worth training yourself to use them. IMHO.

Good luck.

Bob

In fact, I have to clip out of the left, come to a stop and then clip out of the right.
Just clip out with the foot you put down on the road when you stop. I'm sure you've noticed that this is what other cyclists do at a stop light. Your other foot stays clipped in so you're ready to go when the light changes.

I ride clipless in the city, on all of my fixed gear bicycles, without problems.

I took me about a week of commuting/falling quite a few times in order to get used to them, but now I love the security. I would call them safer due to the fact that your foot won't slip out/off without notice. Spd pedals can be super fast to snap out of, given you are used to the motion. I usually clip both pedals out when I slow down, and as an instinctual act, clip out whenever someone cuts me off etc...

Just keep with the SPDs for a while, I bet you will learn to love them. Of course I have a friend who swears by the PowerGrips/platform pedals, but he also is too stubborn to try SPDs.

Phil

Why does everyone say these "clipless" clips are safer? In an emergency, how can you have time to give both feet a hard twist out of your pedals?

Why do you need to unclip both feet in an emergency?

I have never done that??

I unclip my right foot anticipating an emergency, or in an emergency. I keep the left foot clipped in, and lean or shift my weight to my right, fully controlling the bike. I move forward so my butt is off the seat and I can reach to the ground with my right foot, if necessary.

Perhaps your seat is too low?

I learned at age 59 after about 55 years of riding with platform pedals. I am sure you can learn this also. Good luck.

Help! What can I do? What about Power Grips? I need something, because I just don't know if I can keep going in this downward spiral into a fear of riding.


Power Grips!!! That is my solution. You can use any shoe you want. You'll be able to get your feet off the pedals at any time. And, you'll be able to walk anywhere you want while off the bike. The only disadvantage is that some of the "Clipless Nazis" will ridicule you.

I've been using Power Grips for 2 years. Have never fallen. Everyone I know that uses clipless has fallen several times because they couldn't get unclipped. And, they can't walk into a convenience store or rest area without noise.

I don't think riding with clipless pedals is as complicated as people make it out to be. I've always used either Look or the new Shimanos and have never fallen and never practiced. If you are slowing down and are not confident in your ability to remain upright, unclip one of the pedals.

I started using clipless 3 days ago. But on my road bike I am using mountain pedals and shoes. This was a suggestion from my LBS. The nice thing is I can clip in on either side in tracffic, and that I can walk around in my shoes without damaging the cleats.

There's nothing wrong with unclipping one foot first, stopping, and then unclipping the other one, but (and get ready to throw rotten tomatoes here) I seem to keep falling this way.

There's absolutely no reason to unclip the other foot every time you come to a stop. Carefully observe how other cyclists unclip. Most keep one feet clipped in.

Eventually clipless pedals will become second nature. I've come away from falls and crashes wondering how it was that I wasn't still attached to my bike. Your feet will eventually do the right thing automagically. I think what you should do is accelerate the process. How do you do this? Simple. Fall. "What?" You say. Really, what I would do is spend an afternoon performing emergency stops and all sorts of seemingly unanticipated maneauvers in a park on a soft grassy field. Make sure at some point you do fall... actually fall many times. Train your body. Remember to wear clothing that you won't mind getting dirty or even ripped.

I think my bad habbit is that, on platform pedals, I'm used to leading with my left foot and to putting my left foot down first, then my right so I can get in position to lead off with my left foot again.

I looked at some SpeedPlays today (don't know the model, but they were $200) at a bike store here. The "fit" guy recommended them as being very easy to clip in and out of on either side. I also saw the egg beaters, with and without the platform pedal. The SpeedPlays seem to offer more flexibility in setting float, but the egg beaters give you 4 sides to clip into.

Decisions.

