I'm going to try tightening them down the next time I ride. I think another issue may be the shoes I'm wearing. I wear Merrell Tough Gloves when I commute since those are the shoes I wear at work. They're part of Merrel's barefoot line, so are an incredibly minimalistic shoe. I have a feeling for me to make the straps tight enough to stop my foot slipping in these shoes it may be so tight I can't even get the shoe in the strap. Could be wrong though.

Scrod,

Do I care about anything in Leader's 2013 "launch"?

Probably not.

You might think so, but you learn to anticipate where your foot will be, so your hand can move with it. Sort of like being able to grab your water bottle without bashing your hand with your knee.

/notscrod

Scrod have you ever dealt with play in a threaded headset? I didn't even know that it was possible as this is my first threaded set up. The hole upper part of the headset shudders under braking and it wiggles around when I got over bumps.

Dude, your headset is loose. Tighten it.

Dan - that emoticon rules.

You need to setup your straps so they are like a wedge like your foot. The front one tighter than the back. That way it makes a nice little pocket for your foot.

This!

lol did you see some of their behind the scenes press photos online/instagram? throwing risers and bmx stems on everything

Sigh...yes.

I also have access to their new catalog.

Ahh, ok. I'll give that a shot.

And get a stiffer shoe; stop biking in foot gloves.

I just followed them... I don't know why, because I follow them on FB and regret it every day.

They were offering to send one to people who emailed them. I'm interested in seeing the new Kagero color schemes or whatever, but just out of curiosity.

As trendy as they are, Samba's work really well with straps and BMX pedals

Seriously, WTF!

Scrod, do you grease where the handlebar is clamped by the stem? On my old Bontrager stem I had a shim that was then clamped by the stem and if I didn't grease it then I would hear creaking. Just got a new ritchey stem and it won't clamp down tight enough to keep the handlebars from moving. Should I add a beercan shim or not use grease?

I never grease but will occasionally use a drop or two of light oil (Tri-Flow or similar) when the clamp is tight to stop a creak.

As I mentioned, I wear the shoes I wear at work. Another reason I went the BMX pedal route was I didn't think it mattered as much what shoes I wore. Obviously I was wrong...

Thanks, I'll give that a shot after work.

in my mind, you are everything wrong about everything.

Dear Scrod, I haven't really been to a bike shop to see a mechanic since I was a kid, and I'm curious how tipping etiquette works with your bike mechanic. I ordered some pedals and clips, and I don't have a pedal wrench (and my 15mm crescent doesn't seem to fit), so I figured I'd go by the LBS (Rapid Transit in Bucktown, Chicago incase anybody has some local insight?) and ask a wrench there to install them.

I've done some reading and it seems like a super mixed bag, everything from beer to food to just giving him a few bucks to just tossing some cash in the tip jar.

What would you do? I feel weird about beer or food because there could easily be dudes in the shop who are vegan, or straightedge, or underage. Money is appropriate, but it's a big enough shop that maybe they can't accept the tip due to some kind of policy, or it could just cause undue stress between the buncha mechanics working?

Is there anything wrong with just outright asking the mechanic if they have a tip jar or if it's appropriate to tip him a few bucks?

As long as someone pays the shop labor rate - which is $1 per minute in my shop's case - there's really no need for a tip. If it's something small that only takes a minute or two (like installing pedals), and he doesn't charge you, throwing the guy a few bucks won't hurt. Food or beer is a good gesture if you know the guy and what he likes - but not everyone drinks or eats the same things and because you don't already have some sort of relationship set up with the shop/the mechanic, a cash tip will most likely be the best way to go.

A really old guy whose bike I often work on who we call Rumpelstiltskin (his name is Russell Stiltson) always brings a fresh batch of brownies or cookies whenever he comes in, but I've known him forever.

Awesome, thanks for the insight. Yeah, it'd be much less of a dilemma if I already had a relationship established with the people there, but I imagine there isn't a better way to start one than getting off on the right foot.

As an addendum to my question, am I being silly not just buying a pedal wrench and doing it myself?