stapfam

I recently got Roadie shoes as I have a pair of Time pedals and cleats in the shed. The shoes I got will also take SPD cleats aswell so IF I did not like the Time pedals- I will still be able to use the shoes with my A520 pedals. Fitted them and all seemed fine except I could not engage the cleats easily. In fact I did a test ride with only one shoe clipped in and me trying to get the other one to engage for most of the ride. There was no way that I could get the cleats to engage on the right foot. Got home- took the shoe off- and with a bit of force it pushed onto the pedal.

Well today was kill or cure time but before I rode- I got a mirror and put it under the pedal so I could see what I was doing wrong. Nothing wrong- push forward with the shoe to engage the front clip and push- NOTHING Happened. Left foot was OK so then I tried engaging right foot first and that engaged but I could not get the left foot in.

Obviously something wrong with my technique. Balanced against a fence- Pedals parallel to the ground and put both shoes on the pedals and put weight on. Neither pedal engaged. Something wrong here and I was about to give up. Took the weight off the pedals and they engaged.

So what am I doing wrong?? I had no idea but tried engaging one pedal at a time- first pedal fine- second- no go. I am now stumped but I looked at the foot as I engaged and saw the position of my foot as the engagement click came.

Problem SOLVED.

I have ridden SPD's for years and all my bikes are fitted with them. It is just natural to put the foot on the pedal and CLICK- and I am in. So I have bean trying to get the Time pedals to engage in the same way. Foot on the pedal and engage with just a bit of pressure. The problem was----The angle of the foot. SPD's and I always engage in a toe down stance on the foot. Doesn't work with these Time (and I presume other road pedals) ones. The foot has to be flat before you exert pressure.

What a stupid system- Why can't they react just like the tried and tested SPD pedals that have never given me any problems in the many years I have had them.

So any of you looking for a very slightly used pair of Shimano SPD SL pedals in size 41 and a pair of used time pedals to go with them won't be getting them from me. I'll persevere on for a while and see if they are better than my old proven- well tested and approved SPD's

CACycling

SPD-SLs and LOOKs both engage and disengage in the same way as SPDs. Front in and push down to engage, kick heel out to disengage. Was there a reason you went for Time?

gear

Try sliding your foot forward (not down) till you feel the nose of the cleat catch then gently start pedaling, on the downstroke the heel of the cleat should click into place.

gear

Your last paragraph confused me a bit. "SPD-SL pedals size 41, Time pedals" ?? Time pedals and SPD-SL cleats don't mix (as far as know)if that is what you meant, that might be the problem.

stapfam

Should have said "SPD-SL Shoes" and I have Time pedals because they were passed onto me. May be a peculiar trait of "Time" pedals but if I point the foot down-as I would with SPD's- then the rear clip will not engage. The foot has to flat and pressure on then and they engage straight away.

gear

One time I tried putting SPD cleats on road shoes, when I walked on them it was like walking on ice. Metal cleats and hard soles just slide over asphalt. And if I missed the mechanism when clicking in, zip right over the pedal.

billydonn

Stap,
My experiment with road shoes and SPD-SL has been a big success. Let us know how it goes.

BluesDawg

I believe the Time system was around quite a while before the new kid on the block, SPD, came along.

big john

The old (2 piece cleat) Time system came out in the 80s after the founder split from Look. I had those pedals and had 3 of them break while riding and crashed twice.
The new Time set-up looks kinda like a Crank Bros pedal with a solid body.

Camilo

What kind of Time pedals are you talking about anyway? Ive been riding the current model, Time RXS pedals for 3-4 years and they clip in pretty similarly to Shimano SPD SL and Look: put forward part of cleat into pedal, click in rear part of cleat.