I've heard of issues with people "rolling" their Eggbeaters. Of course even if you do this, you will still eventually clip in but it can be disconcerting. I would still consider them. I prefer Speedplays and find them very easy to use... especially the Zeros. All you do is stomp and go. Then use the traditional heel-out motion to release. The spring tension is independent of the float. Actually the tension is preset and you just dial in the float. With SPD, many people mess with the tension to adjust the float. I would also recommend the Time ATACs. I have the older ATACs on my MTB but the newer ATAC XS have adjustable float like the Speedplay Zeros. The ATACs give you lateral float too (in addition to pivoting float) and even allow you to unclip by sliding your foot sideways in addition to heel in/out motions. I personally prefer at least double-sided pedals to single-sided like the Looks.

As with any clipless pedal system, you will need to give new ones some time to break in the springs, cleats and engagement surfaces as well as your legs/feet. I would recommend finding a nice stable handhold and clipping in and out repeatedly (50 to 100 times) on all sides while stationary.

Decisions.

If you're not going to be participating in racing, just be comfortable and stick with the clips. Don't be concerned with what the clipless crowd might think or say. Clips and straps have been around wayyyyy longer than clipless pedals. This is just another example of "building a better mousetrap".

Can speedplays be used with recessed shoes like SPDs? In other words, can you walk around on shoes with Speedplay cleats normally?

Can speedplays be used with recessed shoes like SPDs? In other words, can you walk around on shoes with Speedplay cleats normally?

No. The Speedplay pedals move the platform/body to the cleats. The pedal bodies themselves fit inside the cleats rather than the other way around. The cleats are fairly exposed but they are made of metal and are more durable than say Look cleats so you can walk on them but it's awkward. You either walk like a duck or walk like you're in high-heels. I've walked on them through rocky gravel roads and they're still fine. I would recommend cleat covers (cafe covers) though especially if you're in someone's shop as they will score the flooring. You will scuff them up by walking on them but that's cosmetic but if there's mud, you can clog them with mud (yet another reason for covers).

http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/cycling/bikes/Aegis/2001-Aro_Svelte/images/PICT0008.JPG
http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/cycling/bikes/Aegis/2001-Aro_Svelte/images/PICT0028.JPG

I can't stress enough how much stability you lose if you take both feet off the pedals. also, if you use clipless pedals and try to snap them both off at the same time, the jolt from both sides without any feet on pedals to stabilize could be very dangerous.

Snapz, when you were a kid i'm sure the act of riding a bicycle was something you had to get used to before you could stop from falling all the time. the only way to re-train your muscles or instincts is to practice. but you will get used to it, especially if you use the right techniques. watch other riders. take mental notes.

If you're not going to be participating in racing, just be comfortable and stick with the clips. Don't be concerned with what the clipless crowd might think or say. Clips and straps have been around wayyyyy longer than clipless pedals. This is just another example of "building a better mousetrap".

AGREED!!! Ride in a way that makes you feel comfortable. If clipless pedals make your ride unpleasant, stop using them. Personnally, I switched to clipless last year. I love them. (They did take some getting used to.) But if you've given them a chance and they don't work for you, switch back to straps. Unless you have a VERY generous LBS which will give you your money back, store the clipless pedals and shoes in case you change your mind.

If you're not going to be participating in racing, just be comfortable and stick with the clips. Don't be concerned with what the clipless crowd might think or say. Clips and straps have been around wayyyyy longer than clipless pedals. This is just another example of "building a better mousetrap".

How about some of each! :D I ride:

Lemond BA - Shimano clipless with SPD sandals, generally, or biking shoe if I am in a masochistic mood.

Windsor Leeds road bike - toe clips so I can jump on and off without having to change shoes.

Specialized HR - also toe clips so I can jump on and off without having to change shoes.

And my wife has 3 bikes - all platform! No way she should even get close to toe clips or clipless. 'Twould be a disaster. :crash:

Something for everyone!

The last time being clipped in caused a brain fart and fall for me was right in front of three knock out chicks in mini skirts, 'I planned that move, really, I did'. ( ever want to just disappear? ) that was the cure for good! Maybe you just need to fall down a few more times? and get totally embarrassed....? or.... start wearing knee pads?

