Shimano mtb style spd cleats are excellent! Shinano do an M cleat which is easier to twist out on and the tension on their sods is also adjustable. Great for new cleat users or if you are like me, those with restricted ankle movement. In the uk get used to unclipping on the left as that is curb side so less risk of falling into the road or a car.
I started on clips and straps and rode them for ~15 years. Reaching down to slacken off the strap coming up to a stop became second nature, but after going clipless (~15 years on Looks and then ~15 years on SPD-SLs) I’d never go back. When I started clipless, I did some “dry run” clip in/outs in a doorway in my apt before hitting the road. A close shave at the first stop, but I stayed upright, and that was the only clipless wobble.
Firm believer in Crank Brothers egg beater style and similar for all the same reasons for our adventure rides. Easy to get in/out of , and you can walk easily. Plus they don’t clog up with mud.
When you start off from a standstill, clip one foot in, but don't worry about the other foot till you have got the bike moving well. Just rest the foot on the pedal and use it like a flat, then clip in a bit later when you have enough speed to not fall off if the clip in attempt fumbles....
To be honest I used to use cliplless. Both SPD and SPD Road version. Got on better with mtb SPD. However, due to all of them causing knee pain I have gone back to flats (nice flats but flats just the same). No knee pain and as I am over 50 and racing is not an issue then they are just much more appropriate for my riding (bike packing/gravel/all road riding).
Mtb pedals like Shimano SPD are a fabulous way to start. Absolutely go with those. At some point, even though I don’t race, I had to go to a road shoe and pedal. I couldn’t get the stability and support for my foot without it. Making that change unlocked rides longer than a couple hours for me.
I would recommend Time pedals, easy to get out and into (they stay up, so easy to get into) and they offer a perfect amount of float. I've been using their roadpedals for a couple of years now and just started using their mtb-pedals and I was sold after 1 ride!
Switched to SPD’s from Look pedals earlier this year and they are miles better. Easier to clip in and out of and I don’t notice the difference in riding performance but it’s when stopped and walking that they really come into their own. I can go into a cafe now without fearing I’m about to test my figure skating skills on the hard floor or slip and crash down a flight of stairs.
Get used to taking out the same side foot by default every time you are coming to a stop...for me always the left foot as often I'll be near the kerb (in the UK..would use the other foot if I lived in countries that drive on the wrong side!)...this way, if I need to stop suddenly, I'm not confused with which foot to take out.
One tip I always share is get used to twisting your foot off the pedal any time you step off the bike when using flats. I think anyone who uses cleats now will agree that twisting off the bike is second nature and getting used to that motion is important.
Started with flats, switched to SPD, now back to flats with good shoes. I see the benefit of clipless more for long rides (and looking good). In countries with decent traffic flow and generally behaved drivers, it's a better choice. Unfortunately I live in a heavy traffic and bike-unfriendly hellhole called Manila. Bike lanes are not respected, traffic is stop and go, cars will weave within inches of each other (and you), and streets are littered with sudden potholes and obstacles. It's a nightmare clip out every few meters. I was fed up with this situation and went back to flats. Cities in the Philippines outside Manila will be somewhat friendlier to clipless, but unless you bike exclusively there, it's not worth the aggravation. One day, I'll go back to SPD. Just not for my kind of riding right now.
