Road Cycling Essentials

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PaulStat said:
Errr yeah I realise this is a road cycling thread but I try to avoid them as much as I can, I've seen drivers over taking cyclists on small country roads and it looks scary! :p

A phobia I need to tackle :p
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look at opencyclemaps theres loads of dedicated cycle routes and then the ------ ones that should be off road paths/trails around the part of bristol you linked from strava
 
FrenchTart said:
Something ridiculous like ~500 miles is a figure I've heard.

I'm still running my initial set of SPD cleats with what must be 11,000 miles on the clock now.
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Are we talking about how quickly they wear out? When I tried Look Keos they lasted about 3 weeks of commuting. Useless for daily use.

On the subject of shoes here, I commute in soft-soled shoes on flat pedals and have no problems with my balls :p. I don't think it's the flexibility of the shoes causing discomfort per se, I think it might be more down to the shape inside of the shoe or maybe the cleat position.
 
Jonny69 said:
Are we talking about how quickly they wear out? When I tried Look Keos they lasted about 3 weeks of commuting. Useless for daily use.

On the subject of shoes here, I commute in soft-soled shoes on flat pedals and have no problems with my balls :p. I don't think it's the flexibility of the shoes causing discomfort per se, I think it might be more down to the shape inside of the shoe or maybe the cleat position.
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I assumed that's what he meant when I responded, yeah :p
 
FishFluff said:
He suggested that I switch to the SPD SL system as the shoes are generally much stiffer than MTB shoes.

Is what he's saying correct or is he just trying to sell me more kit? Could I get away with just buying the stiffest MTB shoes I can find? I do some MTBing as well so if I could just have one shoe for both types of riding that would definitely be a plus!
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I always assumed (I do at lot of it!) that the SPD-SL were more for racing/pro than leisure/commuting. They may offer more of a platform (and less shoe sole flex) but changing your shoes (are they as old as your cleats?!) would also do that.

I'm riding with Shimano XC30's on M530's (both MTB style) even though I only ride on the road. I chose the shoes due to looks, price and 3 velcro closure. I don't walk far but I prefer my shoes with some grips for my safety & a little cleat protection! Chose the M520's for the platform 'feel' as I'd never ridden clipless before July. Turns out they're also very handy for easy riding unclipped through traffic when commuting. :cool:

FrenchTart said:
Something ridiculous like ~500 miles is a figure I've heard.

I'm still running my initial set of SPD cleats with what must be 11,000 miles on the clock now.
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Walk in those instead? Could even take your cleats off! ;)

arknor said:
look at opencyclemaps theres loads of dedicated cycle routes and then the ------ ones that should be off road paths/trails around the part of bristol you linked from strava
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Good shout, may sound weird but the Googlemaps navigation thing has a cycle option that somehow knows where most of the cycle paths are... (except a new bridge they built near me since...).

Came up with this for you Paul: https://www.strava.com/routes/1456563

I've no idea what the Railway path is like and there is only a short section on the busy A4. Has a bit of a climb on it too (Kelston Hill, ooops!) ;)

Guy I know (friend of a friend) lives in Emersons Green, not far from you? :)

Jonny69 said:
I commute in soft-soled shoes on flat pedals and have no problems with my balls :p.
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I lol'd. Congrats on 17,000 posts! :)
 
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Roady said:
Good shout, may sound weird but the Googlemaps navigation thing has a cycle option that somehow knows where most of the cycle paths are... (except a new bridge they built near me since...).

Came up with this for you Paul: https://www.strava.com/routes/1456563

I've no idea what the Railway path is like and there is only a short section on the busy A4. Has a bit of a climb on it too (Kelston Hill, ooops!) ;)

Guy I know (friend of a friend) lives in Emersons Green, not far from you? :)
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Thanks for that, yeah the railway path is good, I use it but in the opposite direction. Going past Kelston actually goes via one of my favourite pubs so that could be a good shout :p

Emersons green is quite close to me yes, maybe 4 miles
 
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FrenchTart said:
Something ridiculous like ~500 miles is a figure I've heard.

I'm still running my initial set of SPD cleats with what must be 11,000 miles on the clock now.
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I don't know what these people do to cleats, since I got my road bike and spds/look keos, I've done about 14-15k miles I reckon. I had to buy 2 pairs of new cleats for my spds until I got rid of them (sold on ebay with partially used cleats with no complaints) and moved to look last august.

