w i d e clipless shoes revisited

Hi, I promised to give my review of the shoes ( http://tinyurl.com/lop2 ) I
bought at nashbar.com, so here it is. First, I received them and had to
return them since they were a touch too small. I sent them back and finally
got the new size after what seemed like a long wait. I usually wear a 10
1/2 or 11, (44.5 and 45 respectively) so I ordered the wide 45 according,
but it was a bit too small and I had to get the 46 which translates to a 11
1/2 size which I never wear, so BE FOREWARNED. Anyway, I also ordered the
basic nashbar pedals ( http://tinyurl.com/lop3 ) since my bike is nothing
special (I plan on buying a new Cannondale next spring...) and it was a fine
fit. It went on quickly and easily and worked just as advertised. A for
me, the very first issue was getting off of the bike to adjust the shoes. I
popped out fine, but when I laid my shoe down as I came to a stop, it was
like being on the ice with a skate...it was not good. The hard plastic is
VERY SLIPPERY on the pavement! I will probably buy a shoe with a real
walkable sole next time, as that really scared me. It was even more
dangerous off the bike than on. The next issue was the orientation of my
shoes. I have big feet, so I tend to keep the heels pointed slightly
outward due to the size. This required a couple adjustments to the mounts
on the shoes. After that, the main problem I had was that I didn't realize
how I used my old toe clips as "cinches" in that I tended to twist my feet
even more outward and use the torsion as a gripping mechanism, since I
didn't like to tighten them. This was especially true for my right
foot...who knows why. The idea of a "floating" shoe seemed to appeal to me
(7 degrees of float, IIRC) until I was riding along. It wasn't long before
I popped out of my right pedal, so I tightened it up. The same scenario
happened again a few miles down the road, so I tightened it up again. The
left one was OK. I guess I have a stronger right leg, or I pedal with a
skewed plane with my right leg. The rest of my normal 34 mile ride was OK
until I happened upon a construction zone. I ran out of space on the road
due to equipment in the way and the only place to go was a freshly laid area
of loam. Since the fresh soil was just recently spread, I sunk into it very
fast, and I nearly ate dirt trying to get out of my tightened cleats (oops,
I nearly forgot!). Anyway, I was beginning to think this riding thing is
kind of scary! I'm sure I'll adapt, but it is just one more thing to worry
about. The pluses included the ability to use the upstroke to increase
speed. I don't know if I'll every use it, but tactically it is useful. The
other thing is the feet feel more planted and more 'one' with the bike.
Hopefully I will feel as such with the clipless pedal soon...

F1 wrote: : Hi, I promised to give
my review of the shoes ( http://tinyurl.com/lop2 ) I : bought at
nashbar.com, so here it is. First, I received them and had to : return
them since they were a touch too small. I sent them back and finally :
got the new size after what seemed like a long wait. I usually wear a 10
: 1/2 or 11, (44.5 and 45 respectively) so I ordered the wide 45
according, : but it was a bit too small and I had to get the 46 which
translates to a 11 : 1/2 size which I never wear, so BE FOREWARNED.
Anyway, I also ordered the : basic nashbar pedals (
http://tinyurl.com/lop3 ) since my bike is nothing : special (I plan on
buying a new Cannondale next spring...) and it was a fine : fit. It went
on quickly and easily and worked just as advertised. A for : me, the very
first issue was getting off of the bike to adjust the shoes. I : popped
out fine, but when I laid my shoe down as I came to a stop, it was : like
being on the ice with a skate...it was not good. The hard plastic is :
VERY SLIPPERY on the pavement! I will probably buy a shoe with a real :
walkable sole next time, as that really scared me. It was even more :
dangerous off the bike than on. The next issue was the orientation of my
: shoes. I have big feet, so I tend to keep the heels pointed slightly :
outward due to the size. This required a couple adjustments to the mounts
: on the shoes. After that, the main problem I had was that I didn't
realize : how I used my old toe clips as "cinches" in that I tended to
twist my feet : even more outward and use the torsion as a gripping
mechanism, since I : didn't like to tighten them. This was especially
true for my right : foot...who knows why. The idea of a "floating" shoe
seemed to appeal to me : (7 degrees of float, IIRC) until I was riding
along. It wasn't long before : I popped out of my right pedal, so I
tightened it up. The same scenario : happened again a few miles down the
road, so I tightened it up again. The : left one was OK. I guess I have
a stronger right leg, or I pedal with a : skewed plane with my right leg.
The rest of my normal 34 mile ride was OK : until I happened upon a
construction zone. I ran out of space on the road : due to equipment in
the way and the only place to go was a freshly laid area : of loam. Since
the fresh soil was just recently spread, I sunk into it very : fast, and I
nearly ate dirt trying to get out of my tightened cleats (oops, : I nearly
forgot!). Anyway, I was beginning to think this riding thing is : kind of
scary! I'm sure I'll adapt, but it is just one more thing to worry :
about. The pluses included the ability to use the upstroke to increase :
speed. I don't know if I'll every use it, but tactically it is useful.
The : other thing is the feet feel more planted and more 'one' with the
bike. : Hopefully I will feel as such with the clipless pedal soon...


I hate slippery road shoes. I smeared hot melt glue on the bottom to keep
from slipping. I eventually just donated the shoes to the the salvation
army and got myself mountain bike shoes.


--------------------------------
Bob Masse'
--------------------------------

On Tue, 02 Sep 2003 21:27:30 -0000 in rec.bicycles.misc,
wrote:

I guess I have
a stronger right leg, or I pedal with a : skewed plane with my right leg.

you probably have a pronation (foot turned slightly) which is not
unusual. sometimes you have to experiment a little bit to find
the right fit. it took me about 2 weeks to figure it out when i
started riding clipless.

for the shoe problem, i recommend mountain bike shoes. there are
also some tennis shoe type shoes with recessed cleats.