Thanks for the responses guys. I'm a bit calmer now. I still kind of feel like these are junk, but I'll keep at it and see if it gets better. I'd hate to have wasted all that money on pedals and shoes for nothing.
Originally Posted by
mvnsnd
It will take a while to get used to the one sided pedals. The metal plate you removed and replaced is where the cleat contacts the pedal. Maybe it was a bit loose making the noise. Give it some time and just keep practicing clipping in.
I have Ultegra SPD-SL and they are a bit harder to clip in than my mountain SPD's. You could also try getting a second set of cleats to see if they make a difference.
I hope that's the case. I think I'll try the zero-float cleats (more stuff to buy, yay
).. I'm not really comfortable with my foot slipping around on the pedal anyway.
Originally Posted by
steve_wmn
Are you going into them toe first or just trying to stomp in straight down? You really need to catch that front end of the pedal with the front of the cleat before you push down and click in. Otherwise it won't work at all. FWIW I just ran through my first SPD-SL cleats and while the new ones are just as easy to engage they are a bit tougher to release.
You might just have too much muscle memory invested in your old pedals, and need time to get used to SPD-SLs. Personally I like them a lot better than SPDs. The pedal gives me a much bigger target for my cleat and I get a cleaner start from them.
Yep, I am trying to go in toe first. I knew before I got them that it would be different, and I pictured how I would have to move my foot to engage the cleat. And it's not so bad when I put my first foot in. But I do have to stomp down with most of my weight after the toe is in to make the rear click in; it doesn't just click in
.
And the worst part is when I already have one foot clipped in, after I push off from a standing stop and rotate the crank, it's difficult for me to slip the other foot in, because that pedal is almost completely upside down at this point. I have to take my eyes off the road and divert my attention to righting the pedal.... You are right about the muscle memory though. The motion with SPD just became automatic to me after a while.