Clipless Entry at Stoplight

I've had this recurring problem as of late with clipping into my Shimano
Look-style pedals at stoplights. I have had these pedals for over 10 years
and recently put them back on my bike after the Exus clipless pedal that
came with my newer bike shot craps.

It seems as if the pedals spin too much before I try to clip in, and when I
do steady them with my foot, I always seem to get the back side and have to
futz to get them turned over. Of course all of this in front of people
waiting at all 4 corners of the intersection.

I have been riding with clipless pedals for over 13 years, so I will not
admit to operator error. Any suggestions?

Kerry

"Kerry Nikolaisen" -e-t writes:

I've had this recurring problem as of late with clipping into my Shimano
Look-style pedals at stoplights. I have had these pedals for over 10 years
and recently put them back on my bike after the Exus clipless pedal that
came with my newer bike shot craps.

It seems as if the pedals spin too much before I try to clip in, and when I
do steady them with my foot, I always seem to get the back side and have to
futz to get them turned over. Of course all of this in front of people
waiting at all 4 corners of the intersection.

I rode Shimano Look-style pedals for 15 years and would occasionally
experience this, especially on uphill starts where I had to crank
hard to get moving.

I have been riding with clipless pedals for over 13 years, so I will not
admit to operator error. Any suggestions?

Switch to a pedal with dual-sided entry, such as Speedplay :-) I made
that move last year and haven't regretted it.

--
Michael Fuhr
http://www.fuhr.org/~mfuhr/

Switching to a dual sided pedal seems to me like "admitting user error". And
speedplay seems to be the most overpriced clipless pedal i've seen. lots of
other ones are dual sided.

Did you check to see if the cleat came loose on your shoe and maybe moved
around? When I switched the location of my cleats, I had a reallly hard time
clipping in (this is with an SPD system). Also did you check your pedals for
anything strange? Anything loose, sticky, etc? the shoes clip in perfectly
fine when stopped?

Mike
http://mikebeauchamp.com


"Michael Fuhr" wrote in message
...
"Kerry Nikolaisen" -e-t writes:

I've had this recurring problem as of late with clipping into my Shimano
Look-style pedals at stoplights. I have had these pedals for over 10
years
and recently put them back on my bike after the Exus clipless pedal that
came with my newer bike shot craps.

It seems as if the pedals spin too much before I try to clip in, and
when I
do steady them with my foot, I always seem to get the back side and have
to
futz to get them turned over. Of course all of this in front of people
waiting at all 4 corners of the intersection.

I rode Shimano Look-style pedals for 15 years and would occasionally
experience this, especially on uphill starts where I had to crank
hard to get moving.

I have been riding with clipless pedals for over 13 years, so I will not
admit to operator error. Any suggestions?

Switch to a pedal with dual-sided entry, such as Speedplay :-) I made
that move last year and haven't regretted it.

--
Michael Fuhr
http://www.fuhr.org/~mfuhr/

put a weight on the bottom, lead sinkers etc. will do the job. then
itll spin upright much more often

On Thu, 23 Oct 2003 02:54:41 GMT, "Kerry Nikolaisen"
-e-t wrote:

I've had this recurring problem as of late with clipping into my Shimano
Look-style pedals at stoplights. I have had these pedals for over 10 years
and recently put them back on my bike after the Exus clipless pedal that
came with my newer bike shot craps.

It seems as if the pedals spin too much before I try to clip in, and when I
do steady them with my foot, I always seem to get the back side and have to
futz to get them turned over. Of course all of this in front of people
waiting at all 4 corners of the intersection.

I have been riding with clipless pedals for over 13 years, so I will not
admit to operator error. Any suggestions?

Kerry

Just recently got new ARC cleats and I have positioned them maybe just a tad
different than before. Also newer shoes. I should have mentioned that
before - maybe that makes a big difference.

Once clipped in - they are fine. Will check the shoes for foreign debris -
and pedals as well.

It really has more to do with the "leveling procedure" before clipping in.

Kerry

Mike Beauchamp wrote in message
...
Switching to a dual sided pedal seems to me like "admitting user error".
And
speedplay seems to be the most overpriced clipless pedal i've seen. lots
of
other ones are dual sided.

Did you check to see if the cleat came loose on your shoe and maybe moved
around? When I switched the location of my cleats, I had a reallly hard
time
clipping in (this is with an SPD system). Also did you check your pedals
for
anything strange? Anything loose, sticky, etc? the shoes clip in perfectly
fine when stopped?

Mike
http://mikebeauchamp.com


"Michael Fuhr" wrote in message
...
"Kerry Nikolaisen" -e-t writes:

I've had this recurring problem as of late with clipping into my
Shimano
Look-style pedals at stoplights. I have had these pedals for over 10
years
and recently put them back on my bike after the Exus clipless pedal
that
came with my newer bike shot craps.

