Advice for first time clipless pedal user

[pdmtong]

After years of riding it is time to get my daughter off of flat pedals on both her road and her mtb before she heads off to college next year.

One of the things holding me back was investing in shoes while her feet were growing. Now I find myself hurrying up before she leaves. :-(

Giro Espada EC70 road (PD-6620 SPD-SL)
Giro Manta mtb (XT PD-M8000)

She has been riding with me since age 4. Has great slow speed handling and is comfortable riding road, tech single track, CX and lift-assisted downhill.

My thinking was to start her with mtb shoes/pedals on her road bike since double-sided and more walkable.

Once she gets the hang of that, put set up her road shoes/pedals on her road bike, and practice that.

Then, practice mtb shoes/pedals on dirt.

Initial thoughts are
- set pedal tension to the lightest action
- practice clip, un-clip one foot at a time in cul-de-sac
- practice shifting to lower gear when slowing to stop
- unclip well in advance of stopping point
- make habit of un-clip same side foot whatever that is
- practice standing/pedaling while clipped in

I'd welcome other advice ...

do the mtb multi-release cleats work that much better? I use ATACs

[binouye]

Sounds like a good plan.
Then tell her that EVERYONE will forget to clip out, tip over, and feel like a fool sometime in the first few rides, and she should try not to let her ego get too bruised and know she's in good company.
My daughter has learned to use SPDs on the back of the tandem, but never tried them on her single (but then she's a decade+ away from college still).
I don't like the "multirelease" cleats, as unexpected releases are bad and I felt they were less predictable. YMMV.

[carpediemracing]

As a shop manager/owner I taught a lot of people as quickly as possible how to get used to clipless pedals.

Remember, muscle memory, repetition.

Also remember that adrenaline ruins fine motor control. You don't want your rider to panic or stress out.

I tell people to clip in while stationary (hand on wall etc, other hand on brake). Get a landmark on the shoe to line up with something, pedal axle, whatever. Best is to clip in when crank is pointing forward. Natural, easy to reach when straddling frame, etc.

When clipping out push down and clip out. Many people instinctively pull up to "lift their foot" but it only makes it harder to unclip. If they consciously push down it prevents them from lifting. Also, if they're panicking, pushing down is a coarse muscular action, something you can do even if you're stressing out.

To review, clip in with crank pointing forward. Clip out at bottom of stroke.

Now repeat the clip in/out process 20 times. Actually count. If I'm worried about the rider, or the rider seems OCD enough to listen to me, I tell them they need to clip in and out 20 times without messing up.

Now let go of the wall and go. I told people to not push off with their slippery cleat foot but instead push off by doing a downstroke with the clipped in foot. Do one or two pedal strokes hen clip in the other foot, which should be easy, and then go.

It's usually pretty straightforward after the stationary practice.

Hope this helps.

[Ken Robb]

If she plans to use her bike for transportation leave her on flat pedals and whatever shoes she likes.

[Louis]

This is interesting. I'm old enough to have gone from "real" toe-clips to clipless, so the move was to something that was easier to deal with, not harder.

[Black Dog]

Put her on a trainer until she has the skill mastered.

[pasadena]

I recommend Eggbeaters pedals.
They are simple and work with everything from road/mtb/street. I love them.

The only adjustment is the direction you mount the cleat, to set tension.

Easy to get into and out.

here's some great vids on the subject for newbies
https://www.youtube.com/user/globalcyclingnetwork/search?query=clipless+pedals

[loimpact]

I can vouch for Shimano "Click'r" setup. I started with it (still have it on my hybrids) and to be honest, still have half my PR's having used those when I first put them on my road bike.

(Shimano PD M520's are a great pedal)

If I had any balls at all, I'd have stuck with SPD's and just got a bitchin' pair of SPD S-works shoes but I turned into a road-douche and I fell into the roadie trap.

[foo_fighter]

Practice on your tandem?

[Elefantino]

Absent a trainer, have her practice in a doorway.

[Villgaxx]

shimano shimano shimano mountain bike pedals. the cheap ones. they work good enough. (I've used atacs since they were introduced and never used a shimano mountain bike pedal in my life.) but they work good enough and are cheap and the cleats are ubiquitous.

my kid was much younger and all psyched about clipless pedals. I was not going to chase growing feet with expensive new shoes every 6 months, but I was able to get some shoes and pedals for my kid to try.

and the smart kid figured out that clipless pedals kinda sucked for children and that cheap plastic bmx pedals came in a rainbow of colors and you could match them to your bike and that if you learned to ride off road on cheap plastic bmx pedals, everything would be so much easier later.

but the shimano pedals worked well; the tension adjustment seemed to do something useful.

i'd go with inexpensive shimano pd-m540 or whatever they're called for any bike to start, shoes to go with 'em, and once she's comfortable on those, proper road pedals on her road bike will not seem so alien.

and if she's an experienced rider, the clipless pedal transition is probably not going to take more than one ride. if she's a decent off-road rider, i'd start there. once you fall over three times on your mountain bike at very slow speeds like a goof because you spin your rear wheel or get hung up on a big log or fail the climb or something, you won't fall over a fourth time. back when everyone started using clipless pedals off road, it was one, two, three tips for the novices and that was it. for roadies coming from looks, it was one tip then fine.

