Hot answers tagged pedals
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Pedal Selection
Pick a system that will work well for your current and future use. It's annoying to have different shoes for different bikes. My experience is limited to Shimano SPDs and Crank Brothers systems -- both of these work very well for road and mountain biking. The shoe cleat is similar for both systems and is fairly small, which means you can ...
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You're most efficient sitting with a cadence between 80 - 100 (faster if you can do it) so it's recommended that you stay seated as much as possible. For mountain biking staying seated increases the weight on your rear tire and reduces the chances of it slipping as long as you can keep a smooth spin stroke and not 'mash' the pedals on the down stroke.
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First up, I'd strongly recommend switching to clipless pedals. I had the same discomfort issues you're describing with normal shoes and toeclips and find clipless pedal so much more comfortable and secure (therefore safer).
When comparing and evaluating clipless pedal systems, some of the more important attributes are:
Float - This is the property where ...
14
Make sure the tension is low at first (should be a little screwn on face of pedal). Generally you will get to a point of looseness where you are popping out unintentionally, go just tigher than that.
Cleat placement also can be a factor. The closer to the toe it is, the easier it tends to be to get out. Be careful about moving too far from the balls of ...
13
I doubt that you actually managed to screw your pedals into the wrong sides. If it can even be done, the amount of force required to do so would have easily alerted you that you were doing something dreadfully wrong. Not to mention the aluminum shavings that would have been all over the place.
Pedals can get pretty snug just through the action of peddling ...
12
A technique which may help you get a more efficient pedaling stroke is an exercise called isolated leg. With your bicycle on a trainer or on a slight uphill, unclip your left leg and pedal using only your right leg for 30-60 strokes. Then switch and do the same for your other leg. This exercise will give a very natural feel to how your legs should be ...
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Like Daniel Hicks says, they are threaded opposite to each other. This ensures the act of you pedaling is constantly tightening them both. If they were both the usual right hand threads then the left pedal would eventually unscrew and fall off.
So, if you're like me and use the right hand rule to constantly assess which direction you should be turning ...
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Terminology is important here. Pedal Clips (refer here) are straps that tighten around the shoe. Clipless, such as SPD have a cleat - refer here
Toe clips are not common these days - but still used by some (touring and fixed hub bikes) more niche applications. I assume you are talking about SPD style clipless pedals, but the following discussion does not ...
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Flat pedals are great for lots of reasons, but I won't get into the virtues or pitfalls of platforms versus toe clips versus clipless systems (though I am a big fan of plain old platform pedals.) I will try to give information pertaining to the different styles and a few examples rather than an exhaustive list of specific brands and prices. There are lots ...
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Your best bet is to use mechanical advantage to your benefit. What you want to do is line the wrench up with the opposite crank, so that your hands are as close together as possible, now straddle the frame and force the two apart. Here's an image from Park's description of how to remove a pedal that illustrates it well:
The worst position for the wrench ...
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The Pedaling Technique of Elite Endurance Cyclists: Changes With Increasing Workload at Constant Cadence was published in the International Journal of Sport Biometrics 7:29-53, 1991. However, it seems to come to the conclusion that they don't really make any difference as far as pedaling efficiency goes.
"...while torque during the upstroke did reduce the ...
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The 'official' tool that engages with that bumpy collar is the Shimano TL-PD-40 bearing shaft removal tool. It's a plastic tool designed to be used with a larger wrench, or a vice. Here's a pic:
TL-PD-40
If you're interested in servicing your pedals using this tool and others, here's a how-to from Park Tool: ...
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I've been using Shimano A530 pedals for that purpose. Mountain SPD-compatible clip on one side, with a nice wide flat platform on the other.
I've also used the old Shimano M324 pedals, but prefer the slightly lighter weight and lower profile of the A530s.
Note that other foot retention systems, such as PowerGrips and the like, will work with all shoes ...
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First off, i question why anyone thinks the calf muscle is not suited for endurance. Its a very active component of running, biking, jumping and so on.
The ball of your foot can take hours of running, biking and other activity with high pressure. The arch of your foot is soft, and where tendons stretch across. A cleat in your arch would cause massive pain ...
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There are three main settings on your cleat:
Fore-aft position, which should let you pedal with the metatarsal heads over the pedal axle, more or less;
Lateral position, which should let a few free milimeters between the inner part of the shoe sole and the crank arm;
The most important for you, which is the ANGLE between the longitudinal line of the cleat ...
9
The main difference between road and mountain shoes are the stiffness.
