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Post by wardyuk on Apr 4, 2014 17:06:43 GMT
.. and bought my first ever pair of clipless pedals... SPD's M530's I've been mountain biking for years, and had the T5 for nearly 3 months now, and have always stubbornly refused to change the pedals - my mountain bike was set up with the same plastic toes clips the T5 comes with I really don't subscribe to the whole performance enhancement - at the level I cycle at, I really don't believe that the power transmission is going to to be that great, nor that I'll be able to get that much extra "lift" on the upward pedal, over the plastic clips - and real research/empirical evidence is hard to come by, and what can be found is ambivalent at best but - after my first 60km route the other week, the one thing that cant be disputed is comfort.. even after a quick play this afternoon after fitting them, the difference is noticeable And I've overcome my biggest fear/obstacle - clipping out in a hurry.. i've spent all afternoon at work on conference calls, sat on my bike practicing, and whilst not easy, its certainly a lot less worrisome than I feared... Clipping in on the other hand seems much harder.. still, I'm planning on my first 75km route tomorrow - should have the hang of it by the end of that wish me luck
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2014 17:10:02 GMT
Good luck, Wardy..!! It will become second nature before too long.
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Post by Big Brother on Apr 4, 2014 17:14:25 GMT
You're sorted. You'll wonder why you never did it ages ago. Just remember when you're slowing down "unclip, unclip, unclip"
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Post by wardyuk on Apr 4, 2014 17:31:06 GMT
You're sorted. You'll wonder why you never did it ages ago. Just remember when you're slowing down "unclip, unclip, unclip" yeah - I'm writing that in the inside of my sunglasses with a whiteboard marker
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2014 17:42:35 GMT
All the best.
We weren't just making it up when we said it makes a difference.
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Post by Rocket on Apr 4, 2014 17:48:29 GMT
My extensive testing revealed that SPD-SL were worth a 2.4% improvement over the standard toe clips for me and reduced the pressure on the balls of my feet making for more comfort. Can't comment on SPD.
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Post by Spoakes on Apr 4, 2014 18:02:01 GMT
Wait for the difference on hills then.
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Post by wardyuk on Apr 4, 2014 18:22:16 GMT
All the best. We weren't just making it up when we said it makes a difference. difference in what though? Comfort - no question about it but performance? still not convinced.. the two arguments that seem most prevalent are a) better power transmission and b) better pulling the pedal up a) from a physical perspective doesn't pan out.. I wont attempt the math, but i'm pretty certain the difference between cycling shoes and say trainers is going to be negligible.. b) I can do that with plastics, but rarely do, and i watched some you-tube footage of pro cyclist, and they don't either - the big difference with their peddling was that the foot going up didn't have any weight on the pedal but then I'm trained as a geeky scientist, so look more for the empirical data lol
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2014 19:28:19 GMT
Comfort = performance in my view. Trying to do 60km in trainers sounds like hell. Cycling shoes have stiff, rigid soles so after 60km it doesn't feel like your pedalling barefoot, which makes you hurt, which makes you slower.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2014 19:44:36 GMT
I've used SPDs since they were first introduced 20+ years ago. In all that time I can recall a handful of times when I've consciously pulled up on the pedals, those times the hills were off-road and blooming steep. Nowadays my little brain can't compute telling one of my legs to pull up and t'other to push down at the highish cadences I spin at these days.
As others have said I find the stiff soles of cycling shoes make the difference, plus confidence that you are clipped-in during wet weather riding, I.e. Feet are not going to slip and slide around.
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Post by joneve on Apr 4, 2014 19:52:34 GMT
It's definitely noticeable for pulling up when out of the saddle. Much better power transmission. And the shoes I'm currently using are two sizes too big.
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Post by Spoakes on Apr 4, 2014 20:19:14 GMT
I find hills much easier and trying to peddle in all directions to get te most of the power so when lefty is pushing forward righty is pulling back and so it goes round and much more progress is made as you don't just push down.
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Post by captslog on Apr 4, 2014 20:43:48 GMT
I'm sure I read somewhere that pulling up on the pedals isn't very good for your joints. Any time I've tried it (usually without meaning to) it's resulted in aching knees.
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Post by Spoakes on Apr 5, 2014 6:22:17 GMT
not found that yet ? have you tried smoking something else while peddling?
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Post by jondxxx on Apr 5, 2014 7:06:33 GMT
As a recent convert myself I wouldn't go back to ordinary clips. The only research I have heard of was saying that racers who routinely used extra lift would find themselves short of energy for a sprint finish.
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