SPD's help

[iLB]

i have my spd pedals and the cleats they came with, shoes should b delivered to the shop tomoz. I'm sitting here trying to imagine how the cleat will ever fit into the pedal and im not convinced, am i missing something (other than the shoes )?

 

[HLaB]

It really quite simple when the shoes are fitted, a persons weight is enought to move the rear of the clip (under spring tension) back to let the cleat in, it them springs back. Without the shoes there's not nearly enough pressure.

OT that reminds me I need to tighten my clips slightly

 

[iLB]

o ok, thought the cleats were too small or something. how hard will it b to change the pedals over? i can see how to take of the current plastic pieces of s@*t , but it doesnt seem obvious as to how the new pedals will be tightened on.

 

[HLaB]

This guide might help.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

It is very difficult to get your head around how the system works and you are far better off getting on the bike with the SPD on your feet and 'feeling' it. Probably the hardest part to get used to it kicking your heal out to disengage. Having said that, I have been using SPD's for about a week or so now and they just feel so natural and amazing. Believe me you will not look back.

As for the pedals, fitting is the reverse of removal. Just remember that the pedals will be handed (Ie left and right hand threads.) Best of luck

 

[nilling]

Think of them like bindings on a ski...push your toes in, then push the heel down to snap it in. To release twist the heel outwards.

 

[Tynan]

I suspect I still have mine set very loosely from when the LBS first put them on for me, works perfectly for me, I can yank my feet out in an emergency but they very very rarely come out when I want them not to

 

[zacklaws]

I was in the same boat but don't follow in my footsteps. When I got mine I wondered too how it all worked so before fitting the pedals to the bike and the cleats to the shoe, I sat down with them and fixed a cleat into a pedal and marvelled at the technology and how simple it was.

Then came the major problem, I could not get the cleat out of the pedal. I could not hold the pedal tight enough or get any leverage to twist the cleat to make the pedal release it, slackening off the tension on the pedal did not help either.

Eventually after a lot of twisting and pulling I managed it, but never again.

Yet when the cleats are on the shoe and the pedals attached to the bike, they release perfectly and so simple with hardly any effort

 

[Tynan]

silly arse, that is funny

 

[John the Monkey]

silly arse, that is funny

More common is people clipping a cleated shoe in, and then realising how much more leverage a worn shoe (being at the end of one's leg) has than an unworn shoe

 

[asterix]

Make sure you get the bolts holding the cleats to shoe nice and tight (don't strip the thread!) and check them once in a while.

One of mine got a bit loose and dropped out once. It's then impossible to separate shoe and pedal.

I found it very difficult to unlace and remove a shoe with a bike attached to it and of course this happened to me in the centre of town .

 

[Downward]

Has anyone who has the pedals on the loosest fiitting tightened them ?

I have had mine on loosest for ever but have never come off the pedals accidently.

 

[HLaB]

Has anyone who has the pedals on the loosest fiitting tightened them ?

I have had mine on loosest for ever but have never come off the pedals accidently.

I had mine on the loosest setting and gradually tightened them over time. I could occasionally pull out of the clip accidentally but not often and it never was a problem.

 

[ianrauk]

had them loose at first, tightened them over time. Feels much more secure

 

[colly]

had them loose at first, tightened them over time. Feels much more secure

+1
Once you have the hang of clipping in and out and are confident with them, use just a quarter or half turn at a time to tighten them until they feel the best for you.

I've just fitted new pedals and cleats and as with most things brand new they needed a bit of 'easing in'. I fitted them on almost the slackest setting and now after a couple of rides I have tweaked them to suit.