It seems as if the pedals spin too much before I try to clip in, and
when I
do steady them with my foot, I always seem to get the back side and
have
to
futz to get them turned over. Of course all of this in front of
people
waiting at all 4 corners of the intersection.

I rode Shimano Look-style pedals for 15 years and would occasionally
experience this, especially on uphill starts where I had to crank
hard to get moving.

I have been riding with clipless pedals for over 13 years, so I will
not
admit to operator error. Any suggestions?

Switch to a pedal with dual-sided entry, such as Speedplay :-) I made
that move last year and haven't regretted it.

--
Michael Fuhr
http://www.fuhr.org/~mfuhr/

In article ,
Arpit wrote:
put a weight on the bottom, lead sinkers etc. will do the job. then
itll spin upright much more often

Add weight to your ride? Put a -lead- weight on your bike? Have
you lost your marbles? Are you insane? An toy umbrella shy of a
cocktail? What will they do next... ;-)

-B
--
Email Replies to johnsonnospm01j att ntelos dott net

"Mike Beauchamp" writes:

Switching to a dual sided pedal seems to me like "admitting user error". And
speedplay seems to be the most overpriced clipless pedal i've seen. lots of
other ones are dual sided.

You're assuming that the problem is user error. It's not -- it's
pedal design and physics that can occasionally cause the wrong side
of the pedal to be where you want to clip in. Learning to "do it
right" is "user compensation" and adds no value to the activity.
In any case, wherever you want to lay blame, a dual-sided pedal
eliminates the problem, and that's what counts.

I chose Speedplay for several reasons; dual-sided entry was only
one of them. If cost or other features lead you to a different
decision then that's fine -- use whatever pedal meets your needs.

--
Michael Fuhr
http://www.fuhr.org/~mfuhr/

On 23 Oct 2003 08:16:21 -0600, Michael Fuhr wrote:

"Mike Beauchamp" writes:

Switching to a dual sided pedal seems to me like "admitting user error".
And
speedplay seems to be the most overpriced clipless pedal i've seen. lots
of
other ones are dual sided.

You're assuming that the problem is user error. It's not -- it's
pedal design and physics that can occasionally cause the wrong side
of the pedal to be where you want to clip in. Learning to "do it
right" is "user compensation" and adds no value to the activity.
In any case, wherever you want to lay blame, a dual-sided pedal
eliminates the problem, and that's what counts.

I chose Speedplay for several reasons; dual-sided entry was only
one of them. If cost or other features lead you to a different
decision then that's fine -- use whatever pedal meets your needs.


Speedplay is a bit overpriced, but they work well (other than entry, which
I find hard). The amount of rotation is great, however.

--
Bob M in CT
Remove 'x.' to reply

Bob M writes:

Speedplay is a bit overpriced, but they work well (other than entry, which
I find hard). The amount of rotation is great, however.

How long have you had Speedplays? After 15 years of using Look-style
pedals I found entry awkward at first too, but within a couple of
days I was getting into them easier than I had with my old pedals.

If the screws on the outer cleat plate are too tight then the spring
can't work correctly and entry can be difficult, so make sure the
screws aren't overtightened. Speedplay also recommends using a dry
lube on the springs.

--
Michael Fuhr
http://www.fuhr.org/~mfuhr/

"Mike Beauchamp" wrote in message
...

Switching to a dual sided pedal seems to me like "admitting user error".

It seems more to me like "acknowledging design error," letting go of one's brand
hangups, and moving on to something that works.

Single sided pedals are a PITA because they're almost always upside down when
you're trying to clip in. This is because even if they spin freely enough, the
weight is all on top. To complicate matters, the shape of both pedal and cleat
with the Look system makes it harder to flip them over.

I know several people who use their mountain bikes around town because they
don't like their road bikes' special, "road" pedals in traffic. Of course, it
doesn't occur to them to just put dual sided MTB pedals on their road bikes.
That would be sacriledge!

And
speedplay seems to be the most overpriced clipless pedal i've seen. lots of
other ones are dual sided.

Sub-$50.00 mountain bike pedals work fine for most people. Stronger riders may
like a more solid connection, and some riders get hotspots, but for most people
they work fine.

Did you check to see if the cleat came loose on your shoe and maybe moved
around? When I switched the location of my cleats, I had a reallly hard time
clipping in (this is with an SPD system). Also did you check your pedals for
anything strange? Anything loose, sticky, etc? the shoes clip in perfectly
fine when stopped?

All good advice. Cleats sometimes move around. Also, check for wear, and
nicked/dinged plastic.

Look-style pedals still work as well as they did when they came out, but better
solutions have come along in the last 10 years.

Matt O.