- SLC continued from page 32
the pavement and throws you and 12 of your closest peleton buddies to the ground. I personally don’t dig the feel of Speedplay or maybe it’s just the fact that my shoe is still connected to the pedal from that 2001 cleat breakage incident.
Okay. Enough on the pedals. Let’s move to shoes. If you have a carbon bike, get carbon soled shoes. I don’t even want to tell you why because the pedal discussion exhausted me. Suffice it to say if you have the bucks for the bike, then spend the bucks for the shoes. Carbon soles equal stiffness and lightness that transfers the power more effectively from you to the pedal. Otherwise, any shoe will do. Just make sure you get the right cleat pattern on the bottom of the shoe for the pedal system you choose. Do not buy mountain bike shoes. They do not work with road pedals. Did I need to say that? And, do not get The Crew started on putting mountain bike pedals on a carbon road bike because it irritates me to the point of wanting to shoot snot rockets in your direction. I mean, would you buy Converse sneakers to wear with your tux? As the kids say.....”I’m just sayin’”!
So, you went out and dropped around $400 on some pedals and shoes because you could and now you are staring at them and your head starts talking all gnarly to you again. It’s saying something like, “Four hundered dollars to bust your ass. Everyone says you are going to fall because everyone does. Way to go dingleberry”. Well, I am here to tell you that you are going to fall and bust your ass. I’m cracking myself up. Sure you are, and we all know it as well as you know it. But, why don’t you minimize the frequency and give yourself some peace of mind. Take your bike with pedal intact and prop it up in a door- frame. Sit on the saddle, hold on to the door frame (do I need to say you should not try this through your living room with the glass top coffee table?), and clip in and clip out and clip in and clip out. I bet it isn’t nearly as hard as you thought. If you have an indoor trainer, that’s even better. You can spin and clip in, and spin and clip out. Now, move to a flat road and ride down the road and clip in and clip out one hundred times. If you are still having problems maybe you are not as bright as a third grader. Oh, or it could be that the tension on the pedals is too tight so you need to loosen the tension. You can find out how
in those little instruction books you never read that came with the pedals. Just remember, it is possible to pull out of a pedal for no apparent reason if you loosen the tension too much and that is a disaster waiting to happen to you and everyone around you. Once you get that set and are able to easily clip in and out, you are ready to give it a go. At least, you are ready until you hit the first real uphill stop and start. I’ll let you figure that one out on your own. Bottom line is, clipping in and out is just not that hard to do physically – push down and wiggle slightly to clip in and kick your heel out from the bike to clip out - but it is some- thing you have to think about in the begin- ning. The most common reason folks topple their little carbon darlings over is because they unclip to the left and lean to the right or vice versa. It will soon become second nature and no more worries. You can always tell a new clipless rider because they unclip a mile and a half before the red light!! Now, stop embarrassing your bike and get those planks off and go clipless. You will be amazed at the difference in your abilities! You can still us the planks, when angled just right, for killing roaches from 30 yards out. Happy riding.
May 2012
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