On road bikes, the shoes are much stiffer allowing for a more efficient transfer of energy from you -> crank -> tire -> road. When you are in a race and every tenth of a second counts, the more efficient you are the better.
On a mountain bike, you give up some efficiency, so you don't ...
9
Lengthening the wrench is your best bet. You don't need anything fancy, find a bit of pipe at your local hardware shop that fits over the wrench.
Watch your fingers. While trying to remove a tricky pedal, it gave suddenly and my knuckles hit the teeth of the chain ring. It was a daft and bloody mistake.
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First let's clarify the difference between "clipless" and "clip" pedals. They are confusing terms as both have clips.
Clip pedals (which I prefer to call cages) look like this:
Cages have the advantage that they can be used with normal shoes. To get your foot into them you push it in from the rear and (optionally) reach down and tighten the strap. In my ...
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curtismchale's answer is spot-on -- I'm only answering to quote from my favourite cycling article "On the Technique of Climbing" by Luis Bernhardt:
When you are sitting in the saddle, you are basically on a Universal Gym. The way you fit the bike prescribes how efficient you are.
Seated climbing is the most efficient way to go: just pick a low enough ...
8
Pushing and pulling and rhythm:
You'll certainly need clipless pedals - you won't develop a decent stroke if you're only pushing down on the pedal. You need to be pulling as well.
I would advocate speeding some time on a fixie, too. If you have to keep you legs moving, you will start to feel more connected to your bike and its speed.
Get yourself a ...
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There are differences of opinion regarding what you are asking here. Some people are insistent that a road bike has to have proper road pedals, others think that for non-competitive riding over short distances the mountain bike style pedal is just fine, so long as you don't go all day in them and expect to win the Tour de France in them.
Let's look at the ...
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I found toe clips to be better than platform pedals, but not by a huge amount.
Seriously, get clipless pedals. It doesn't matter how much traffic there is as it's so easy to get your foot in or out of the pedals. The advantages are huge.
The cycling shoes are so much more comfortable than street shoes
Your foot is so secure on the pedal - you can ...
8
There are pedals that have a cleat clip on one side and a traditional platform pedal on the other side. You could attach the clip to the platform side and use the cleat side when you're riding with cycling shoes.
You might have problems when you're clipped in because the toe clip might hang too low and catch the road when you're leaning into corners.
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My preference is for SPD clipless pedals and "walkable" clipless shoes. But I still have a pair of lightweight "tennis shoes" in my gear for campsite, days off, etc.
Another option, if you can still find them, is the old-fashioned "touring" shoes and regular toe straps. "Touring" shoes are (or were) quite walkable, and it's reasonable to walk miles in ...
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Q1: No, "float" is the amount your feet can rotate (around a vertical axis) while clipped in.
A system/cleat with little or no float keeps your foot in a very rigid position. You can't freely twist your toe/heel while pedaling. If you have a textbook pedal stroke, low float will keep your feet in the right place so you can focus on other things. With ...
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Re: Float
Typically, manufacturers will supply this information in their description of the pedals, and retailers will mention it as well.
I've used clipless pedals since 1990 or so, far longer than I ever used toe-clips. I've used systems like LOOK (which Shimano has co-opted) which have a larger cleat, but I recently switched systems.
I switched to ...
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Pushing down on the pedals is a natural thing. So to improve the "roundness" of your pedal stroke, completely ignore the down-stroke, instead focus on the following:
Continuing the pedal stroke "across the bottom". This will probably feel something like trying to scrape mud off the bottom of your shoe.
On the up-stroke, focus on driving your knee upwards ...
7
One of the best reasons for having a round pedal stroke is efficiency. If you pedal stroke is smooth and efficient, you will get more power to the wheels with less effort. Some exercises for improving your pedal stroke; the winter is a great time for such low intensity exercises.
Pedal a very big gear up hill (20-40 rpm) for intervals of 5-10 min x ...
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Toe clips will definitely improve your cycling, if used correctly. (After all, pro cyclists used them for decades before clipless pedals were invented.) In terms of speed increase it's hard to say, though -- it's probably more in terms of acceleration.
They take a bit of learning to use correctly, but, even if you end up with (misnamed) "clipless" pedals, ...
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Yes, all SPD pedals are compatible with both of these cleats. The multi-directional release SH-56 will allow you to pull out of the pedal vertically if it is required. They are designed for spin bikes. (Exercise use.)
The difference is a preference only, because it depends what you intend to use them for. I will not use the SH-56 on the road because I have ...
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