I know you cats that use them must have a trick to it. How's it done? I have read that some have a tab on them for flippin' it into position?

i put the ball of my foot forward of the pedal axle and pull back while pointing my toes down.

i have had difficulty if either the pedal design or my shoe soles were smooth.

you can also by bolt-on tabs:

https://harriscyclery.net/product/mks...edals-3014.htm

i've used them (before i went clipless) and they work pretty well.

In this picture the cage would attach to the front bar and would hang down exposing the little tooth in the back:



You scrape your shoe back on the little tooth and the cage rotates up to your toecap and you slide your shoe into the cage. With a little practice it becomes automatic.

Ah, ok, cool. I will give it a try. I am going to be switching to clips soon and was wondering as I have foot-wrestled with them at shops duiring test rides. I knew there must e a trick to it.

You'll get the hang of it in short time.

I will be going on my first toe clipped ride tonight, so we will see how quickly i get the hang of it lol. I have visions of me falling over......

Remember you can always pedal the uncaged side until you get up to speed and in a safe position to try getting in the cage. There is no need to hurry or panic.

i also thought about leaving them a little loose, until i get used to the idea of being mechanically attached to my bike......is that a bad idea?

No, it's actually an EXCELLENT idea. Some people NEVER actually tighten their straps.

Cool. I'll do that then. Thanks!

What I do with my toe clips, is run the strap at a diagonal with the outer side routing through the slots in the front of the pedal instead of rear.
This way I can toe-in to get my feet into them, and I twist toe-out so they tighten up.
Stole the idea from 'Power Grips' pedal straps.

Neat idea, xenologer. I've tried them and Power Grips both, before going clipless. My biggest worry was that cage snagging something on the ground if I wasn't hooked up to them.

SPDs, or better yet eggbeaters...

My knees hate SPD's. Only Speedplays with that massive toe-out rotation works for me for clipless. But now I am going to try clips only.

did my first toe clip ride tonight, no issues whatsoever. easy as pie!

After I lead off I flick the free pedal down with my toe and get the pedal spinning backwards and when the pedal comes back around I time things so that I can slide my foot right in and start pedalling.

It impresses the new kids a great deal.

I tried the same, Sixty Fiver, only using street shoes on SPDs. Maybe my timing was off, cuz I had blood running from my shin into my left shoe.

Yeah, it was probably the timing.

Or the pedal... have never thought of trying this with an spd as the entry motion is different.

You know you have mastered the toe clip flip when you can mount up on a very steep hill (>15%). That will impress your fellow clipless users who are falling over on the remount.

Some tabs are bigger than others:

In another time and place you would have been a gunslinger. You gave me the picture of a pistolero spinning his shooting iron on his finger before slapping it into the holster.

Still have a old pair of Lyotard 460D, wide double sided pedals.
the pre spud cyclo-cross racers cut the toe strap, and screwed the portions
on the outside ends of the pedal..
so there was an open space for the mud on the shoes to go,
Stiff straps, and a doubled layer toeclip, so the opening
for your foot stays open..

watch older cross race videos, the knack of jumping the barriers
remounting and flipping both pedals simultaneously,
within the second crank rotation, and so, losing as little momentum as possible
.. impressive ..

Went on a ride with clips today.
No problem flippin' and slippin' the toes in. Thanks for the tips everybody! Also, I discovered that not looking down at the pedals helps. Just going by feel seems to make it easy.
Now I have to find a greater than 15% grade to try from a dead stop for full mastery.

Like a lot of things it comes with practice, experience and just doing it. I have been riding toe clips since before clipless were invented. I don't always snug my straps down unless I am going to be cruising for a longer distance. For city riding I quite often go with half clips. Most of my pedals have tabs on the back, on the ones that don't a quick tap with the toe on the edge of the pedal usually pulls it around. It does become second nature after a while. I quite often try to turn the pedals over on my "beer bike" which has rubber block pedals on it.

Aaron

Try not to hurry when starting out pedal with one foot. Start with one foot clipped in. I start with my left foot in and than as i get moving work the right foot in. If i have issues i pedal with one leg until i can get it. Also i pedal with the clip side down when necessary until i ave an opportunity to get me foot in