Road Cycling - Clipping out of Look Pedals - Help!

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mshadow
07-10-04, 09:43 PM
I just bought a new pair of Look CX-6 pedals for my road bike and am really struggling to unclip from the pedal. I almost fell multiple times today on the bike. Prior to this, I was using Shimano SPD mtn bike pedals - which were pretty easy to get out of.

If I try to swing my heel away from the bike, it takes alot of effort to unclip. If I swing my heel, it unclips much easier but I end up kicking the seat tube, my water bottle, etc.

I thought maybe it was break-in of the pedal/cleat - I must have unclipped 40 - 50 times today. I believe that the tension is set to a minimum.

Am I doing something wrong? Or is this the nature of the Look pedal??

Thanks
Mike

oxologic
07-10-04, 10:36 PM
I believe that maybe your tension in set to the wrong side, which means you could have mistaken the maximum for the minimum. Looking at my Look pedals' manual, turning towards the + is to reduce tension whereas turning to the - increases tension. I used to think that + is maximum tension too, but it was not correct, now my pedals are easy to unclip.
mshadow
07-10-04, 10:47 PM
I believe that maybe your tension in set to the wrong side, which means you could have mistaken the maximum for the minimum. Looking at my Look pedals' manual, turning towards the + is to reduce tension whereas turning to the - increases tension. I used to think that + is maximum tension too, but it was not correct, now my pedals are easy to unclip.

My manual says to turn clockwise to increase tension - my screw was all the way counterclockwise. Do you feel the same amount of tension whether you twist your heel inward or outward? That's the part I don't understand - why there is a big difference.

mike