I have SPD’s and have adjusted them (myself) to be as loose as possible; however, I have to wrench my ankle so hard to get out of them that my ankle is bruised and kinda perma-swollen. It also makes riding in traffic especially precarious and generally un-fun. By the end of a ride I’d rather crash than wrench my ankle one more time (well, not really). I can’t imagine that this is correct - any suggestions?
Get a different set of pedals. Seriously.
Mrs. Vitus and I just ended a brief experiment with SPDs. We’ve switched to Speedplay Frogs.
Shit. Does that mean new shoes too? Or will the cleats be transferrable?
You won’t need new shoes. (What are you wearing now- road or ATB shoes?) The cleats will come with the pedals, and should transfer to your shoes with no problems.
ATB. That sucks b/c my SPD’s weren’t cheap and Speedplays are even more expensive. Can I buy used pedals or is that not typically done?
Used pedals are perfectly fine (check e-bay), but you will likely need to get some new cleats though (so you will have to add up the total price)
I recommend speedplay as well, especially the Zeros
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I don’t think the Zeros wil work with the ATB shoes. I could be wrong.
Monterey- you might want to make sure you get the new “G3” cleat if you go with the Frogs. I think the older style cleat for that pedal didn’t fit a lot of ATB shoes.
OK - thanks for all the suggestions. I’ll take my shoes to a bike shop and see fits. Then maybe I’ll poke around on Ebay. Why did I have to choose such an expensive sport?! I fear the day I have to buy a decent bike!
Don’t have the spring tension on the pedal so loose and that solves your problem. Higher spring tension, the tighter the grab on the cleat, the shorter distance you have to turn the ankle to pop the cleat out.
And, have you checked that the cleats themselves are tight? (common problem with newbie clipless users)
If they have slop, you’ll have to crank your foot even farther to release.
SPDs are perfectly fine. (Flame away SpeedPlay users)
Don’t have the spring tension on the pedal so loose and that solves your problem. Higher spring tension, the tighter the grab on the cleat, the shorter distance you have to turn the ankle to pop the cleat out.
I had it that way before and the lateral force required to pop out (especially at low RMP’s) is too much. I’ll try it once more the way you suggested, just to be sure.
And, have you checked that the cleats themselves are tight? (common problem with newbie clipless users)
If they have slop, you’ll have to crank your foot even farther to release.
SPDs are perfectly fine. (Flame away SpeedPlay users)
Pretty sure the cleat is tight, but I will check again. Could the cleat be positioned wrong on the shoe? I have moved it around once or twice to find the proper pedaling position, so I kinda don’t want to mess with it again.
Like so many things technique is important. My wife can’t get out of any pedal system the normal way, so she always turns her ankle inward (outward rotation of the foot). I think it is because she is using only the muscles in her foot and ankle to effect the release. I inwardly rotate the entire leg at the hip using: 1) the powerful muscles of the upper leg and 2) leverage to release in the normal ankle outward style. Also, It might have to do with stiction - static friction. You have to give it a slight “POP” of effort at the beginning of the movement as opposed to trying to slowly muscle your way out.
Also, don’t forget to try lubricating the mechanism!
Technique tip:
Don’t pull up or push down much when turning your foot. Pressure in either direction increases friction, which increases the load necessary for the cleat to release.
If you still want to look at another pedal system that will work with your ATB shoes, check out Crank Brothers Candy SL or Eggbeater pedals.
Great technique points that I did not know. I am definitely a slow-muscler; I will work on using my whole leg and a POP at the beginning. Lube - forgot about that important component too!
Okay, careful with that ax, Eugene - and go easy on the lube, too. Only hit points of movement/friction with microdrops of the slippery essence. Wipe off the excess. Yer ready to rumble and good to go.
Crank Bros Candy, TIME ATAC, or a high quality SPD. Might try first getting new cleats (make sure they are muti-directional)
Also, there are two different types of PSD cleats - single release and multi release. The Multi release are easier to get out as you can click out in a couple of different types of motions.
I will keep my potentially inappropriate lube comment to myself…
I definitely only have single release. Will look into new cleats too. Thanks to all who replied!