OldSchoolGuy

It never occurred to me that toe clip straps could be a problem. Just bought some Balillas and found they won't fit through the slots in Campy quill style (SR/NR) pedals. The straps are 12mm wide. My old ones were approx 11.5mm, but I broke one. Any ideas?

Thanks,
John

Old Fat Guy

Try loosen the stiff leather a bit by drawing them over a screwdriver, curl it over the shaft, not the blade I just went through the same thing. Also, once you get the tip through, you can grab it with a needle nose pliers, especially if you have a button that will hide the marks.

I think it took me darn near an hour to do both pedals.

dbakl

I grab the pointed end with a pair of needlenose pliers and muscle it through.

rotharpunc

trim .25mm off of each side?

RobbieTunes

Same way you put a 130mm wheel into a 126mm frame. Sheer force of will.

OldSchoolGuy

Thanks, guys. Seems the consensus is brute force, so brute force it will be. A simple thing like toe straps I'd always taken for granted. Well, I'm learning.

Thanks again,
John

afilado

Wet them, pull them through, let them dry.

fuzz2050

+1 for pliers, it takes a bit of work, but once there on, you can forget about them completely.

OldSchoolGuy

It worked fine. The first one went in dry but the second had to be wetted with a tad of soapy water. I got to wondering why they all started making them 12mm wide. If it was to prevent them from not remaining put, they didn't know how to properly install the narrow straps. The correct way is to insert the strap through the first side, give it a full 360* twist, then pass it through the remaining side. I've done this many times and they always stayed in place.

If I decide to put buttons on the ends should I expect that to be fraught with problems or is it basically a no-brainer? I've never used buttons but am considering it now.

Anyway, thanks for the help with this problem that I mistakenly took to be a show stopper. I still have so much to learn.

John