Entering Mtb clipless pedals

Hi there.

Thanks to some of the links I have seen here and at rec.bicycles.tech I
have been watching some videos of cyclo-cross racing.

I notice that when the riders re-mount they seem to naturally clip in.
I have a pair of Mtb clipless pedals on my cyclo-cross tyre equipped
Miele Road bike because I ride a lot of trails and dirt and gravel
surfaced roads with it. I like the ease of walking in the Louis Garneau
mtb shoes I have.

However I find it much harder to clip into these pedals than I do with
my Wellgo WAM-R1, Shimano Exage or Look clipless road pedals which I
can clip into instinctively. With the mtb clipless pedal I usually have
to shift my foot a fair bit feeling for that click as I try to clip
into my Mtb pedals. That is not what I want. These are Wellgo mtb
pedals but I don not know what model they are. I know they were not
expensive at about $50 Cdn but they were recommended by the shop as
being easy to clip into.

Is there a special technique to clipping into an Mtb clipless pedal?

Are more expensive pedals easier to clip into?

Or is it simply a matter of practice, practice and more practice?

Your relevant advice is greatly appreciated.

BTW my funds are severely limited so high end components are out of the
question.

Peter

"Sir Ridesalot" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi there.

Thanks to some of the links I have seen here and at rec.bicycles.tech I
have been watching some videos of cyclo-cross racing.

I notice that when the riders re-mount they seem to naturally clip in.
I have a pair of Mtb clipless pedals on my cyclo-cross tyre equipped
Miele Road bike because I ride a lot of trails and dirt and gravel
surfaced roads with it. I like the ease of walking in the Louis Garneau
mtb shoes I have.

However I find it much harder to clip into these pedals than I do with
my Wellgo WAM-R1, Shimano Exage or Look clipless road pedals which I
can clip into instinctively. With the mtb clipless pedal I usually have
to shift my foot a fair bit feeling for that click as I try to clip
into my Mtb pedals. That is not what I want. These are Wellgo mtb
pedals but I don not know what model they are. I know they were not
expensive at about $50 Cdn but they were recommended by the shop as
being easy to clip into.

Is there a special technique to clipping into an Mtb clipless pedal?

Are more expensive pedals easier to clip into?

Or is it simply a matter of practice, practice and more practice?

Your relevant advice is greatly appreciated.

BTW my funds are severely limited so high end components are out of the
question.

Peter


When I was first using MTB clipless the LBS told me to clip in at the bottom
of the pedal cycle. Also, I move it back and to the inside when I screw
them on to give room on the inside and also reduce pressure on the
metatarsal arch because mine go numb all the time.
I know that road shoes do not have the sole of an MTB so you do not get
the feel to sense the clipping you are use too.
Another problem you did not mention is thinking you are not clipped in
and you are. I always check either with each attempt. I think the problem
is the thick sole.


hope that helps. Practice by using a wall to balance yourself and analyze
what you are doing wrong maybe. You will get it trust me.
SN

Sir Ridesalot wrote:

Is there a special technique to clipping into an Mtb clipless pedal?


Good aim!

Are more expensive pedals easier to clip into?

Not necessarily. It's usually a personal preference.


Or is it simply a matter of practice, practice and more practice?

Yup. It's a muscle memory thing. I ride such Wellgos. They're also sold
as "Nashbar atb pedals" and under the Ritchey brand. I think they're
one of the best values in cycling. I ride mine super tight with road
shoes and have no problem clicking in. It's just a matter of knowing
where your food should be and mashing. It takes some time for your foot
to remember this. The occasions when I ride with roadies that have Look
type or spd-r road pedals, it seems I usually have the least trouble
clacking in. I doubt it's the pedals, just practice.

Do check that you don't have bits of shoe tread getting in the way,
that's common with non-road shoes. If you do, just trim it away with a
razor knife.

Sir Ridesalot wrote:
Hi there.

Thanks to some of the links I have seen here and at rec.bicycles.tech I
have been watching some videos of cyclo-cross racing.

I notice that when the riders re-mount they seem to naturally clip in.
I have a pair of Mtb clipless pedals on my cyclo-cross tyre equipped
Miele Road bike because I ride a lot of trails and dirt and gravel
surfaced roads with it. I like the ease of walking in the Louis Garneau
mtb shoes I have.

However I find it much harder to clip into these pedals than I do with
my Wellgo WAM-R1, Shimano Exage or Look clipless road pedals which I
can clip into instinctively. With the mtb clipless pedal I usually have
to shift my foot a fair bit feeling for that click as I try to clip
into my Mtb pedals. That is not what I want. These are Wellgo mtb
pedals but I don not know what model they are. I know they were not
expensive at about $50 Cdn but they were recommended by the shop as
being easy to clip into.

Is there a special technique to clipping into an Mtb clipless pedal?

Are more expensive pedals easier to clip into?

Or is it simply a matter of practice, practice and more practice?

Your relevant advice is greatly appreciated.

BTW my funds are severely limited so high end components are out of the
question.

Peter

I have used Shimano 540 and 520 pedals. Getting into them could not be
easier. Just slap your foot down and they are in. The 520's are pretty
inexpensive and work miles better than some (cheapo) Wellgo's I've
tried.

If you are having problems, see if the sole of the shoe is interfering
somehow.

