Going Clipless Tomorrow(Today?)

[bonj2]

Wandering around a market for 2 hours with cleats on attached to the bottom of an MTB shoe I find very tiring on my feet & extremely damaging to the cleats them selves.

well get a hack bike, i.e. a very cheap bike that you just use for the likes of going to the market on.
Do you *actually* find it damaging to the cleats, or do you just *suspect* that it wil be damaging to the cleats? 'cos it's not the bottom part of the cleat i.e. the bit that touches the floor that is the important bit, it is the top bit of the back bit of the cleat.
And is it walking around the market in mtb shoes that you find tiring, or just walking round the market full stop?
If not,
either:
Just go to the stalls you want and don't spend 2 hours walking round looking at all sorts of shite you don't need
Go to an indoor market and walk round without shoes on
Go to a supermarket instead and walk round without shoes on
Get a hack bike i.e. a cheap 'runaround' that you use for going to the market on

 

[Speck]

Good luck, but most riders practice for a couple of years on the turbo!

 

[GrasB]

well get a hack bike, i.e. a very cheap bike that you just use for the likes of going to the market on.
Do you *actually* find it damaging to the cleats, or do you just *suspect* that it wil be damaging to the cleats? 'cos it's not the bottom part of the cleat i.e. the bit that touches the floor that is the important bit, it is the top bit of the back bit of the cleat.

I found that small stones got trapped between the shoe & the upper surface of the SPD, these slowly ground away the upper surface & edge of the cleat making them prone to slipping out the peddle when you didn't want but not properly disengaging when you did want it.

And is it walking around the market in mtb shoes that you find tiring, or just walking round the market full stop?
If not,
either:
Just go to the stalls you want and don't spend 2 hours walking round looking at all sorts of shite you don't need
Go to an indoor market and walk round without shoes on
Go to a supermarket instead and walk round without shoes on

The tiredness was on the sole of my foot around the cleat platform, never had it while riding or when wearing normal shoes for long periods. I often go to markets not only to buy things but actually do this thing called relaxing, it's nice to wander round, talk to people you wouldn't normally meet, buy things or not as I decide.

Get a hack bike i.e. a cheap 'runaround' that you use for going to the market on

One reason I bought the Marin was that the frame is silly stiff so I can use it like a work horse & carry a lot on it without it flexing about all over the place, buying a hack bike would simply negate half the reason for spending the money I did on the bike in the first place. Yes I prefer to ride with cleats & takes some shoes with me to allow this but some times I don't want to for various reasons.

 

[bonj2]

Well, you could just either put straight flat pedals on it then, and not bother with clip-ins at all (on that bike). As I've learnt, you can't have one bike that will do all the things you want a bike for - that's why I've got four bikes.
It sounds as if the market is quite important to you, so maybe the marin could be your market bike, with its stiffness and load carrying ability - so why not put flat pedals on it, and if you want to do technical off road trails where you want to be sure-footed as possible, or serious road riding where you want to put the power down, then get another bike for that.
What's ideal for one thing isn't necessarily ideal for another - not just because of the pedals. What other riding do you do, apart from riding to the market and back?

 

[GrasB]

Yes I prefer to ride with cleats & takes some shoes with me to allow this but some times I don't want to for various reasons.

...

Well, you could just either put straight flat pedals on it then, and not bother with clip-ins at all (on that bike).

As I've learnt, you can't have one bike that will do all the things you want a bike for - that's why I've got four bikes.

I have the Marin (geared) & the Hardrock (HT fixie with parts to turn it back into a geared HT). Between them they for fill most of my needs, especially as I use the Marin with a cleat & flat sided peddle.

It sounds as if the market is quite important to you, so maybe the marin could be your market bike, with its stiffness and load carrying ability - so why not put flat pedals on it, and if you want to do technical off road trails where you want to be sure-footed as possible, or serious road riding where you want to put the power down, then get another bike for that.
What's ideal for one thing isn't necessarily ideal for another - not just because of the pedals. What other riding do you do, apart from riding to the market and back?

Again I want to ride with cleats, this weekend twice I've hauled a 35kg up a 8% hill to get it to the machinist & back, the bike of choice is that Marin thanks to the stiff frame. Now it would have been harder work for me with flat peddles than cleated peddles.

Banjo, stick with the peddles & see how it goes, give them a good service, I've got given some old single sided peddles which I put on the HT, when I got them they were awful but thanks to just keeping the maintenance up on them work really nicely. I like them because the way they are weighted they hang just in the right place to put your foot on when pushing off. Great for a fixie where I'm having to work out where the peddle is let alone it's angle.

 

[Dazmeister]

Out on my very first run Sunday on my new Allez 16 with SPD's and no problem clipping in now (took 2 mins practice in shop) but b*gger me, getting out of them is a different matter. Especially when coming to a abrupt stop. Smacked my knee off the frame twisting my foot out in a frenzy before stopping at a junction. Thankfully not fallen yet, but expect to sometime soon.
I've tried twisting etc but nothing comes easy yet. I'm conscious that one day I will flick my foot out in such fury tying to release myself, I will kick a passer by/dog/car.

What's the knack please? is it just practice or do the SPD's need adjusting?

 

[gaz]

Check the tension, this can be changed and makes it easier to get out, slowly tighten it as you get used to it.

It's easier to twist your ankle when the crank arm is facing down, and your leg is near straight. You should change your riding style slightly, and remember that you may need that extra second to stop due to clipping out, i tend to give my self more space and am nearly always ready to clip out.