skidding with clipless?
 

I'm upgrading my clipless system on my roadie, so I'm thinking about putting my old M520 spd pedals on a fixie. I love clipless on my roadie... but how well does that translate to a fixed gear? My main concern is skidding with them, I love to skid. Will the pulling up on the foot when I skid pop me out of my pedals? (I pull with my front foot when I skid, I don't know if you're supposed to, but w/e...)

Any advice into this?

Thanks

I have M540s, which are the same design as the 520s.. I put them on my fixed to try them out before I went to the track for the first time. Tightened up the tension as far as possible. It was great tooling around my street. Being able to pull up really helped acceleration and low speed stopping power was great. I was really excited, but then I went for a longer test ride around the block, and was going pretty fast down a mellow hill. A few blocks down I really had to stop fast because of some cars in front of me...my left foot popped out and the pedals kept spinning. Luckily I have a front brake or I would've been a new trunk emblem. That was the end of clipless for me, at least on my fixed bike anyway. They worked fine on the track though, but you don't skid or backpedal as hard there. I haven't used road pedals, but they might be different for fixed riding since most people seem to use them.

Ok, thanks for that input. It's what I was afraid of. I guess I'll see how my new roadie pedals work, and if they seem to hold really tight perhaps I'll try them on the fixie.

I've never popped out unexpectedly on my 520s, but I guess I don't skid at all (yet). Just backpedal and use the front brake in emergencies.

While back, my pedaling was poor and I think I was twisting my feet. So I was popping out. But when I got better, SPDs start working fine. SPD cleats don't feel solid like SpeedPlay, but they are "deceptively" reliable once your pedaling skill is decent. ... I kinda wish it isn't "deceptively" reliable; I like it "clearly" reliable like ATAC stuff.

I'm running my 520's with the tension turned pretty low and I still haven't popped out. Haven't been doing much skidding though... actually, barely any skidding. A few skip stops here and there. Since I got the clipless setup, I've been stopping mostly by backpedaling a little further ahead than usual, and a few occasional quick pumps of the brake lever.... at least while I continue to get more familiar with clipless.

the shimano spd system has no float. once you rotate your foot, you're out of the pedal.
you can adjust the tension, but that's not the same as float.
the look keo system allows you to pick cleats with different float options, so you can have a little side to side "play" in your foot before it releases....only this takes a dedicated road shoe, and those have slippery soles and are hard to walk around in.
the crank bros system acts the same way...15* float or 20* float, depending on which shoe you have the cleat on...
see: http://www.crankbrothers.com/tech_mallet.php

i've heard that crank bros isn't ideal for fixed though (i don't know why), but i use crank bros on my crosscheck (simply for the ease of having a walk-around-in shoe) and every mountain bike i've ever owned (for the 4 way enter/exit and mud shedding) and love them.
but for a dedicated road bike, look is the way to go...the bigger pedal surface cuts down on hot spots and has a greater power transfer over smaller cleats like spd and crank bros.

I was playing around on my SPDs this afternoon (my shoes are too big, have to exchange them for a size down, but took a moment to make sure they wouldnt work.) and I managed to skid just fine. I read Shimanos SPD instructions and it seems that you have the option of two different types of cleat. There is the original one which only releases with a sideways movement. Then there is another that will release on the upwards movement, the sideways as well as an angled movement. You may have one of those cleats.

My speedplays slay all. I want to take my pedals out behind the middle school and get them pregnant.

I've been riding 520's brakeless for years and do fine.

The only things to watch out for:

-keep the tension tight on the pedal
-don't pedal like a dumbass and twist out accidentally
-and importantly--replace the cleats every once in a while, if you notice more float than before and the back of the cleat starts wearing down.

Nothing wrong with clipless, but I think SPD isn't that great. I've pulled my shoe off the pedal while hammering from a trackstand with my SPDs.

I might just junk-box my old m520s, would something like this be better?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

adjust pedals to their tightest (hardest to clip in and out) and keep an eye on your cleat wear, especially if you do a lot of walking in your cycling shoes. I go though 2-4 cleat sets a year, mostly because Chicago has a ton of stop lights which equal lots of un-clipping and I don't carry extra shoes so I walk on them a lot. I replace them the first time my foot un-clips trying to skip or skid, but I run and USE a brake to slow me down primarily and skip/skid for fun, sharp turn ins and to augment the front brakes power, if you are going to run brakeless or try to never use the brake don't wait until your foot un-clips in traffic to replace cleats.

No, I'm always going to run AND use a front brake. I just love to skid for fun.

Spds have fine for the street. I switched to them from clips/straps a couple of years ago and haven't looked back. Ive used a used set of m324s and am currently riding a set of m515s. Lower end used pedals and shoes that get walked in all day and I've had no problems. I've only popped out once ever, and I think there was some errant twisting to blame for that one.

As mentioned above, just keep up on your pedal maintainence and check/replace your cleats often. Clipless rocks. And to anwser your original question, skidding for fun or stopping is easier and more controlled IMHO. It feels like a much more
solid connection.

i want to go to there.

Well, I just pulled the trigger on 2 sets of new SPD-SL pedals and a pair of shoes (my spd shoes got thrashed in a wreck the other day).

Thanks for the help.

TIME! TIME! TIME! just kidding, but they have no float. Shimano road is good, but I find the float a little scary when skidding. Never popped out though

I started out with the M520's after having mks sylvans. They were a great improvement and I was skidding right away. Never popped out. If anything I probably had them tensioned to high.
After about 1500 miles I switched to the shimano 5700 sl and I have been skidding fine with no chance of a pop out.
I left the setting low like they were set. So I think as long as your form is good you should not have a problem.

I would trust being brakeless with clipless over straps and cages any day.

I rode Fixxed with my Eggbeaters for nearly a year, I only stopped using them because I hated changing my shoes 3 times a day... the only problem I ever had was bottoming out on a curb and popping my foot out....never had a problem skidding

I think some don't like the eggbeaters because when you mash down really hard it splays the pedal clips that engage the cleat and can feel a bit detached. You tend to really haul on singlespeed pedals more, so we notice this more than roadies. I have the crank bros candy pedals, which are cheap and incorporate a platform around the eggbeater, and I find it to be awesome for fixed- feels very direct and tight all the time. I tried it with road pedals, as opposed to mountain, and hated it because the sole against the platform was part of what works for me. You'll pull out if your cleats wear out, which happens fairly quickly because they're brass- but they're brass to ensure that the cleat doesn't wear the pedal out, so it's hard to get too upset about that. Fresh cleats and you can skid all day.