f4rrest

Been lurking for a while, but just had to post after finally trying it -- what a difference!

Had always ridden road with clips, straps, and tennies. Getting back into it after 15 years and overtrained a bit getting achilles soreness (on and off bike). Researched, figured I needed to move my feet forward for a while to relieve strain on the tendon, so used platforms and supportive shoes. Clipless just seemed it would be totally wrong by putting the pedal too far forward under the ball of my foot and aggravate the soreness, but I kept wondering if maybe...

Anyhow, finally got impatient and picked up some Specialized BG Sport shoes, cleats, SPD-SL pedals... and took it for a 10 mile hilly spin, and no soreness whatsoever. Yay! And darn, clipping in/out is easy. Best $200 spent, ever.

Anyhow, I'm trying to figure out why it's working. My theory is that since I have totally flat arches and overpronate, my flimsy shoes were allowing my tendons to get overused in stabilizing. Stiff bike shoes locked onto the pedals do all that stabilization work for me. Any thoughts?

edit: pic...

Richard_Rides

Awesome! Yeah, when I went clipless my knee problems went away. My feet would tend to migrate over the pedal and take some unorthodox angles, but the clipless pedals make me maintain proper form and the knees feel great. Great to hear your story and welcome to the group!

cohophysh

That is possible, I love the clipless pedals...thanks to Jaxtr!

onastrat

I too went clipless recently. It is a huge difference, especially the hills- they are much easier to climb. The power transfer is much more efficient-hopefully you won't fall like most here, but if you do, tell us about it!

Missbumble 

Great Job!!! Watch out for those quick stops...

slyjackson

Follow these rules below and all will be ok, otherwise you will make an assclown
out of yourself like I did. All the below has sent me to the asphalt because I did
not unclip prior to doing each. Just some advice and I'm sure others will chime in as
well to give you some more "not to do's".

Rules of thumb:
1. if you need to use the brakes unclip !
2. When you approch a stop sign unclip even if you dont plan to stop!
3. when you slow down to enter your driveway, unclip!
4. When slow to make a u turn, unclip!
5. When you are about to stop at a traffic light, unclip "Both" feet prior to getting there!
6. If your neighbors call you to come to them, unclip before you get there!
7. If you see a lady approaching you and she looks like she is going to ask you something, unclip!
8. If you are going to pass a bunch of kids playing or walking in the path that you are going to ride, unclip!
9. If you see a squirrel within 5 feet of the path you intend to travel, unclip !!!!

Longfemur

It has nothing to do with clipless or no clipless. It's just the better cycling shoes, and possibly accidentally getting your foot in just the right position. Good cycling shoes are good cycling shoes no matter what kind of pedal or foot retaining system you use.

ilmooz

I'm glad for you and glad for me - this is the first "1st clipless ride" story I've read that didn't end with an embarassing clipped-in tip over fall to the ground.

cohophysh

not only squirrels but dog, especially those that are not leashed!

f4rrest

Oh, just give it time... I'm sure to have a clip-falling story at some point (despite the good advice).

Yes, I think there is something to this. Seems the combination of both stiff shoes and having a way to prevent them from rocking inwards (clipless or clips+straps) seems to be the ticket. I did look for a _good_ platform shoe first and wasn't thrilled with the options.

Related question: does anyone know if there are false platforms that can clip into these pedals? I'd rather not clip in on the slow rides with the family on the MUP.

bigtruck

10. If you get a pinched flat or any flat Unclip FAST

CACycling

Nope. Once you go clipless you are required to ride in full kit every time (don't blame me, its in the Official Roadie Manual)

Actually, Dimension Insteps Cleat Adapters are available for some types of pedals and turn your clipless into clips and straps. I've also read of people getting a spare set of cleats and mounting them to a piece of wood and topping the wood with anti-slip tape. Personally, I don't really like either of these options so I switched my MTB back to clips and straps to take with us camping so I don't have to worry about the shoes.

freeagent1970

Ive always wanted to try but dont want to fall over at my size...lol

scrapmetal

Clipless are great and lot of fun too I ride speedplay and love them to pieces. The typical trick kicking out left foot and falling to the right - performed twice in one day. Than I tried to start up the hill and fell over three times before I gave up on it.
But, yeah, clipless is the way to go, whatever system you use.

Wogster

What some folks do is get dual mode pedals, these are clipless on one side, platform on the other, you just flip the pedal over to change modes. Of course this doesn't help if you already have the pedals.....

BigUgly

I have a cheap set of Shimano MTB pedals on all my bikes so I can use the same shoes on each bike. There are times when I ride with the kids and I am wearing sandals and I am still able to pedal with out the platform. Plus my kids are still young so there is a lot of stopping which is another reason I don't bother putting on the shoes when riding with the kids.

UprightJoe

My OCR 2 came with something like this clipped into one side of the (SPD) pedals:

https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...%20Accessories

I still have them on the bike actually. I can clip into the other side no problem even with recessed shoes and I figure they could come in handy someday.

Sage23

Yikes! If you feel you need to unclip in all those situations you need to lower the tension on your clips! Its good to be thinking about unclipping in all those situations, but in many cases unclipping can lead to problems. For example, you unclip because you are coming to a stop sign and something happens that requires you to accelerate (e.g., car coming out of a driveway). I'd rather be clipped in then!

v1k1ng1001

clipping in and out becomes second nature very quickly, it's totally worth it