Latest purchases.

[Longhorn]

I swore I wouldn't get carried away but the more I learn about bike stuff, the more I want it. But everything I get is to increase comfort and enhance training, so that can't be bad, right?

So today, I decided to go clipless. I had already bought sandals that can be used with Shimano pedals so today I got the pedals. I'm a little scared of this but I practiced a little on a trainer at the store and then I did 12.4 miles at the Veloway where I don't do much starting and stopping. I enjoyed riding with them; I'm just worried about falling. The salesman suggested I bring my bike into the house and sit in a doorway and practice.

I want to focus on cadence so I got another Cateye computer that measures cadence and will let Mr. Longhorn have the Cateye that doesn't. He would like to get a heart monitor, too.

I also bought a tube for each of us and a wedge gearbag. Man, it adds up but it's only money, right? ;)

[welshTerrier2]

1. one of the better addictions ...

well, it was only a matter of time ... admit it, you're hooked ... you just can't control it anymore, can you ???

it's a treat being a bike junkie, isn't it ???

just a quick story on my first day with clipless pedals and an associated safety tip ... about 12 years ago, i decided to go clipless ... i also have a shimano clipless system ... i took my bike to the local shop to have them make the switch for me ... i had hoped to be able to do a little riding before transporting my bike to Florida to visit my folks ... 3 straight days of torrential rain put an end to that ... so the bike went in the car rack and i drove down to Florida from Massachusetts ...

first day out, i decided to do about a 50 mile loop along the coast up to W. Palm Beach ... rode along the ocean past the Kennedy compound and a place Trump owned ... great scenery ... anyway, after about only a mile of riding, i came up to my first red light at an intersection ... went to pull my foot off the pedal ... nope ... it didn't release ... fell right over next to a line of about 5 cars that i had just passed (they were already stopped at the light) ... felt pretty silly about that move but didn't get hurt ...

the safety tip is (at least my opinion is): better to put your "curb-side" foot down first and lean the bike towards the curb, not towards traffic ... the other advantage of this, and again it's just my opinion, is that many roads are "crowned" to allow water run-off ... this means they are higher in the center and lower at the sides ... so, when you stop, the slope of the road might naturally tilt your bike to the curb-side ... and therefore that's the foot to put down ... not sure what the "book" says about this ...

anyway, enjoy the new toys ... my riding has been few and far between so far this season ... lots of rain; lots of projects ...

[Longhorn]

2. I'm so afraid of falling!

Since I'm not going to be traveling at such speeds that my feet fly off the pedals, do you see any harm in loosening the springs so they detach more easily? The guy at the bike shop showed me how to do it.

Thanks!

[welshTerrier2]

3. nope ...

loosening the springs would probably be fine ... and you probably won't fall either ... if you do loosen the mechanism, maybe you could note exactly how much you loosened it so you could eventually return it to the same point ... fwiw, mine loosens, if i remember correctly, with an allen wrench ...

btw, not getting out of the pedals and falling is not as likely as not getting into them and falling ... at least in my experience ... the most common problem i have with the pedals occurs like this ... i pull up to an intersection with a red light ... i'm over on the far right side of the road and i put take my right foot off the pedal and put it on the ground for balance (leaning the bike to the right a little ... my left foot remains locked in the pedal ...

when the light turns green, assuming i'm going straight, i lift my right foot back on to the pedal and start some forward movement by pushing down on the pedal with my left foot ... while i'm moving forward, i then try to engage the pedal with my right foot ... i can't always get it to "pop in" all that easily ... first, the "clip" part of the pedal is often facing down ... i have to take the tip of my toe and get it to face up ... and then i have to get it to lock into place on my bike shoes ... while all this magic is happening, i'm in the middle of an intersection with all kinds of cars passing me (i.e. going straight), cars coming at me taking left turns in front of me, and cars from behind me taking right turns ... not a real good time to be a "pedal magician" ...

with a little practice, assuming your pedals are adjusted correctly, you shouldn't have a problem with falling because you're "locked in" ... of course, a little practice where there aren't any, or at least many, cars is always a good idea ...

oh, and one other thing ... when i got my clipless pedals and shoes, the bike shop was really pushing something called a "fit kit" ... i think it was some kind of diagnostic machine that enabled them to set the pedal system up to perfectly match how i rode or my body mechanics or something ... the idea was that, because you are locked into a position and you're doing such a repetitive motion in that position, any misalignment can cause knee or hip problems ... not sure if this is still done today but it might be worth asking about ...

[Longhorn]

4. I can clip into my pedals on either side so that helps.

That's the problem I had with the Power Grip strap system I had already tried. I'm thinking about doing a complete bike fitting when I take it back for the free two-month tune-up.

I'm glad I mostly ride where there's no traffic at all. That should give me time to get used to the clips.

Today, I focused on spinning and getting used to the shifter. I couldn't get up the big hill any more and thought something was wrong with my bike because it would just "pop" into a higher gear right when I'd start to slow down and try to spin or stand up, causing me to come to a complete stop and have to walk the rest of the way. Well, I figured out I was leaning on the grips and accidentally shifting to a higher gear. So now I downshift to the first chainring and then rest my hands on the outside of the handles to try to avoid getting a full grip. Made it up the hill all four times today, which is great since I was so focused on the gears, I forgot all about the clips and probably would have fallen if my bike had come to a stop!

I can't wait to get the new computer installed and start checking out my cadence!

You're right -- it's an amazingly fun addiction! :D

[BiggJawn]

5. Check out my tale in the "describe your best wreck" thread...

The one where I sliced my leg open 6 inches...I've gotten better since then.
I use knock-offs of the older SPD-type pedals, the ones with the snall cleat, and they have some "float" in them, like I think all clipless systems do now, so cleat alignment isn't as critical as it was. Lots of info online about how to adjust them, and since I don't stand to climb, I have mine set fairly loose.

[Longhorn]

6. Your story is what kept me from wanting clipless for awhile!

:D

Thanks for the heads up about adjustment info. I'll do a search and learn some more!

[loveable liberal]

7. I've fallen over at least 4 times at stop signs. Embarrassing but...

not fatal. I once fell over in front of a carload of teens who then had a lot to say about my age and ability. I've fallen over into a shrub too, that was prickly. Anyway, the trick to clipless pedals is to take one foot out of the pedal before you stop. :)