ericy

I recently switched to Keo pedals from an old pair of SPD cleats, and it hasn't been a smooth transition at all.

My main problem is clipping into the pedals - the 1st one is fine. But when I am pushing off from a dead stop the second one never seems to be in the right position. Either upside down, spinning or some other nonsense, and as a result it is a real pain in the neck. It always seems to be worse when I am trying to start on an uphill - with the one foot it is hard to get up any speed, but then I am fighting with a spinning or upside down pedal.

Ideally I would like to be able to just clip in without even having to look at the thing. Just plant my foot on the pedal, and by feel get it in the right spot and then push in. Sometimes that works, but if the pedal is upside down that just isn't going to work.

With my old SPD cleats, I could kind of ride on the thing even if I wasn't completely clipped in and then once I was moving finish the process. These cleats are far too smooth on the bottom, and my foot slips off (leaving the pedal spinning).

I went by the shop this morning to ask them about this (didn't have the bike with me), and the guy started talking about "technique". WTF?? WHen the pedal is upside down or spinning

I played with them a bit while the bike was stationary. Normally the pedals seem to hang in the correct position, but I am guessing that as I push off and start moving the pedal starts wobbling back and forth which leaves it out of position to get the other foot in. The guy at the store started talking about clipping in before you actually start moving which didn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but is that really what you need to do to reliably get into these things?

A second unrelated issue that I ran into was that I had a massive tire blowout on the trail. I always carry a spare tube, but I have never carried a spare tire before. I had to walk the bike 2 miles to get to the nearest shop, and ruined the cleats in the process - if I had to walk much more, I would have ruined the shoes as well. Right now I am reluctant to go out of the house with these shoes/cleats without something like a pair of sandals in my pannier. But for riding to work, I don't have a lot of extra room in the pannier, and thus I am reluctant to ride to work on these pedals. How do the rest of you deal with this issue? There are little plastic covers you can put over the cleats, but those would wear off in no time as well if you were to walk on them any distance.

yogi13

On the technique starting up, I've found it's best to have the pedal you're clipping into just past the 12 o'clock point in the rotation. At that point the front of the pedal should be pointing up, making getting your cleat in fairly easy. You kind of push your foot forward over the axle to engage the toe of the cleat and push down in what would be a natural mashing to get up to speed motion to clip in the rear. If you miss it, pedal one stroke one-legged and try again. It is definitely easier clipping in when you have the maximum resistance, i.e. when you are barely moving, than if you are going any faster.

Get yourself some keo cleat covers. They completely cover the cleats, wear very slowly, and will substantially extend the life of your cleats. I throw them on if I'm going to take more than a step or two, and they really help with traction and durability.

AEO

if the pedal is upside down (usually is), you just rotate the crank 180 degrees and the pedal will be in the proper position. it's easier done than said.

this is the case with most single sided pedals anyways.

Jaye

If you want a pedal that is more "stomp and go" oriented take a look into Speedplay.

Szczuldo

What kind of a tire blowout did you have that caused you to be unable to fix it...You should always carry something on your person that can be used as a tire boot in just this situation. And you should've just taken your shoes off to walk those 2 miles, would've been a lot better. Happened to me on my commute during the summer. I flatted but left my bag of goodies at home so I had to walk the last 1.5 miles. I took my shoes off right away, didn't even bother thinking about keeping them on. Clipping into KEOs isn't hard and once you get the hang of it it will be fine. The bearings in mine still seem a bit stiff but maybe some more time on them will break them in. Once the cleats wear down some they will also be easier to clip in and out.

MONGO!

There is a knack to clipping in with the Keos. Get a good strong push off with your clipped in foot then keep that pedal at 6 o' clock. The other pedal will be at 12 o' clock and hanging front facing up.

While free wheeling, take the toe of your other foot and touch it to the front of the pedal and flip and clip in one movement.

Another way is to be in a low gear and pedal with the one leg while clipping in.

ericy

I was riding along and I heard a loud bang - almost like a rifle shot. I stopped, and on the rear tire there was a big rip - around two inches long. I briefly considered trying the dollar bill trick, but the hole looked large enough that it didn't seem worth trying. When I got into the shop to fix the tire, the guy behind the counter said that it was questionable as to whether that would have worked or not.

I suppose removing the shoes would have worked - that would have left my feet *really* raw. I guess that's why I am inclined to throw a pair of sandals in the pannier when I go for a ride. In the winter that obviously wouldn't work - I guess one would need a pair of shoes that are warm enough for the ambient conditions.

For me the hardest starts are when I am on an uphill. On a downhill or a flat stretch of ground, I can get rolling and then get the thing clipped in, and that seems to go pretty smoothly. On an uphill I have trouble getting enough speed up using only one foot, so the balance is a bit iffy. I push down hard with the left foot to get moving, which brings the right pedal to the 12 oclock position, but because I pushed hard with the left foot the right pedal is spinning so it is hard to catch quite right. The other day I was in a spot where I was at a stop sign and needed to make a left, and it was an uphill. There had been a car in front of me which forced me to come to a full stop. But I had trouble getting into the pedal, so I was wandering all over the intersection like a drunk (having to pull the left foot up and push down again to maintain forward momentum), until I finally did get clipped in, and then I had to suddenly veer left to make my turn. Not cool. Fortunately not many cars, but this was the thing that really annoyed me enough that I decided to post here as this could become a real safety issue.

I was tempted to glue a bit of rubber to the bottom of the pedals just so that if I catch the thing when it is upside down that my foot won't slip off the thing, and I can at least get moving fast enough that I can then look down and properly clip in...

It is supposed to rain like hell tomorrow - maybe I will take the whole bike into the shop so they can try and explain how the heck I am supposed to be using these things.