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Fifty Plus (50+) Share the victories, challenges, successes and special concerns of bicyclists 50 and older. Especially useful for those entering or reentering bicycling.

New to Road Cycling

Old 03-06-21, 09:55 PM
  #26  
Carbonfiberboy 
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I also didn't gat back into road riding until 50, a 30 year gap. 75 now, and it's been a great ride, still lots of fun.
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Old 03-06-21, 10:46 PM
  #27  
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I too pondered two bolt vs three and ended up using Delcoolio 2 bolt SPD type pedals on a number of my bikes. They are flat on one side and clip on the other. They look nice enough to not look vulgar on my Colnago’s but still easy to get in and out of.
Ive read that they are not suitable for “serious” road cycling (whatever that means) but I think this might more apply to upper level racing/riding where small things make a difference. I’m an old guy who just enjoys riding so I’m confident SPD pedals will work just fine.
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Old 03-07-21, 10:54 AM
  #28  
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I got into road biking at about age 50, too. My PC stores all my Garmin history, back to my first Garmin ride recording in 2010. Grand totals: 44,000 miles, 1,900,000 feet of climbing. Age 50 is fine! And I ride with a couple of 73-74 year olds that are faster than me.

I still use SPDs on my road bike. I like the instant "no-look" clip in after stop signs, and reasonable walkability. I do have stiff soled Sidi shoes, so the cleat pressure is spread out over a wider area of my foot.

I've never fallen, but came "this close" a few times in the early days, reaching about a 45 degree tip angle before wrenching my foot out. My leg hurt for a couple of days from the strain. For years now, I can roll up to a stop, and as the bike stops moving, pull off either foot at the last instant without thinking about it. (At first, I would plan the upcoming stop, talking myself through the unclipping process.)

Riders really don't forget to unclip, that part is easy. It's the sudden, unexpected stop where your body reverts to old muscle memory and tries to lift the foot straight up, and then panics when it doesn't move. After some amount of experience, the new unclipping motion is the automatic response.

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Old 03-07-21, 03:10 PM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by rm -rf
I still use SPDs on my road bike. I like the instant "no-look" clip in after stop signs, and reasonable walkability. I do have stiff soled Sidi shoes, so the cleat pressure is spread out over a wider area of my foot.
I bought some Specialized Recon 3.0 shoes that have a really stiff sole. They have good walkability and are more comfortable than I initially thought they would be.
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Old 03-07-21, 03:28 PM
  #30  
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I've never really understood why clip-less pedals are referred to as being "clip-less". Clearly you are being "clipped in". What I think they are is "cage-less" but certainly not clip-less.

I don't consider myself very graceful or well coordinated, but I guess I've snapped into pedals 10s of thousand of times. Can even do it on 10% grades from a stop without tipping over. So it's sort of second nature to me and I have to admit I can be insentitive or bewildered by people (like my wife and son) who have had problems getting in and out of them.

I think it comes down to anticipating when you might need to stop and disengaging from the pedal before you need to do so. I have the latest iteration of the Ultegra SPDs and they seem to hang in a more assessable position for getting into easily than previous models. But I guess it's just riding some and practicing. if I can do it, it really can't be very hard.
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Old 03-15-21, 03:56 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by SClaraPokeman
I've never really understood why clip-less pedals are referred to as being "clip-less".
They're called that because they came on the market at a time when all bike racers used toeclips and straps.

Personally, I think that clipless pedals are overrated. I have used them for decades (primarily SPD) but I have reverted to toeclips and straps on two of my road bikes and run the new-style flat pedals with gripping pins on my mountain bike. I don't see any advantage to clipless and there are huge advantages to the flat pedals when riding the MTB on rock strewn trails (i.e. I can get my feet off the pedal quickly when getting bounced to the side and might otherwise fall). I certainly don't see any advantage to "road" clipless over SPD pedals and do see significant disadvantages (e.g. walking becomes ridiculous). I think that unless you are racing you need to question whether you really need to go clipless. Several published tests have shown that they offer no efficiency/power advantage. They are advantageous in keeping your foot planted on the pedal but then so do toeclips and straps without cleats.

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Old 03-16-21, 06:32 AM
  #32  
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I still remember my first fall and it’s been 15+ years since it happened......and I can even remember what I was thinking.

It happened on my very first organized ride. I’d only had my first road bike for a week or so. I was riding by myself and had passed a group of riders not too far back. My head was swelling with pride as I’d caught a group of riders and showed them how fast I was by easily passing them (I’m now guessing my HR was probably in zone 5!). I came up to a T intersection and was going to make a left turn for the final sprint towards the end of the ride. Unexpectedly, a car came up from my left so I needed to stop quickly. I tried to put my foot down but wait......oh no! My foot is attached to my pedal! I toppled over at zero speed and both feet stayed clipped into the pedals. By that time the group of riders I’d just passed rode up and everyone witnessed me wriggling on the pavement trying to get out of the pedals, asked if I needed help, etc. So much for the swelled head.
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Old 03-16-21, 09:00 AM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by davester
They're called that because they came on the market at a time when all bike racers used toeclips and straps.

Personally, I think that clipless pedals are overrated. I have used them for decades (primarily SPD) but I have reverted to toeclips and straps on two of my road bikes and run the new-style flat pedals with gripping pins on my mountain bike. I don't see any advantage to clipless and there are huge advantages to the flat pedals when riding the MTB on rock strewn trails (i.e. I can get my feet off the pedal quickly when getting bounced to the side and might otherwise fall). I certainly don't see any advantage to "road" clipless over SPD pedals and do see significant disadvantages (e.g. walking becomes ridiculous). I think that unless you are racing you need to question whether you really need to go clipless. Several published tests have shown that they offer no efficiency/power advantage. They are advantageous in keeping your foot planted on the pedal but then so do toeclips and straps without cleats.
Some of us HATE toe clips and straps.
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Old 03-16-21, 03:19 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by big john
Some of us HATE toe clips and straps.
Back in the day when many of us were racing and bought into the old racers' wives' tale that using cleats and pulling up on the backstroke actually increased efficiency, we would tighten down the straps and pull backwards against the cleats. That was definitely painful and I also hated them back then. However, these days there's no reason to tighten the straps down so I don't notice any difference in comfort between toe clips + straps and clipless.
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Old 03-17-21, 01:32 PM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by davester
Back in the day when many of us were racing and bought into the old racers' wives' tale that using cleats and pulling up on the backstroke actually increased efficiency, we would tighten down the straps and pull backwards against the cleats. That was definitely painful and I also hated them back then. However, these days there's no reason to tighten the straps down so I don't notice any difference in comfort between toe clips + straps and clipless.
I have no issues with the Look pedals on my road bikes but I am thinking about trying flat pedals on the mtb. I've been using SPD for years but sometimes it might be safer to be on flats.
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Old 03-17-21, 06:19 PM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by big john
I have no issues with the Look pedals on my road bikes but I am thinking about trying flat pedals on the mtb. I've been using SPD for years but sometimes it might be safer to be on flats.
Absolutely! I took a few low speed falls in the last couple of years that were purely due to not being able to get our of my SPD pedal quickly enough. I also have a friend who is an MTB high school team coach who fell because she got bounced backwards off a rock and couldn't get out quickly enough. She came down on a boulder and broke her hip ball-and-socket joint, requiring an emergency evac and full hip replacement. I have felt vastly safer since switching my MTB from SPDs to flats. If you use purpose-made shoes you will find them to be very grippy. I think you'll be happy with the switch.
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