Stick with the SPDs you will get the hang of it in no time. Have not rode a bike in about six years and bought SPDs for both road and mountain bike with no problem. I think it is good advice to practice in the back yard if you are having trouble getting used to them.

I have about 75 miles on my new clips, mtb pedals, with mtb shoes on my Bianchi. It feels so natural. I am still working with clipping in a little bit. About half the time it is effortless, the shoe clips without me looking down, and that is the way I want it. I guess that my foot position is still very similar.

What I did last week was to ride to my bike shop, 7 miles, buy the new shoes and pedals, put the old ones in my backpack and that was it. I rolled the bike out, clipped in and out twice, and rode back home. Nothing to it. I did fall on my next ride, at a stop light. :) I am sure that I will fall again sooner or later, but it is a very natural feeling to ride with them. My toes have also stopped aching in the middle of the night. Best -

Don't push the clipless if they are causing you to ride less. Platforms can give you a good workout.

I have about 75 miles on my new clips, mtb pedals, with mtb shoes on my Bianchi. It feels so natural. I am still working with clipping in a little bit. About half the time it is effortless, the shoe clips without me looking down, and that is the way I want it. I guess that my foot position is still very similar.

What I did last week was to ride to my bike shop, 7 miles, buy the new shoes and pedals, put the old ones in my backpack and that was it. I rolled the bike out, clipped in and out twice, and rode back home. Nothing to it. I did fall on my next ride, at a stop light. :) I am sure that I will fall again sooner or later, but it is a very natural feeling to ride with them. My toes have also stopped aching in the middle of the night. Best -
MTB shoes and pedals are the way to go if if plan on doing any kind of walking (ie errands and such)

I have been riding eggbeaters for about a year on my road bike and mallets on my single speed grocery getter for a couple of months. First problem- road shoes. Sandles and recreational shoes have grip and can provide stability on the basic eggbeaters while starting, not so with road shoes they are slick as goose s&^% and have freaked me out a couple of times. The only place that grabs is the cleat, either side or actually locked in. I got the Mallet Cs for the SS thinking i could just ride in street shoes if needed. Works ok but sometimes the beater blades roll my street shoe off the pedal hence the sandles and rec shoes.

They're still very new on the market so the jury is still out on how well they work but the AtomLab Quikstep pedals are touted as being the first truly dual-mode/dual-sided clipless/platform pedal. They claim that the springs are lightly loaded and do not cause the bindings to obstruct or interfere with using regular street shoes. They're supposed to depress and recess themselves out of the way unobtrusively.

They're still very new on the market so the jury is still out on how well they work but the AtomLab Quikstep pedals are touted as being the first truly dual-mode/dual-sided clipless/platform pedal. They claim that the springs are lightly loaded and do not cause the bindings to obstruct or interfere with using regular street shoes. They're supposed to depress and recess themselves out of the way unobtrusively.

The Crank Brothers Mallet C pedals do exactly this. Great with both biking shoes and regular street shoes. I haven't had any problem with them for the past few months.

look at the speedplay frogs. these are good all around pedals that you can walk with the cleats. they are too easy to get out of. I mean they don't teach you to turn your foot much a little turn and a tug and your out. were other pedals take a much fater turn to get out.

The Crank Brothers Mallet C pedals do exactly this. Great with both biking shoes and regular street shoes. I haven't had any problem with them for the past few months.

Maybe they changed the spring tension on the Mallet-Cs but the Eggbeaters still had fairly high tension so riding with normal shoes would still feel uncomfortable I imagine because you had the springts pushing up into your sole which I would guess would also prevent full contact on the platform.

Maybe someday, but for me it seems foolish to clip your feet into a set of pedals. I haven't been injured in a bike wreck yet and credit a lot of that with being able to seperate from the bike very quickly.

