[northparkrider]

Hey this christmas and am recieving a set of clippless pedals and shoes they are the sette element shoes and the welgo wam m-3 pedals. Im just wondering how hard is the learing curve and will it make any differance if i have been riding with clips (cages) for the past 3 months. Thanks in advance for your input

 

[aspang]

Hey this christmas and am recieving a set of clippless pedals and shoes they are the sette element shoes and the welgo wam m-3 pedals. Im just wondering how hard is the learing curve and will it make any differance if i have been riding with clips (cages) for the past 3 months. Thanks in advance for your input

Go for it! I had a pair of Rockwerks to start (very similar to the Wellgo pedals), and it took 2 rides for me. One on the road just to get the feel of getting in and out. The second was at South Park on a WET fall day. Went over the bars twice, but surprisingly clipped out with no problem. They will make a world of difference on the bike. Jumped from Rockwerks and Nikes to Eggbeaters and Sidis. Upgrade you will, but get used to the idea first. Good luck!

 

[InvictaS1]

most clipless pedals are pretty easy to use. i just started riding with clipless pedals earlier this year, ive never had a problem clipping out while riding offroad. be careful when riding around town clipped in, you'll forget your clipped in roll up to an intersection and remember your clipped in when its too late and you'll fall over.

 

[eatdrinkride]

my experience...they were a real pain for several weeks when riding trails. Much more so on the slow techie stuff where you feel safe being able to dab a foot real quick. Then it gets comfortable to the point where you unclip instinctavely. After a while it becomes second nature. Now if I put my flats on (for the occasional ski lift ride) I feel naked. I tried riding my flats last week b/c I wanted to learn to bunnyhop the proper way (without clip assistance) and my foot slipped the pedal and the studs on my flats ripped several holes in my shin, bled for hours!

For bumpy singletrack and climbing, nothing beats clippless - good luck.

 

[trekmike]

It took me several weeks also. Especially on the emergency unclipping maneuvers where I needed to put a foot down in less than a second. However, in a very short time you will be amazed at the extra power you get grinding those hills. Going back by the way is not an option. I tried last summer and found it difficult to pedal without being clipped in. I couldn't keep my feet on the lousy pedals!

 

[Grumpy]

Clipless will give you a big difference in power and stability, you will love them, but there is a little learning curve... When pedals /cleats are new clipping in and out tends to be "grabby" and they don't always release smoothly (not what you need when you are first learning.) To give yourself an advantage when learning (and with new pedals or cleats) pick up a bottle of wax type chainlube (white lightning or eqiv) and apply it to the engagement surfaces on the cleats and the pedals. It will smooth out the engagement/release on the new pedals (till they break in). You should only need to apply for 5-10 rides (till the pedals and cleats break in and release smoothly)

 

[Call_me_Clyde]

All good advice here

Bottom line, make the switch, it will be worth it. My biggest learning curve was simply forgetting that I was clipped in, resulting in a few sideways falls. They're pretty much inevitable while you're learning, but once you get accustomed to them, you're good to go.

Bob

 

[dahoos]

I ride platforms on my mt bike, cages on my SS and clipless on my road bike. I just got the road bike this past summer and it was my first clipless experience. I've found that when I ride with the cages, to put my foot down, I would already twist my ankle to the side to break the pedal grips from my sneakers, but also slide my foot back. Very similar motion to the clipless, minus pulling your foot back. I think you'll catch on very quickly after riding with the cages.

Like others said, when you have an experience that you need to unclip at an intersection or a sudden stop, sometime you forget...but after a few weeks it becomes second nature. I sugguest setting the pedals to the loosest setting to start with. A simple flick of the ankle will unlock you. Your feet tend to wobble a little on a climb but it is safer for learning. After your a little more comfortable, tighten the release setting on the pedals and your good to go.

Hey this christmas and am recieving a set of clippless pedals and shoes they are the sette element shoes and the welgo wam m-3 pedals. Im just wondering how hard is the learing curve and will it make any differance if i have been riding with clips (cages) for the past 3 months. Thanks in advance for your input

 

[Chowjusky]

I run clipless on my freeride (mallets), hardtail (Candies) and on my SS I run eggbeaters (yes, I really like Crank Brothers pedals, but that's just my taste). Like everyone has said here it's a sharp learning curve. When I was learning one of my buddies likened it to 'learning to ride again'. It took me a couple of weeks and more than one seriously embarrassing crash to get used to them!

Once I was in I was in and there is no way I would ever return to platforms/cages. I just enjoy the power and feeling of being clipped in it also feels like I have more control over the bike. The big secret is that no matter the amount of crashes you have to endure (I learnt in the reasonably flat woods in my area so the falls would be less severe) just dont give up because once you get the hang of riding clipless you'll wonder what the fuss was about.

 

[Harold]

It took me a month or so to get used to clipless. My first shoe/pedal combo were Answer Speeder shoes and $15 Nashbar pedals. That was probably 5 years or so ago. I ran spd style pedals up until this spring, when I switched to Crank Bros Candy SL pedals. That switch took me a couple weeks to adjust to (slightly different engagement), and now I'm wearing Specialized Mtn Comp shoes.

I run the clipless on my XC FS bike and platforms on my SS/commuter/winter bike. I'd use clipless on it, too, if I had a good pair of winter riding shoes.

Practice first somewhere that you can hold onto a fixed object and practice clipping in and out. When you get that down, move on to an open field with soft grass where falling down won't hurt so much. Once you're comfortable there, move on to the trails. Start easy and work your way up from there.