ksquared

I recently upgraded to clippless peddles (BeBops) and found they made a huge differance. No more stress and strain on my knees and have a lot more power on hills. Unfortuantely I am finding the clipped in feeling rather uncomfortable. Any tips on how to overcome this growing anxiety?

RegularGuy

In New York city a guy asked a street musician for directions.

"How do you get to Carnegie Hall?"

The musician said, "Practice, man. Practice."

Keep riding those pedals. You will become more accustomed to them quickly. Everyone falls over a time or two getting used to clipless pedals. It's part of the learning curve. Stick with them and they become second nature.

ksquared

Well, I have been practicing for around 3 weeks, and will keep at it. Probably just need to give myself more time. However instead of getting more comforatable I seem to be getting less and losing a little confidance to boot. Was wondering if anyone else experienced a growing anxiety as the weeks went by and if so any tricks you used to distract those little brain cells. I ride mostly hills and around 150+ a week.

beowoulfe

I've been on a Vision 'bent for about 4 years. It took a year before I "discovered"
SPD clipless pedals. Like you "What a difference". I would NEVER go back. Have to
say that I still occasionally "tip over". I get better and better, but on some hills I wonder.
Stick with it. Anticipate. At a stop sign, besides dropping to a lower gear in the rear,
I drop the front derailliuer to the granny. That helps on the restart. If you don't really
need the granny, it's easy to shift up as you accellerate.

Nobby

Yep, practice. I hardly ever fall over due to forgetting to unclip anymore. Personal growth! And of course the good news is, I don't have far to fall from my R-44, but man...is that ever embarassing!

Tonight I discovered the wonder of pulling and pushing simultaneously while climbing hills. Marvellous!

Being clipped into my clipless pedals (will I ever get used to that?) is much more comfortable now. On the rare occasion when I don't wear my riding shoes, I find myself quite uncomfortable and in fear of losing my footing on the pedals. (but of course, there isn't a lot of pedal there...)

Hang in there, bentrule!

Feet first and onward!

bentrox!

If you still feel anxious after several weeks, maybe something with more float would help. I'm totally comfortable with my Time ATACs. They feel quite natural and I suffer no "clipped-in" anxiety. Moreover, experience has developed the requisite "in-n-out" routine to be second nature, so it's been a long time since I last embarrassed myself forgetting to clip out.

Eddie

bobdeutsch

Keep riding with the Bebops and it will all become natural for you. I just switched to Bebops after using Frogs for years on my upright...just started riding a Stratus a few months ago. The Bebops are fantastic. Did you cut away enough of the sole of your bike shoe in order to give maximum float for the spindle? It is possible that you are feeling some limitations there. The slower speed going up hill can be a problem when new to clipless pedals.

I found that the best thing for me in terms of getting use to the new pedals, as well as getting use to riding at real slow speeds....was to accompany my wife on her 'power walks' (3-4 mph) on my bike. This somehow has enabled me to gain more of that feeling of being 'at one with my bike'...ahhhhh....
the zen of recumbent riding! Also. ...doing a bunch of figure eights in a parking lot seem to help too.
Keep at it!
Bob
01 s Stratus

sport

When you approach a stopping situation, pop out of one of the pedals. You can still pedal, and if it isnt necessary to stop, pop back in and keep going. Pop one pedal out when you feel the need and try to anticipate it. Thatll keep you cool.

ksquared

THanks for all the words of encouragement and helpful hints. THe more I rode the worse it got. I tried unclipping at differant peddle positions and finally called Bebop to see if they had suggestions. SInce everything was installed correctly all we could think of doing was a good cleaning and oiling. As this worked, my only explaination is that I live on a gravel road and may have gotten micro-scopic granite dust lodged in the mechanisms. Now my float is back and no more problems unclipping. THe better news is that after having such a hard time at the beginning my adjustment period appears to be over. Or at least dratstically reduced. Ben