Clipless shoes - SPD Cleat, clicking in and out
 

Hello everyone

I recently bought my first pair of clipess shoes and I have some SPD pedals which are of the MTB variety, so they have entry on both sides. I set the tension at the lowest I could, to start off with. I have been practicing clipping in and out, but my two problem areas are my second foot. I can get the second foot in most times, which I always have as my right foot, but other times I struggle to get it in. Should I be clipping in on my second foot at the 12oclock position at the top of the pedal stroke, or at the bottom of the pedal stroke?

I sometimes have problems clipping out on the second foot as I keep one attatched in for the whole ride, and I think it might be because of my action. I don't know whether it is easier to click out at the top of the pedal stroke, or at the bottom, so which do you prefer? Should I be pushing my heel as far down/back as I can get it, and then twisting out? Or should I be keeping it flat? Rather than falling off because of those problems, I had a few instances where I rotated the cleat on the shoe, as I was unable to get out without really twisting hard.

I have watched a few videos and guides and they don't seem to pay attention to the areas I was having problems with.

Thx
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Chris

You should be clipping in on the downstroke, so the answer is neither.

You shouldn't have to pause, or stop to get a foot in or out.

You should be able to clip in and out with the pedals in any position.

The clip mechanisim has no idea where the pedal is.

When clipping-in, I find that you have to move your foot forward straight across the pedal as well as down. I think I tend to clip in with the pedal slight ahead of 12:00.

When clipping-out, it's the movement of your heel out that disengages the clip. Keep your foot mostly flat.

As far as I recall, there are two tensioning screws: one for one side and one for the other.

Tighten that sucker down. The cleat shouldn't rotate.

And is probably contributing to your difficulty in clipping in/out. I use a little locktite blue on my screws...

Thanks for the responses, I will take those into account when I'm out on my bike again. I did tend to push down more than forward, so I will have to alter my movement.

As for the screws, I think it is down to my lack of skill on clicking out. Ultimately resulting in a panic to get the shoe out I literally had to force my foot out with every thing I had, as my foot was stuck to the pedal and I couldn't get it off. But, I will consider that and tighten them up. Maybe why I had some of the problems was partly due to loose screws, but most likely because I had got them stuck and had to use force to get them out. But I'm a fairly big guy so I do use a lot of force on the pedals, so maybe they were loose and that was preventing me from getting a proper clip out.

I didn't want to tighten them too much as I know after a while of them being in like thta, you may end up having to drill them out. So I will be careful.

Thx
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Chris

Don't over think it. In fact stop thinking about it and let it happen. That seems like the biggest obstacle for people with clipless pedals. It's really simple, make it become part of your muscle memory. I have no idea when or where I clip in, I just do it and it never occurs to me that I have.

Put your feet down and find the pedals, they're always in the same place right below you. Let your feet find the clip and bam you are in. It can and should be done with out thought.

oh yeah, make sure your cleats are tightened down on your shoes.

I learned the hard way this week that in addition to keeping the cleats tight on the shoes, you have to keep your shoes tied tightly on your feet. I was in a hurry getting changed at work to head home and didn't tie my laces tightly. When I tried to twist out, my foot twisted but the shoes didn't.

Does anyone know a good trick for falling without gashing your leg on the chainring teeth? This will be my third set of chainring scars - two from mountainbiking and this one from loose shoes!

I unclip my landing foot well in advance of my stops, with my foot and pedal at the top crank position. Unclip your landing foot early so there are no surprises.

As I approach the stop, I stand up off the seat and over the top bar, preparing to put my foot down. Then, just before I stop rolling, I turn the handlebars and front wheel away from the side my landing foot is on. This leans the bike toward my landing foot for a decisive stop.

Works every time. I've never had a fall clipped in when stopping on roads. Only off-road when I failed to climb over a big root on a steep climb....

i'm a recent convert to clipless as well. i had some troubles at first, but in my brief experience, make sure it is all tight and just keep on keeping on. practice is key.

Yeah, +10000 on the tightening the screws. I've had more than one occasion where I've had to stop, remove my shoe while still attached to the pedal and then fix it. That kinda sucks. Also, it never happens when I'm completely alone, it always involves spectators.

Agree on tightening the cleats you will have all sorts of trouble if they are loose and you may not be able to unclip at all, very dangerous. Thats happened once to me and was quite scary.

I've used 3 clipless systems Crank Bros being the best and Wellgo the worst and I find it's stepping downwards into the peddle after lining up the peddle and cleat is the way I learned to clip in.

I actually learned by leaning up against a wall in my hallway, an hour of swearing and shouting and suddenly it magically happened. You may want to go back a step and practice getting the weaker foot in when stationary. My right foot seems to be my harder one if I'm using a new set of cleats say so I still have occasional issues.

Clipping out should just be a simple twist, it might be because both cleats and peddles have not been broken in, try a dab of lube on the peddle also.

A use lithium grease on the screws, like you I'm quite heavy, so far no issues with drilling out the screws.