Gone from awesome to really awesome to totally awesome ?
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OP
OP
grellboy
Über Member
Er....gone up, regardless of pedal type?
Exactamundo. Very (very!) slightly faster year on year.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
Clipping in to single-sided pedals can be a complete nightmare on steep climbs. This kind of thing ...
And putting a foot down on such evil slopes can be equally dodgy, as I discovered a few seconds before taking that photo!
My Cannondale had Look pedals on it then so my shoes had slippery plastic cleats attached to the soles. I had to do an emergency dismount when my legs failed me on that 25% slope and my foot slid from under me, almost causing me to faceplant on the road!
I took the photo and then attempted to have a second go at the climb. I failed to clip in and had another go at kissing the tarmac. At that point, I decided to walk up round the bend at the top where the gradient eased ...
The 3rd thing wrong with single-sided (non mountain bike type SPD) pedals and the corresponding plastic-cleated soles is that it is incredibly difficult to walk up steep hills on them!
After my 3rd, 4th and 5th attempts at face-tarmac interfacing, I decided to switch the bike back to my trusty Shimano M520 SPDs. No more such problems.
If you stick to single-siders with their dodgy cleats and you ever have to start off up a steep slope like that, see if you can emerge from a side road, farm track etc. That gives you a chance to clip in before turning up the slope. If there isn't anywhere suitable to do that and the road is wide enough, wait until there is no traffic and clip in riding across the width of the road, then turn up. A final option is to hang on to something at the side of the road (a handy wall, fence, bush, whatever ...) and clip BOTH feet in before setting off! NB - engage your lowest gear before setting off - you will come to an immediate stop and fall over if you are in too high a gear!
And putting a foot down on such evil slopes can be equally dodgy, as I discovered a few seconds before taking that photo!
My Cannondale had Look pedals on it then so my shoes had slippery plastic cleats attached to the soles. I had to do an emergency dismount when my legs failed me on that 25% slope and my foot slid from under me, almost causing me to faceplant on the road!
I took the photo and then attempted to have a second go at the climb. I failed to clip in and had another go at kissing the tarmac. At that point, I decided to walk up round the bend at the top where the gradient eased ...
The 3rd thing wrong with single-sided (non mountain bike type SPD) pedals and the corresponding plastic-cleated soles is that it is incredibly difficult to walk up steep hills on them!
After my 3rd, 4th and 5th attempts at face-tarmac interfacing, I decided to switch the bike back to my trusty Shimano M520 SPDs. No more such problems.
If you stick to single-siders with their dodgy cleats and you ever have to start off up a steep slope like that, see if you can emerge from a side road, farm track etc. That gives you a chance to clip in before turning up the slope. If there isn't anywhere suitable to do that and the road is wide enough, wait until there is no traffic and clip in riding across the width of the road, then turn up. A final option is to hang on to something at the side of the road (a handy wall, fence, bush, whatever ...) and clip BOTH feet in before setting off! NB - engage your lowest gear before setting off - you will come to an immediate stop and fall over if you are in too high a gear!
Thats because you live in London .
phantasmagoriana
Guru
- Location
- Glasgow
I've recently switched from SPD to Look (on the summer bike only) and am also finding them a bit tricky. It's not so much the single-sidedness, as I'm used to that with Shimano A520s, but rather that the point of engagement is noticeably further forward. I assume I'll get used to it before long though!
Pro Tour Punditry
Guru
You will learn to be awesome in time.
Only un-awesome people use flats or dual sided pedals. Fact.
Only un-awesome people use flats or dual sided pedals. Fact.
Then catch them in your hand.....
HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
My boss is doing a charity sportive in the summer and he asked me if it was worth upgrading from SPD to SPD-SL? IMO No; SPDs are easier to clip in and walk in and the only simple benefits to SPD-SL IMO is that the shoes are generally stiffer (but you can get stiffer MTB shoes) the larger contact area reduces the risk of hot foot and allows for better force transfer (but you can get touring spd pedals which broadly do the same).
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
The only 'benefit' to SL's is to the people who sell them. I own both (though currently only actually using SPDs) and was no faster, more comfortable or sexier when using either standard. The only arguable difference was walking, but in the saddle there's bugger all in it either way.
The only actual difference is bragging rights in the lounge bar of the Lard and Lycra, but even then the customers of the Gnarly Rad Dude Bar and Grill would argue the point.
The only actual difference is bragging rights in the lounge bar of the Lard and Lycra, but even then the customers of the Gnarly Rad Dude Bar and Grill would argue the point.
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Mr Celine
Discordian
- Location
- Waxing my moustache
I find it much easier to clip into the single sided SPD-SLs I have on my road bike than the double sided SPDs I have on my hybrid. The SLs always hang at the same angle no matter where the crank is, while the SPDs rotate with the crank. I also find pushing my feet forward into the SLs to be more natural that pushing down into the SPDs.
