Team BKool CycleChat

[Daddy Pig]

Santa has been to the Whorty household already and left presents under the tree. One looks remarkably like new cycling shoes and spd pedals A good job too as my trainers are falling apart hopefully gain a few more watts power once I get them set up and start using them

Have you not worn clip in shoes before then? If so...look out everyone Whorty's coming through

 

[Daddy Pig]

Probably just me getting confused by play vs. float.
What you describe as "float" is what I want to get rid of, as the Keo's implementation of float is more likely to increase than decrease the chance of knee damage IMO.

Thanks Tommy, just googled Keo cleat color and found out I need the black ones

The problem is that if you have no float uyou are aiming for a perfect cleat placement on the shoe and that's virtually impossible.... which is why they have float in the first place. You can look to tighten the release mech which may increase the float pressure so there is less noticeable play.
With no float you are likely to suffer wear of the joints which will cause long term issues.


Edit: good article here
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/fitness/bike-fit/should-you-have-float-in-your-cleats-255941

 

[Breedon]

Cheers Andy/AAAC..

There have been a small number of changes recently with a new bike which I set up as usual, however I put the drop in performance down to a recent holiday (plus the possible BKool update), performance has slowly improved to pre October levels however the pain in the muscles (above my knees) at 250 watts plus is staggering. Additionally, I recently changed my pedals from the shimano (Look stylee) to Boardman SPD which I now think are not offering my feet a 'flat' platform and my feet/knees are 'rolling' a little.

Thank you for your help and advice chaps and I'll invest some Christmas time into back to basics set-up..

PS. My thighs are very sore today and that's from a trundle on Middlefart..

Merry Christmas yawl..

Try some stretching is the pain in one spot on both legs and can you literally put your finger on the spot where the pain is, if you can i had this and is worse when seated and any sort of small gradient would set it of and never went away even after a weeks rest.
Streaching could solve that problem,stand on 1 leg pull your foot so it touches your bum, is a good one and do other forms of stretching to help with the legs and back.

 

[Breedon]

Santa has been to the Whorty household already and left presents under the tree. One looks remarkably like new cycling shoes and spd pedals A good job too as my trainers are falling apart hopefully gain a few more watts power once I get them set up and start using them

You will notice a big difference Whorty and your times on the league's will prove that, will you be playing with your new toys on the big day?

 

[Breedon]

ME increase the pace !! shove off ! i was jiggered and quite happy to me dragged along
heart rate was up 7 beats to normal so i know i was giving it my all but the watts were well down and so was the 0.8 bit - dont know what you call it
not making excuses ( for a change - but knee did twinge ) i had had a gruesome day at work but i can put it down to being well and truely out biked ! well done sir

be warned saturday is coming round

Well with that in mind im resting today as ive done mountain stages for 2 days before yesterday so i was aching quite a bit and didn't get a good start, looking forward to the rerun

 

[LBHIFI]

The problem is that if you have no float uyou are aiming for a perfect cleat placement on the shoe and that's virtually impossible.... which is why they have float in the first place. You can look to tighten the release mech which may increase the float pressure so there is less noticeable play.
With no float you are likely to suffer wear of the joints which will cause long term issues.


Edit: good article here
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/fitness/bike-fit/should-you-have-float-in-your-cleats-255941

Yeah, I know DP. Which is why I normally use Speedplay pedals.
As I mentioned before, the float in the Keo (at least the ones I got) is very poorly implemented and actually "locks" the position through the downstroke. Better to fix it in the right position then, since the risk of twisting to a wrong position on the upstroke is evident. It doesn't actually lock, but the friction is far to great to have free float. I have tried to apply som grease to minimize the friction, but to no avail.

 

[Whorty]

Have you not worn clip in shoes before then? If so...look out everyone Whorty's coming through

No, only old trainers. Figured I've had enough stick now on here so I should MTFU and use cleats at least I can practice getting them locked on to the pedals without the risk of falling of the bike at traffic lights

 

[Whorty]

You will notice a big difference Whorty and your times on the league's will prove that, will you be playing with your new toys on the big day?

