Road Cycling - The "I am an idiot" thread

So I got some new shoes the other day and new cleats with the new bike. I have never used clipless pedals before. The install of the pedals was done at the bike shop, no problem there. So I get the bike and I need shoes. After trying on a lot of shoes I decide to go with the Adidas Adistar RD, problem is that I get them from another bike shop that had better prices. So I get home and I decide to install the cleats on them. Now here is the problem I can't for the life of me figure it out. The cleats and pedals are SPD M520's, the guy at the shop said it would work with SPD M520's. So how do I install these babies? Or do I just need to drive the hour and a half back to where I bought them? Is there some PDF out there that will show me how to do this? For some reason I got no manual with the pedals.

I am at a loss.

Please help the idiot.

Thank you for your time.

There should be instructions with the shoes. There should be a portion of the shoe sole that can be romoved to expose the cleat contact area of the shoe. It may have to be cut out with knife. The pointed part of the little cleat points toward the front.... two screws hold the cleat to the shoe...

Move the cleat fore-aft to possition the ball of your foot over the pedal spindle....

First off, did you buy road or mountain shoes? I know you got mtb pedals and some road shoes will work with mtb spd's.

This pdf file is for a slightly different pedal, but the cleat installation is the same. Go to page 4 for cleat installation.

NOTE: This assumes that the shoes you bought will accept this type of cleat. If not, you're gonna have to go back.

http://bike.shimano.com/media/cycling/techdocs/en/actionsports/PD/SI-PD-A520_14d39.pdf

I feel I should post in this thread :)

I feel I should post in this thread :)

Is there any particular reason, or does it just seem the right place for you :D

Is there any particular reason, or does it just seem the right place for you :D
uhh, I thought this thread was for idiots? Kind of like roll-call?

Of course, being an idiot, I could be mistaken.

:D

Or do I just need to drive the hour and a half back to where I bought them?
holy carp and salmon! Where did you buy 'em?

A friend bought her bike at a shop in Highlands Ranch and she was happy with 'em. If you need an LBS close to home, I'll get the name for you.

As for your cleats... I think the guys above answered.

I had the shop install my cleats while I waited, and they then positioned them properly using my own bike so my stroke was correct. Don't underestimate the value of this.

Thanks for the PDF! It woked like a charm! Crazy hidden compartments . . .

Thanks to everyone

Opie, impules buy while at work in Ft. Collins. I don't work up there all the time just some times.

uhh, I thought this thread was for idiots? Kind of like roll-call?

Of course, being an idiot, I could be mistaken.

:D I do apologize for that, I just hope you can see where I was coming from. No hard feelings on my part.

I do apologize for that, I just hope you can see where I was coming from. No hard feelings on my part.
very kind of you, but I was an idiot loooooong before you pointed it out :D

very kind of you, but I was an idiot loooooong before you pointed it out :D


Why not start a thread for an idiot roll call?

I'm in.

Derailed!!

As for placement, I am still rather new to my clipless (about 600 miles or so), take with a grain of salt. Place them more to the from if you sprint alot(ie. more for MTBing and such) and more to the back if you spend lots of time in the seat (prob more what you are looking to do) I like mine in the middle but a touch to the front.
Word of advice... make sure you tighten the cleat bolts well! I did not and when I came to a stop in my driveway, I twist the foot and come to find I was on the ground.

Good luck and a few splills are bound to happen... make sure you try to master the system befor you ever leave home!

Derailed!!
Like a commuter train.


what?

Idiocy is rampant in the cycling world. I know whereof I type. Got big (48, or size 14) feet. Slide my SPD cleats allllll the way back, and then cheat 'em to the inside of the soles of my feet. Torque down, but don't overtighten, the cleat bolts. Adjust by rotating as necessary.

Wife had never ridden any sort of cleated system whatsoever prior to our tandeming experience of the last year. Had just worn stiff-shanked touring shoes, no cleats, with clips and straps. She took to the clipless system like a pig to slop. Hops on, locks in, click...click, says "let's rock!" Big chief experienced cyclist, who's ridden everything from Cinelli M-71s to Sun Tour whatever the heck they weres (late 80s) to Looks to Shimano SPD clones STILL fiddle fumbles around sometimes. Wife/stoker was a dancer in a prior life. I must have been one of those guys in the mud pit in Monty Python and the Holy Grail...

Peasant #1: "How'dyou know he's the king, then?"

Peasant #2: "Well, he's the only one what ain't got s___ all over him."