Mrs W and I just visited the bike shop. You know how stuff just attaches itself to you when you do that?

We have done tens of years together and probably more than ten thousand miles together on singles and either of the two tandems we've owned. She's been a strong and adventurous cyclist, but never had serious bike shoes, much less clipless pedals. So guess what attached itself to us in the bike shop?

So I've just attached the cleats to a pair of 'road touring' bike shoes (recessed cleats, still walkable) and a pair of single sided shimano pedals onto the trek 7.5 fx - mtb clips one side of the pedal, flat platforms the other.

50km ride arranged with pals tomorrow.

What do you reckon? Transformational delight, or tumbling calamity? We shall see

mmmmm excellent. We will hold a reservation in club Tombay for a limited time......

good luck, your going to enjoy them......eventually.

If it were me, a tumblefest would commence.

I reckon somewhere in between.

I went clipless last fall, and while it wasn't an epiphany, I now can't imagine riding platforms.

Maybe I should have specified - I'm already a four-year convert, she's new to them, willing for a trial but sceptical!

I just took her bike round the block to make sure they're set easy-in easy-out, and they're fine. The new pedals are the real shimano thing, mine are shimano copies by a company called Icon - they've been fine, but these new real ones seem a bit smoother on the axles and on the clips!

If she has difficulties, try the gold 56 cleats. They will come out with an outward, inward or heel up twist. They cost an extra $20 but they are good piece of mind for the novice.

I don't think you are taking a risk in the slightest


Mind you 50km ride as the first trial of them so I reckon the wife might be.


We do need an action pic for entry into Club Tombay- so keep the camera to hand.

[QUOTE=maddmaxx;8880313]If she has difficulties, try the gold 56 cleats. QUOTE]

If she has difficulties, I won't be posting again. She comes from northern california where gun laws are a bit liberal. Did I mention 'risk' in the title of the thread?

Take those pedals off of her bike, RIGHT NOW! And get her some proper clipless pedals. My wife got the same things once, she gets so po'd because she always has to make sure her pedal is right side up.
As the saying goes, "Once you go clipless, you never go platform"

She'll be fine. The dangers associated with clipless pedals are overstated to the point of absurdity. Worse than the swine flu, even. I do agree with the previous poster that combination clipless/platform pedals are more difficult for a novice than the double sided clipless pedals because the wrong side is up most of the time.

Fear kills.

Well, you and me have the same result in mind, but maybe we differ in the route

I'd prefer for her to ask for the pure and efficient clippy method, but I'm already taking the thread title risk in fiddling with her bike at all. After all, she's far from a beginner, and if she likes the clipped in side, then I've got a load of 'em pedals on the shelf!

just make sure you separate the ammo from the armament.

Mr BD, I just tried to post my congratulations on the ride you posted about, but I think I got timed out. Anyway, good for you, and many more of 'em

'bout the pedals - not a very serious thread. Spouse and I have loved biking since we first met in 1982. We've done all kinds of rides. She hasn't tried clipless, and asked to try. I think she'll take to them like a duck to ---hmm--- cumin and olive oil at 414 C with a grate of orange zest

I fully expect that Seana will like her new shoes and prefer the clipped in to the clipped out side, but I've preferred to offer the choice for her to make. Oh, and - she just came in from a mile trial, full of 'oh, whow, you know when you scoop your shoe you can feel the bike going forward'

So, clipless on the tandem next!

414 f

oops

Bahrain is kind of sandy, isn't it? That should cushion the falls.

Darn, we lost another one to the dark side.

^^^ Your lack of faith disturbes me!

I had been trying to nudge my wife towards clipless for her roadbike. Buying a tandem finally did the trick! It is oh so much easier to ride when clipped in.

50km trial ride completed. (Very hot, very windy, a shamal all the way from Turkey, picking up heat and sand all across Saudi Arabia - our 'horizontal hills').

Her verdict on the pedals -'these things are great', 'really help uphill and into the wind', 'much easier to unclip than I thought'

No problems at all, and favourable response! She wants to keep the double sided pedals for nipping out to the shops without requiring a change of footware

All very anticlimactic, in fact!

Book mark this thread for when others want to get opinions on clipless pedals.

And on the "Easier to unclip than I thought"- sounds as though the tension should go up a tad but keep the camera handy. Complacency comes in at about 3 months.