Probably not on the big day. I'm not very mechanical so will need to take the bike and pedals to the bike shop to get them fitted. I bought (sorry, santa bought) pedals that are flat one side and cleats the other. The shoes are specialized and very trainer -like so I might not gain a lot using them but anything must be better than my rotting trainers

 

[Bored Man]

Try some stretching is the pain in one spot on both legs and can you literally put your finger on the spot where the pain is, if you can i had this and is worse when seated and any sort of small gradient would set it of and never went away even after a weeks rest.
Streaching could solve that problem,stand on 1 leg pull your foot so it touches your bum, is a good one and do other forms of stretching to help with the legs and back.

Hi Breedon, thanks for info.

No, not exactly pinpoint pain but in both legs and directly over my knees. In over 35 years of cycling I've never suffered this issue. It's got to bike set-up. I'll persevere and definately stretch out a little more after a ride. You're right though - all most any sort of persistent incline over 2% - I try to put my foot down and ouch...

All good advice, ta much.

 

[Bored Man]

Probably not on the big day. I'm not very mechanical so will need to take the bike and pedals to the bike shop to get them fitted. I bought (sorry, santa bought) pedals that are flat one side and cleats the other. The shoes are specialized and very trainer -like so I might not gain a lot using them but anything must be better than my rotting trainers

Take no notice of my gripes Whortmeister - they will take your cycling to another level.

I'm going to try Boardman Pro's next - you can have a gander as you pass me..

 

[Steve]

Well done to all on tonight's CG ride.
It was a bit lonely out there for me -I had my own little battle to break the hour, which pushed my HR up to 15 above my normal peak for the last half mile.
I suppose that's why we partake in such madness - we enjoy the challenge.

Sorry GW i wasn't able to make it, i sense you and i could be similar and maybe help each other out, early Jan - bring it on!

 

[Daddy Pig]

Probably not on the big day. I'm not very mechanical so will need to take the bike and pedals to the bike shop to get them fitted. I bought (sorry, santa bought) pedals that are flat one side and cleats the other. The shoes are specialized and very trainer -like so I might not gain a lot using them but anything must be better than my rotting trainers

Take your shoes as they will set the cleat in the right place/angle as everyone's foot will fall have a different angle on the pedal. This will help prevent injuries.

Also take time to learn to spin the pedals as you will have found you have been pushing the pedals down and have missed a lot of other help that clipping in will offer. I bet you can get a 20 to 30% power gain once you are using them properly. You'll be at the front of the chaingang stages in the new year!

 

[Daddy Pig]

Yeah, I know DP. Which is why I normally use Speedplay pedals.
As I mentioned before, the float in the Keo (at least the ones I got) is very poorly implemented and actually "locks" the position through the downstroke. Better to fix it in the right position then, since the risk of twisting to a wrong position on the upstroke is evident. It doesn't actually lock, but the friction is far to great to have free float. I have tried to apply som grease to minimize the friction, but to no avail.

Have you tried shimano pedals? Maybe better to just change all together.

 

[bobinski]

Yeah, I know DP. Which is why I normally use Speedplay pedals.
As I mentioned before, the float in the Keo (at least the ones I got) is very poorly implemented and actually "locks" the position through the downstroke. Better to fix it in the right position then, since the risk of twisting to a wrong position on the upstroke is evident. It doesn't actually lock, but the friction is far to great to have free float. I have tried to apply som grease to minimize the friction, but to no avail.

I cannot really help LB but wanted to relay my experience of speedplay pedals having used spd. They have taken a LOT of getting used to. The movement in the interface between cleat and pedal felt very strange at first, almost as if my foot was floating over the pedal. I know, that is part of the attraction, the float etc. but all the same pretty unnerving at first, as if the foot was about to slip off the pedal. It was especially pronounced when sprinting out of the saddle and i found myself changing my stance in case cleat and pedal separated! I now trust the connection more, so much so i am thinking about having them on my commuter.

 

[LBHIFI]

Have you tried shimano pedals? Maybe better to just change all together.

Problem is that my BePro power pedals are Keo's so I have no choise.