First commute to work tomorrow with cleats!!!

[assadahmed]

Heading out to work tomorrow with my newly fitted cleats. Rode them home from the bike store this afternoon and have been practising this evening in the residence car park where I live.

Main difficulty I am having is clipping in the left side after setting of from a standstill. Its a bit random to be honest. Sometimes I will clip in very easily but other times I end up trying to clip in but realising that I am trying to clip the bottom side of the pedal. I guess its all about clipping in at the right moment. Is the best way to wait until my right pedal has finished the pedal stroke and so that the left pedal is just passing the highest point?

I did fall over once whilst practising but that was only because I got cocky and tried to see if I could balance myself with both feet clipped in whilst the bike was stationary!!

[Gizmoish]

Learn to clip in while in a very low gear, so that if you need to you can pedal all the way around the circle with the leg that's clipped in until you get some momentum up.

You'll get the hang of it.

Btw: I find it easier to clip in at the bottom of the stroke, so I do one big shove with the right foot, pick up left and locate the pedal while pulling up right, clip in left and push down right. Sort of.

Edited by Gizmoish on Sunday 28th September 23:20

[Black can man]

Just take it nice n easy , you'll be fine.

[TwistingMyMelon]

DOnt think about it just do it, choose a foot to be your main clip in and out foot and just do it!

Make sure you have space at lights or when you stop

I take my dogs out sometimes and its bloody russian roulette having a mad terrier and mad collie on lead whilst cycling clipped in !

[Black can man]

How did it go ?

[Bbunter]

I found something that works for me ( especially on an unplanned hill start) is, oddly, to set off in a higher gear than I would have naturally gone for, then push off very hard. This gives you more forward momentum, and therefore time to get your cleated shoe into the pedal, should the inevitable collision with pot hole, or sunken drain cover, or random assorted piece of non descript pointy stuff, cause the pedal to swing backwards, thus invoking the 'oh FFS, where's the pedal gone' moment.