definitely practise clipping in an out in a park where there is some grass and some tarmac and do max of high speed clipping in/out and some low speed clipping in/out. Both of them will help you if youre a big city commuter like me where just about everything on the road is hazardous to you as a cyclist and both high and low speed clipping will be a skill you use on a regular and daily basis. Practising clipping out or not clipping out while going super slow when on grass will also help with your bike handling technique. So you'll know the feel of your bike and how to balance on it when barely even moving - which is also another super handy skill if city commuting as you cant always predict what the traffic in front of you is going to do. Have your cleat tension on the pedals set to the lightest or two or three clicks from the lightest to give you some resistance when you rotate your heel to clip out. Also consider using Shimano SH-56 cleats first as they are multi-directional meaning you can clip out in any direction so its easy to yank your foot right out of the pedals to regain your balance if you have a potential brown trousers moment (which there will be a fair few of them) whilst on the bike. After a few months of the SH-56s when rotating your heel to clip out has been committed to muscle memory. You can switch to SH-51's while not totally impossible, are very hard to yank out if youre clipped in and have a brown trouser or _'clipless'_ moment. Otherwise if i know im going to be rolling to a complete stop, I'll unclip my standing foot early (not super mega early, Just early) just to be on the safe side, otherwise everything is based on timing. If i can regulate my speed or slow the bike enough to avoid stopping completely or if I can stay balanced long enough that the lights change and I didnt need to completely clip out. I cant track stand like pro's do but I can balance pretty well for around 10 seconds or so while completely stationary if im going slow enough to roll to a gentle stop --- Which is where slow speed handling helps.
I've been debating going clip less for about a year. Id almost convinced myself to get some in the summer, till I did the C2C with a cleat user and witnessed him falling off twice because he couldn't clip out in time. Now I'm not sure if the benefits outweigh the risks. Still considering it though
Practice on a trainer a bunch before you go out. I have never once crashed because I was wearing cliplless pedals. If you watch a movie on the trainer practicing you’ll be good to go.
My suggestions: 1, practice on grass going v e r y slowly while clipping in/out. 2, once you're done with that, absolutely, "gears & cleats". Also, while I'm right-footed, and I usually like to declip my R foot, I will unclip both if I'm stopping to make a left turn. Awkward as heck? Yes. But since you lean into a turn, if my L foot is clipped in, then I can't step down to save myself if I lean into the turn too much.
![Tutorial: How to Set Up Cleats on Cycling Shoes [Shimano SPD SL]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4DQTDBcoR5o/mqdefault.jpg)
Shimano mtb style spd cleats are excellent! Shinano do an M cleat which is easier to twist out on and the tension on their sods is also adjustable. Great for new cleat users or if you are like me, those with restricted ankle movement. In the uk get used to unclipping on the left as that is curb side so less risk of falling into the road or a car.
I started on clips and straps and rode them for ~15 years. Reaching down to slacken off the strap coming up to a stop became second nature, but after going clipless (~15 years on Looks and then ~15 years on SPD-SLs) I’d never go back. When I started clipless, I did some “dry run” clip in/outs in a doorway in my apt before hitting the road. A close shave at the first stop, but I stayed upright, and that was the only clipless wobble.
Firm believer in Crank Brothers egg beater style and similar for all the same reasons for our adventure rides. Easy to get in/out of , and you can walk easily. Plus they don’t clog up with mud.
When you start off from a standstill, clip one foot in, but don't worry about the other foot till you have got the bike moving well. Just rest the foot on the pedal and use it like a flat, then clip in a bit later when you have enough speed to not fall off if the clip in attempt fumbles....
To be honest I used to use cliplless. Both SPD and SPD Road version. Got on better with mtb SPD. However, due to all of them causing knee pain I have gone back to flats (nice flats but flats just the same). No knee pain and as I am over 50 and racing is not an issue then they are just much more appropriate for my riding (bike packing/gravel/all road riding).
Mtb pedals like Shimano SPD are a fabulous way to start. Absolutely go with those.
At some point, even though I don’t race, I had to go to a road shoe and pedal. I couldn’t get the stability and support for my foot without it. Making that change unlocked rides longer than a couple hours for me.
I would recommend Time pedals, easy to get out and into (they stay up, so easy to get into) and they offer a perfect amount of float. I've been using their roadpedals for a couple of years now and just started using their mtb-pedals and I was sold after 1 ride!
Switched to SPD’s from Look pedals earlier this year and they are miles better. Easier to clip in and out of and I don’t notice the difference in riding performance but it’s when stopped and walking that they really come into their own. I can go into a cafe now without fearing I’m about to test my figure skating skills on the hard floor or slip and crash down a flight of stairs.
Get used to taking out the same side foot by default every time you are coming to a stop...for me always the left foot as often I'll be near the kerb (in the UK..would use the other foot if I lived in countries that drive on the wrong side!)...this way, if I need to stop suddenly, I'm not confused with which foot to take out.
