real content first:
Egg beaters work through all kinds of muck. Their reliability is somewhat suspect, but I've had no problems with mine so far so I cannot really weigh in to the pos/neg there. Don't be put off by how skinny they are. You don't need platforms and don't worry about being able to wear normal shoes while you bike after this because you probably won't care to. spend the extra money on a stiff-soled spd-compatible shoe (like the specialized above) to mitigate the hot spotting of such a small pedal. The sole of the shoe IS your platform. Your feet will thank you.
My current spd shoes are shimanos that I got for ~50 off pricepoint.com. They're *very* comfy to walk in....and rubbish after a scant 10 miles because those comfortable flexible soles do little to support my feet. Thankfully I have roadieTastic shoes and spd-sl's for all the times I'm not commuting.
Originally Posted by
m4ximusprim3
Good thing this isn't in the road forum, or UMD would rip you a new one.
PS: I fell once. But nobody was around to see it, so technically it didn't happen.
I took pix and spammed everyone i knew when i fell the first time. some people hide their shame...i flaunt it flagrantly for some odd reason
the definitive Order of Operations, ver.Unclipping:
realize you forgot to fasten your helmet
remember you forgot to fasten the extra strap on your bag to keep it from flopping around and striking your face repeatedly
stall, lost in thought, pondering how funny you'd look being repeatedly brutalized by your trendy, yet functional bag
come to a complete stop, still lost in though, listing quickly groundward
land gracefully on your arms, tweaking your front derailleur back a bit as you're forcefully ejected from your pedals
--bonus points for doing as I did: take pix with your phone of your newfound red badge of stupidity (rash/gritty bloody mess) and spam it to everyone you know before continuing on to work.
*sigh*
ACK just saw the 30 miler part. You wouldn't buy new boots just before setting out on a 5 mile hike, let alone going 30 miles anywhere. You'll want to play with the cleat position a bit on some longer rides. You don't usually experience things like foot pain and toe numbness until you get a few miles on the latest setup. Make sure you have something with you that can loosen/tighten the bolts on your cleats in case you need to tweak them. Keep in mind that how you set your cleats will determine how your legs and feet move for every stroke of that long trip. check out sheldonbrown dot com(?) and look for the section on pain so you know what to look for.