Joseph

wrote:

I have used Shimano 540 and 520 pedals. Getting into them could not be
easier. Just slap your foot down and they are in. The 520's are pretty
inexpensive and work miles better than some (cheapo) Wellgo's I've
tried.


FWIW, these are the Wellgo pedal that most everybody recommends as
being the best bang/buck model:

http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/olderped...ct_22443.shtml

The cheaper ones, that aren't compatible with the Shimano cleat have
indeed been reported to be crap.

landotter wrote:
Sir Ridesalot wrote:

Or is it simply a matter of practice, practice and more practice?

Do check that you don't have bits of shoe tread getting in the way,
that's common with non-road shoes. If you do, just trim it away with a
razor knife.

This can definitely be a problem. My Lake MX101 shoes are *much* easier
to clip in than my Exustar cold weather cycling shoes. With practice,
I've gotten better with them, but the Lakes are definitely easier.

--
Dane Buson -
"Roses are red, violets are blue,
I'm a schitzophrenic, and so am I."

landotter wrote:
wrote:

I have used Shimano 540 and 520 pedals. Getting into them could not be
easier. Just slap your foot down and they are in. The 520's are pretty
inexpensive and work miles better than some (cheapo) Wellgo's I've
tried.


FWIW, these are the Wellgo pedal that most everybody recommends as
being the best bang/buck model:

http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/olderped...ct_22443.shtml

The cheaper ones, that aren't compatible with the Shimano cleat have
indeed been reported to be crap.

Hi there.

I think they are Shimano type cleats. They are the same model (98A) as
the ones at Harris Cyclery shown at this link:

http://harriscyclery.net/page.cfm?Pa...ils&sku=PD4035

Are these the better quality ones?

Thanks again.

Peter

Sir Ridesalot wrote:
landotter wrote:
wrote:

I have used Shimano 540 and 520 pedals. Getting into them could not be
easier. Just slap your foot down and they are in. The 520's are pretty
inexpensive and work miles better than some (cheapo) Wellgo's I've
tried.


FWIW, these are the Wellgo pedal that most everybody recommends as
being the best bang/buck model:

http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/olderped...ct_22443.shtml

The cheaper ones, that aren't compatible with the Shimano cleat have
indeed been reported to be crap.

Hi there.

I think they are Shimano type cleats. They are the same model (98A) as
the ones at Harris Cyclery shown at this link:

http://harriscyclery.net/page.cfm?Pa...ils&sku=PD4035

Are these the better quality ones?

Those are the ones on the bottom of my shoes, they're just cleats and
fit my pedals, nothing exciting there, but $22 for metal cleats?
There's some markup for ya. I'm not saying it's Harris, but somewhere
along the line...yikes!

landotter wrote:
Sir Ridesalot wrote:
landotter wrote:
wrote:

I have used Shimano 540 and 520 pedals. Getting into them could not be
easier. Just slap your foot down and they are in. The 520's are pretty
inexpensive and work miles better than some (cheapo) Wellgo's I've
tried.


FWIW, these are the Wellgo pedal that most everybody recommends as
being the best bang/buck model:

http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/olderped...ct_22443.shtml

The cheaper ones, that aren't compatible with the Shimano cleat have
indeed been reported to be crap.

Hi there.

I think they are Shimano type cleats. They are the same model (98A) as
the ones at Harris Cyclery shown at this link:

http://harriscyclery.net/page.cfm?Pa...ils&sku=PD4035

Are these the better quality ones?

Those are the ones on the bottom of my shoes, they're just cleats and
fit my pedals, nothing exciting there, but $22 for metal cleats?
There's some markup for ya. I'm not saying it's Harris, but somewhere
along the line...yikes!

Hi there.

What I was asking was are these the better Shimano type cleats that are
you used with the Wellgo pedals that are not "reported to be crap"?

Thanks from Peter

Sir Ridesalot wrote:
landotter wrote:
Sir Ridesalot wrote:
landotter wrote:
wrote:

I have used Shimano 540 and 520 pedals. Getting into them could not be
easier. Just slap your foot down and they are in. The 520's are pretty
inexpensive and work miles better than some (cheapo) Wellgo's I've
tried.


FWIW, these are the Wellgo pedal that most everybody recommends as
being the best bang/buck model:

http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/olderped...ct_22443.shtml

The cheaper ones, that aren't compatible with the Shimano cleat have
indeed been reported to be crap.

Hi there.

I think they are Shimano type cleats. They are the same model (98A) as
the ones at Harris Cyclery shown at this link:

http://harriscyclery.net/page.cfm?Pa...ils&sku=PD4035

Are these the better quality ones?

Those are the ones on the bottom of my shoes, they're just cleats and
fit my pedals, nothing exciting there, but $22 for metal cleats?
There's some markup for ya. I'm not saying it's Harris, but somewhere
along the line...yikes!

Hi there.

What I was asking was are these the better Shimano type cleats that are
you used with the Wellgo pedals that are not "reported to be crap"?

Thanks from Peter

You're still not making sense. The cleats come with the pedal. They are
spd compatible in certain cases. If the pedals aren't up to snuff,
different cleats are rarely the solution. When making "crap"
accusations, I was referring to pedals, not cleats. The crap Wellgos
are crap, not because they're not fully spd-compatible, but because of
build quality and such.

I suggest you stop this nonsense and just go outside and practice
clipping in and out.