Hi,

I am new to road biking. I recent acquires a set of SPD pedal and shoes. I spent the better part of an hour tonight trying to clip in. In that hour I clipped in about 5 times between my 2 feet, but they were all luck. Can anyone offer some tips to help me clip in?

BikingLoki

I know the feeling. I had SPDs for about 3 days. I don't really have any tips, I switched to speedplay zeros.

if you can take them back and switch the pedals for some Time ones. I guarantee you won't have nearly as many problems with them.

The pedals and shoes were handed down from other riders to help me get started. I'd like to tr and stick with them because the price was so good

Hmmm...you might have a compatability issue between cleats and pedals - some are not interchangeable. Other issues with older shoes/cleats is that any deformation of the sole or wear and tear on the cleats may keep things from locking up right. One point to keep in mind is that clipless pedals DO work reliably for hundreds of thousands of riders riding millions of miles. If your setup doesn't work, you might have to consider replacing it.

!!!


Well, the fact that you DID manage to clip in a few times implies that your pedals and cleats/shoes ARE correctly installed...

otherwise, if your pedals are like mine there are 2 easily accessible screws on each pedal-- they adjust the clip tension. so find yourself an allen wrench set and unscrew them (counterclockwise, probably) and see if you can loosen up the clip tension. once you get a handle on how to clip in and what you're tolerances are, you can tighten/loosen the pedals to your liking.

but... that's all i can think of.

Did the shoes come to you "pre-assembled" i.e., with the cleats already screwed into the soles of the shoes, or did you assemble them yourself? You did say that you managed to step in a couple of times...but I know the first time I tried to assemble the shoes and step in, I had a hell of a time. I looked closer and realized the cleats were backwards - the toe ends were pointing toward the heels. With that fixed, I've ridden spds for about a year and haven't had any equipment-related problems. Rider error is always a factor for me.

The only other ideas I have are, like was said above, to check the tension on the pedals and check to see whether the cleats actually seat properly in the pedals. Dues-paying has its place, but if the setup is unsafe, you might do better to ask around and find another clipless system.

I think this was mentioned earlier, but most SPD pedals have a tension adjustment on them. Loosen that, and it should get somewhat easier.

You can't just stomp straight down -- the toe end has to go in first. I find it's easier if my toes are lower then my heels when I'm clicking in with my SPDs.

The shoes were from a previos rider. The did not have cleats on them. I bought brand new cleat and installed them per the directions, so they should be on there right. I'll try adjusting the tension screws to see if that does the trick. I'll let you know.

Not sure if you saying this is a mechanical or technique problem. I'll address technique. First try clipping in without trying to ride the bike. Stand over the top tube and with the foot you want to clip in, rotate the pedal to the six o'clock position (down to the bottom). With your foot slightly pointing down try to slide the cleat into the pedal (this is the hard part). Try to feel it as it catches. You can also take the shoe off and put it on your hand and do it that way a few times to get the feel. When the cleat catches, put some weight on it and it should snap in. Twist out and repeat.

When you're ready to try riding, click the first foot in before you start moving. Don't worry about the second foot. Just push off and let the free foot step on top of the pedal before trying to clip it in. You want to get some speed going so you don't fall over. Then you can clip in the free foot.

On the other side, you can always click out early and step on top of the pedal. This will help prevent falling over.

See the bottom of this faq - same info
https://www.chainreaction.com/pedalfaq.htm

I have the SPDs and have had no difficulty whatsoever in clicking in or out of the pedals.

I really like the recessed design of the cleat which allows me to walk around in my bike shoes. This is important to me as a commuter who spends time on the train, roads, work hallways, etc in my bike shoes.

Anyway, it'll start to become second nature to you. The front part kind of angles into place and then just press down pretty hard with your foot. You'll hear the click as you engage in the pedal. To release, simply torque your heel away from the bike and your shoe will snap out of the pedal.

I would also recommend heeding advice above and playing around with the tension. It shouldn't be too difficult to click into SPDs. Other people may have favorites, but SPDs work very well, and for the price (free) I see no reason at all to return them and buy new ones.

slip in, toe first, then click down with your heel. just like with ski bindings. wd-40 the pedals where you clip in.

sd

spd, or spd-sl? spds are super simple to clip in with; spd-sls not so much.

i ride spds on my track bike right now. they're great!

what kind of pedals do you have? most spd pedals are dual sided (they're mountain focused), so getting into them is supposed to be easy. my bianchi came with some super cheap-o spd pedals (which i replaced) that didn't offer any real 'click' when engaged. perhaps that's an issue for you....

you may find that you need to break in the cleats. you may also find that you have the cleats installed upside down take a peek at them and make certain that the arrow is pointing towards your toes. also, check for damage on the cleats themselves.

short of that, clipping in is a pretty easy endeavor for me, and should be for you, too.

if you have mountain shoes and some sort of platform on the pedals, try riding unclipped for a bit. as you get some confidence and speed up, clip into one of your shoes. you may find that it's easier to do that when you can put some weight onto it. a previous poster mentioned clipping in when you're not riding, which i suggest trying first, but i'm usually able to clip in faster while in motion. your mileage may vary.

good luck!

If you're not too worried about weight, I have to admit, I have two pairs of Nashbar Ventoux pedals that are inexpensive, durable, and very easy to clip in and out of. They weigh about 350g a pair with a Look style cleat, which are cheap to replace.

I know some people don't like them, because they are not SPD's, or Keo's, or Time, etc. But, these pedals are great for the average person who doesn't want to waste a ton of money. I have had mine for a year now, and zero problems so far.

They are double sided SPDs. I'm not sure if they are sl's or not. The cleats are new and install properly. I may need to adjust the tension screws and lube them up a little. I play to try it again tonight. I'll report back...

Ok. They are not SPD-SLs. I just sw a picture of them and they don't look like what I have.

Make sure that the cleats are at the same spot on both shoes, that will make it easier. With thos MTB SPD's all you can do is practice, practice, practice.

If you do decide to go to a road clipless pedal, try the new shimano roads or the looks. I just put on some keo's and they rock!

Are the cleats reasonably well centered in the recessed part of the shoe? You might have problems if you haven't left any room for the pedal to wrap around the cleat. I have three different variations on an SPD pedal (Wellgo and brand X) that don't give me any trouble at all. Catching the front tab of the cleat in the pedal is the hard part until you get a sense for where the cleat really is. I struggled a bit at first but now my feet just "know" where the cleat should meet the pedal and clipping in is almost an instinctive process. Sometimes I set my foot on the pedal and just stomp it in.

Knowing now that I had to approch them head on rather than at an angle made a world of difference. I praticed clipping and unclipping for 5 mintues. After that I rode around a parking lot for 30 minutes and only fell once. I used them on the group ride later that night and had nary an incident for the whole ride.

Thanks for all the advice!