[ofcounsel]

If you go shimano SPDs, please, please get her the SH-56 multi-release cleats. They release so much easier. My 7 year old uses them, and he's never had issues unclipping before stopping abruptly.

[RFC]

If she plans to use her bike for transportation leave her on flat pedals and whatever shoes she likes.

+1 This. With two sons and two campus bikes, it was open toe clips.

[oldpotatoe]

After years of riding it is time to get my daughter off of flat pedals on both her road and her mtb before she heads off to college next year.

One of the things holding me back was investing in shoes while her feet were growing. Now I find myself hurrying up before she leaves. :-(

Giro Espada EC70 road (PD-6620 SPD-SL)
Giro Manta mtb (XT PD-M8000)

She has been riding with me since age 4. Has great slow speed handling and is comfortable riding road, tech single track, CX and lift-assisted downhill.

My thinking was to start her with mtb shoes/pedals on her road bike since double-sided and more walkable.

Once she gets the hang of that, put set up her road shoes/pedals on her road bike, and practice that.

Then, practice mtb shoes/pedals on dirt.

Initial thoughts are
- set pedal tension to the lightest action
- practice clip, un-clip one foot at a time in cul-de-sac
- practice shifting to lower gear when slowing to stop
- unclip well in advance of stopping point
- make habit of un-clip same side foot whatever that is
- practice standing/pedaling while clipped in

I'd welcome other advice ...

do the mtb multi-release cleats work that much better? I use ATACs

Don't want to sound like uber-parent..but what does SHE want to do?

[thwart]

If she plans to use her bike for transportation leave her on flat pedals and whatever shoes she likes.

This. She's about to head off to college, where clipping in isn't likely to be terribly useful... :rolleyes: ... at least if she's like most of her peers.

[Fatty]

She has been riding with me since age 4. Has great slow speed handling and is comfortable riding road, tech single track, CX and lift-assisted downhill.







So why does she need to clip in?

Lot of mountain bikers on flats.

And clomping around a campus in roadie shoes?

Just not getting the need to clip in.

[homagesilkhope]

Don't want to sound like uber-parent..but what does SHE want to do?

Ditto this (you did say "other" advice). Why not let her figure it out on her own, including whether or not she wants clipless pedals? She's a big girl now and, I'm betting, pretty resourceful, too :)

[pdmtong]

Thanks for everyone's advice and comments, in particular carpediem.

I want to get her confident and capable with cleats so she can go on road rides (easily does 30/2500') and XC dirt rides more efficiently. For AM and DH rides I will eventually get her some 5.10's. Righ now she is just using Vans with her CB 5050's...

Once she gets to college, should she have a bike for "commuting", yes non-pegged flats all the way.

I forgot to add, while she is in the initial learning, will be wearing her old PI kit, not the higher end stuff, in case she hits the deck.

This is less a case of me being an overly aggro cycling parent than recognizing that cleats are the last basic step that separates her from the rest of the serious cycling world. So, before she leaves, I want to get that accomplished and from there, she will have pedal options to match the types of rides she may pursue.

BTW, CU-Boulder is on her list...I hear there is so good riding there.

[pdmtong]

If you go shimano SPDs, please, please get her the SH-56 multi-release cleats. They release so much easier. My 7 year old uses them, and he's never had issues unclipping before stopping abruptly.

Thanks, I will., do you happen to know if the older SH-55 multi-release will work with current gen pedals?

[559Rando]

Unclip BEFORE you stop!

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

[ofcounsel]

Thanks, I will., do you happen to know if the older SH-55 multi-release will work with current gen pedals?

Not sure, to be honest. I've only been able to get the SH-56's.

Al

[oldpotatoe]

Thanks for everyone's advice and comments, in particular carpediem.

I want to get her confident and capable with cleats so she can go on road rides (easily does 30/2500') and XC dirt rides more efficiently. For AM and DH rides I will eventually get her some 5.10's. Righ now she is just using Vans with her CB 5050's...

Once she gets to college, should she have a bike for "commuting", yes non-pegged flats all the way.

I forgot to add, while she is in the initial learning, will be wearing her old PI kit, not the higher end stuff, in case she hits the deck.

This is less a case of me being an overly aggro cycling parent than recognizing that cleats are the last basic step that separates her from the rest of the serious cycling world. So, before she leaves, I want to get that accomplished and from there, she will have pedal options to match the types of rides she may pursue.

BTW, CU-Boulder is on her list...I hear there is so good riding there.

Yup, but also invest in a good bike lock or her bike will be adios..

[pdmtong]

Not sure, to be honest. I've only been able to get the SH-56's. Al
I ordered some today...turns out the PD-8000 ship with the SH-51 single release.
Yup, but also invest in a good bike lock or her bike will be adios..
agreed: college = good lock + craigslist bike