One tip I always share is get used to twisting your foot off the pedal any time you step off the bike when using flats. I think anyone who uses cleats now will agree that twisting off the bike is second nature and getting used to that motion is important.
Started with flats, switched to SPD, now back to flats with good shoes.
I see the benefit of clipless more for long rides (and looking good). In countries with decent traffic flow and generally behaved drivers, it's a better choice.
Unfortunately I live in a heavy traffic and bike-unfriendly hellhole called Manila. Bike lanes are not respected, traffic is stop and go, cars will weave within inches of each other (and you), and streets are littered with sudden potholes and obstacles. It's a nightmare clip out every few meters. I was fed up with this situation and went back to flats.
Cities in the Philippines outside Manila will be somewhat friendlier to clipless, but unless you bike exclusively there, it's not worth the aggravation.
One day, I'll go back to SPD. Just not for my kind of riding right now.
definitely practise clipping in an out in a park where there is some grass and some tarmac and do max of high speed clipping in/out and some low speed clipping in/out. Both of them will help you if youre a big city commuter like me where just about everything on the road is hazardous to you as a cyclist and both high and low speed clipping will be a skill you use on a regular and daily basis.
Practising clipping out or not clipping out while going super slow when on grass will also help with your bike handling technique. So you'll know the feel of your bike and how to balance on it when barely even moving - which is also another super handy skill if city commuting as you cant always predict what the traffic in front of you is going to do.
Have your cleat tension on the pedals set to the lightest or two or three clicks from the lightest to give you some resistance when you rotate your heel to clip out.
Also consider using Shimano SH-56 cleats first as they are multi-directional meaning you can clip out in any direction so its easy to yank your foot right out of the pedals to regain your balance if you have a potential brown trousers moment (which there will be a fair few of them) whilst on the bike.
After a few months of the SH-56s when rotating your heel to clip out has been committed to muscle memory. You can switch to SH-51's while not totally impossible, are very hard to yank out if youre clipped in and have a brown trouser or _'clipless'_ moment.
Otherwise if i know im going to be rolling to a complete stop, I'll unclip my standing foot early (not super mega early, Just early) just to be on the safe side, otherwise everything is based on timing. If i can regulate my speed or slow the bike enough to avoid stopping completely or if I can stay balanced long enough that the lights change and I didnt need to completely clip out. I cant track stand like pro's do but I can balance pretty well for around 10 seconds or so while completely stationary if im going slow enough to roll to a gentle stop --- Which is where slow speed handling helps.
I've been debating going clip less for about a year. Id almost convinced myself to get some in the summer, till I did the C2C with a cleat user and witnessed him falling off twice because he couldn't clip out in time. Now I'm not sure if the benefits outweigh the risks. Still considering it though
Biggest and most helpful tip is to keep pedalling if you miss the initial try - with your one foot clipped in
Thank you for not calling these "clipless"!! That's a ridiculous name. Cheers to changing how we use these terms.
You need a video about how to deal with snot when on a ride. No one talks about this, it would be a fun subject I'm sure! XD
Practice on a trainer a bunch before you go out. I have never once crashed because I was wearing cliplless pedals. If you watch a movie on the trainer practicing you’ll be good to go.
My suggestions: 1, practice on grass going v e r y slowly while clipping in/out. 2, once you're done with that, absolutely, "gears & cleats". Also, while I'm right-footed, and I usually like to declip my R foot, I will unclip both if I'm stopping to make a left turn. Awkward as heck? Yes. But since you lean into a turn, if my L foot is clipped in, then I can't step down to save myself if I lean into the turn too much.
If like me you started with toeclips and straps, SPD's are a doddle.
My not even remotely pro tip is to chuck your bike on a trainer to practice clipping in and out.
If you use speed play, don’t walk through sand or you will not be able to unclip
Clip in spd pedals called clipless😂
I tell everyone at the shop..you only fall ONCE, the rest are controlled crashes 😁
Clip-less 😉😆