Ceiliazul

After I set up clipless, I took your advice and rode around the block clicking in and out repeatedly. Yesterday was my first tentative ride-to-get-somewhere. This morning my calves are sore like I never used them before! I know that my pedal stroke will be changing dramatically in the next few rides, but I didn't expect to discover muscles I haven't used before. Ouch!

Stretch... ahh, that's better.

Is there a normal transition to clipless that I never knew about? What tips do you have for training my legs for their new job? On my ride yesterday I did a bit of one-leg pedaling, that was... interesting.

slider

Make sure your cleats are positioned correctly.You should feel the pedaling force at the front(toward your toes) of the ball of the foot. Basically, where you push off from when running barefoot. Work up to spinning complete circles in your pedal stroke. No need to overstress muscles that haven't been used before.

-s

Journeyman

C,
If you don't mind me asking, what kind of bike shoes are you wearing. I am having a generic type of Shimano clips put on my road bike. Can anyone suggest a reasonably priced quality brand of shoes? If so let me know. Thanks.


jman

Grasschopper

What do you cinsider reasonably priced? I wear the Sidi Genuis 4 which I got on closeout from my LBS for $125 which may seem like a lot but is a hell of a deal when you look at the $229 retail on them. Fantastic shoe, which is without a doube the single most comfortable piece of footwear I have ever had on and that is saying something. I have heard good things about the Adidas Adistar which is on sale at the link I provided for more than 50% off.

granularus

I don't think that you should be experiencing much if any leg soreness. I started with spd-sl's about a week ago and have not really noticed any leg soreness. I had the lbs set the cleats and adjust the saddle to account for the change in pedal thickness and sole thickness. I'd worry about cleat position and pedal height. Do you have any float in your pedals?

Ceiliazul

I am actually using those Adidas Adistar shoes (I got mine from Nashbar for $80 with a 20% coupon) These shoes have crazy vents --even in the sole of the shoe! They are also crazy light and crazy stiff.

I know I jumped off the deep end, making my first clipless shoe purchase online without trying them on. The shoes may be a bit too tight actually, which would be a bummer. I had pain around the outside edge of the balls of my feet (lateral metatarsal area) which may be due to tightness or due to cleat placement. I'll be moving the cleats in a direction toward the pain for another test ride today.

I did a quick search for clipless pains, and found ideas for resolving pain in several different specific places. I did not see anyone else complaining about calf pain. Maybe the soreness came from dancing the other night, not from riding.

Along with comfortable riding, I'm looking forward to clicking in more smoothly and increasing my speed as my pedal stroke develops. It sounds like all those things will develop over time without any planning on my part.

Grasschopper, have you had good experience with mail order shoes? I know I can't return them due to wear after even a couple short test rides.