Originally Posted by
ddeadserious
Most times, I can kind of put the middle of my foot on the edge, and it's a rolling motion to slide my foot into the strap/cage as I flip the pedal around(all with my foot contacting the pedal. I have tried the flip and spin thing, but it's not reliable and can be frustrating after it spins a couple times and you don't make it in. It really is just muscle memory, you'll get used to it. One fortunate thing about BMX style straps like you have is that you don't have to get in the strap right away; they not going to be damaged if they scrape the ground, so if you're stressed to get through an intersection and don't want to fumble with getting your other foot in the strap, just pedals across the intersection however your feet end up on the pedals, and get properly strapped in once you get through it.
I'm beginning to think you're right about the "manipulate" being better than the "spin" technique. You can get lucky with the spin, but you can just do it
right the other way you described (once you practice a bit).
And yeah, good call on leaving the foot out of the strap if need be. If it's a crazy intersection and I don't get my foot in right away, I just ride through and figure it out once it's safe.
Really diggin those straps though. It allows me to unweight and lift the rear wheel so much easier. It's such a handicap to ride FG without some kind of foot retention. Like riding a snowboard without being strapped in - not much you can do with it (by comparison).