Here's an odd request that I am putting out to the tiny readership of the Redd-Shift blog.May I borrow your shoes?
Specifically, I am looking to help my wife, Roxanne, decide if she wants to try clipless pedals on her hybrid bike. I've got an extra pair of SPD pedals I can put on her bike temporarily, and I've got an extra set of cleats. Before buying a pair of shoes, we simply wanted to see what she thinks of the clip/unclip process, as well as the general feel of connected pedaling.
She wears a ladies 9 to 9 1/2 (perhaps 40 to 41 European).
My experience with clipless was, "I want clipless, and I will learn to use them, even if I lose some teeth." Her idea is, "I will use them if I like them."
On a side note, I've been lucky so far and haven't yet fallen. Rafal says there are two kinds of clipless pedal users:
- Those who have forgotten to unclip and have fallen.
- Those who lie about never have forgotten to unclip and have fallen.
4 comments:
Doh! Wish I could help you guys out. No shoes of that size in my dwelling.
I did fall once, but I'm going to go with the fact that it wasn't my bike and I hadn't adjusted the tension on the springs. At Outdoor Venture Center at UNO, a co-worker brought in his brand new dual suspension bike. It had one of Shimano's first iterations of flat/clipless pedal combos. I had just started using clipless and asked if I could try out his pedals. So my co-workers watched in amazement as I bunny-hopped around firmly connected to the bike. Then when I pulled up right in front of them to end my demo.....down I went. I don't think I've ever heard anyone laugh so hard. That time, I was MIFOE'd - Munsoned in front of everyone.
i think i might just oversimply things too much :D but you know it all works in the and
If you want to try crank-brothers egg beaters, let me know. I have a set in transition that I will not be using for a bit. I also have a set of cleats to go with it. But you would still need the shoes.
Some of the basic casual clipless type shoes come with a filler piece so that you can use them with or without cleats. The soles are harder than normal shoes, so that helps even if you don't end up doing clipless, as they don't flex as much when you pedal. It may be worth looking into getting a set of those, and just doing clipless/non-clipless or whatever she prefers but with the same shoe.
That's a funny story, Munson. You should have added, "I meant to do that."
Bob: that's not a bad idea. She might benefit from a pair of stiff shoes, even without being clipped.
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