One day I hit a landscape timber going downhill fast. It was amazing how gracefully I flew over the handlebars and landed. My bike also crashed pretty nicely. IOW, it flipped a few times in the air and simply laid down.

I can't imagine the result would have been so good had my feet been attached to the pedals. There would have been no "unclipping" as I had maybe .0003 seconds between the time i saw the timber and the time my bike hit it.

This chicken is sticking with platforms.

Somehow its worked out for a few million of us so there must be something to it.

Maybe someday, but for me it seems foolish to clip your feet into a set of pedals. I haven't been injured in a bike wreck yet and credit a lot of that with being able to seperate from the bike very quickly.

It becomes a moot point. Really. Most of the time after a crash, I'm left wondering how I managed to unclip.



One day I hit a landscape timber going downhill fast. It was amazing how gracefully I flew over the handlebars and landed. My bike also crashed pretty nicely. IOW, it flipped a few times in the air and simply laid down.

Same thing happened to me involving a three foot high pile of gravel and I was using Time ATACs. The feet automagically disengaged. I was on the ground and on my back before the bike hit. I actually got to look up and watch it sail overhead flipping end-over-end before it came down about ten feet in front of me.



I can't imagine the result would have been so good had my feet been attached to the pedals. There would have been no "unclipping" as I had maybe .0003 seconds between the time i saw the timber and the time my bike hit it.

You don't think about it... just let it happen. It's like the old joke about how to stop a caterpillar dead in its track... ask it in which order it moves its legs.



This chicken is sticking with platforms.

There is a learning curve and clipless isn't always right for everyone but you just might want to give it a try to see.

Well, I've tried clipless and have gone back to clips. One problem with bikes is that things often become fashion over function. I had to change back to clips because even floating locked cleats did not allow enough pronation through my ankle and my knees got affected (but I'm flat-footed). Also, I could never click-in as fast as I could flip and clip, but I grew up on road bikes. When I've crashed, I've been able to twist my foot in a clip, but I had a clipless cleat grab my foot once and not let go - transfer that torque to the knee and its surgery city, loosen the cleat, and confidence is lost.
Infinite adjustment on-the-fly is important to me for comfort.
When did toe clips become a problem?

Maybe they changed the spring tension on the Mallet-Cs but the Eggbeaters still had fairly high tension so riding with normal shoes would still feel uncomfortable I imagine because you had the springts pushing up into your sole which I would guess would also prevent full contact on the platform.

Yeah, the blades on the actual eggbeater protruded above the surface of the platform, with MTB shoes the recess for the cleat centers itself even without clipping in. With street shoes the blades just roll along the bottom of the shoe making the foot slip off the pedal banana on the floor style.. I have been trying to come up with an idea, like the spd clip in platforms, that would just prevent the blades from rolling.

When did toe clips become a problem?

For me, it was when I started hooking rocks and branches and stuff while riding with clips and straps offroad. I also never liked that I had to flip the pedals over and the consequences of not flipping them over.

I had Eggbeaters. They are easy to get into and out of. The downside of getting in is that occasionally they will roll under your foot and your foot will shoot off the front. They also killed my knees because there is spring tension that tries to hold your foot straight. This one is not a problem for most people.

Then I got SpeedPlay Frogs (I use MTB shoes). They are WAY easier to get into and out of. I actually couldn't believe it when I first put them on. There is no spring tension to fight against. Once you twist past a certain point, you are out. They also saved my knees.

Speedplays sound interesting to me - wish I could try them out before plunking down so much for them. It seems, from their website, that the Frogs are the easiest to get in and out of. Can anyone say if that is true? They also indicate that the x3 releases earlier (not as much travel) than Speedplay's other pedals.

What I like about the description of the Frogs is that I could get couple them with some "walkable" shoes (I assume that means mountain bike shoes?) and they would be recessed, so they would be easy and practical for short jaunts or long rides. Opinions? Experience?