Since then I've used cleat covers where I can, but they are like new for my looks with rubber protectors. Reckon that's about 3k per set or so (as I run 2 pairs of shoes currently)

After trying to ride my mtb in just trainers on double sided SPDs, and having my foot slip off a few times, I don't take this SPDs are more flexible, yes if you have the platforms, but why bother, least with SLs you can ride them wearing trainers in safety.
 
Roady said:
Walk in those instead? Could even take your cleats off! ;)
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When I rode London > Paris last year I was stuck walking around in Paris in SPDs for half a day. My feet cried a lot then too :p

SoliD said:
I don't know what these people do to cleats, since I got my road bike and spds/look keos, I've done about 14-15k miles I reckon. I had to buy 2 pairs of new cleats for my spds until I got rid of them (sold on ebay with partially used cleats with no complaints) and moved to look last august.

Since then I've used cleat covers where I can, but they are like new for my looks with rubber protectors. Reckon that's about 3k per set or so (as I run 2 pairs of shoes currently)

After trying to ride my mtb in just trainers on double sided SPDs, and having my foot slip off a few times, I don't take this SPDs are more flexible, yes if you have the platforms, but why bother, least with SLs you can ride them wearing trainers in safety.
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2 new sets of cleats for your SPDs or SPD-SLs? And do you mean 3k km or 3k miles for your SPD-SLs (or even SPDs?)? I might be on a caffeine-downer but I'm struggling to be sure what you mean sorry.

I would say that SPD cleat/shoes are more flexible (in terms of more uses, not in terms of rigidity) - not the pedals. It's just much easier to walk around in SPD shoes.

edit: I used to have SPD pedals that had a platform and they were still awful to ride on whilst wearing trainers btw :) I now just wear my SPD shoes whenever I ride the bike.
 
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FrenchTart said:
2 new sets of cleats for your SPDs or SPD-SLs? And do you mean 3k km or 3k miles for your SPD-SLs (or even SPDs?)? I might be on a caffeine-downer but I'm struggling to be sure what you mean sorry.

I would say that SPD cleat/shoes are more flexible (in terms of more uses, not in terms of rigidity) - not the pedals. It's just much easier to walk around in SPD shoes.

edit: I used to have SPD pedals that had a platform and they were still awful to ride on whilst wearing trainers btw :) I now just wear my SPD shoes whenever I ride the bike.
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SPD SLs 3k miles. KMs are for foreign fairies. Agreed it is, but how often are you wandering around ? I would have to really up my walking to seriously consider using spds on any bike that isn't MTB.
 
SoliD said:
SPD SLs 3k miles. KMs are for foreign fairies. Agreed it is, but how often are you wandering around ? I would have to really up my walking to seriously consider using spds on any bike that isn't MTB.
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Lol.

I commute and then walk to/from my office every day, and usually around the house at lunch when I also cycle home. Some evenings when I go to the pub or visit a friend I'll take the bike and my SPDs too.

Are SLs that much nicer to cycle in? I've not tried them myself (aside from my two sessions at the velodrome) but those I've spoken to that have didn't seem to rate them as that much better and found them more annoying to clip in/out with. That's possibly just due to their lack of SL experience though.
 
SoliD said:
SPD SLs 3k miles. KMs are for foreign fairies. Agreed it is, but how often are you wandering around ? I would have to really up my walking to seriously consider using spds on any bike that isn't MTB.
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Is this, say commuting or riding around for fun? I unclipped like 100x+ day when commuting..
 
FrenchTart said:
Lol.

I commute and then walk to/from my office every day, and usually around the house at lunch when I also cycle home. Some evenings when I go to the pub or visit a friend I'll take the bike and my SPDs too.

Are SLs that much nicer to cycle in? I've not tried them myself (aside from my two sessions at the velodrome) but those I've spoken to that have didn't seem to rate them as that much better and found them more annoying to clip in/out with. That's possibly just due to their lack of SL experience though.
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grudas said:
Is this, say commuting or riding around for fun? I unclipped like 100x+ day when commuting..
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Both, commuting and for fun, but I can track stand for most traffic light timings, so rarely need to put my foot down.

SLs are definitely better to cycle in, I have specialized taho mtb and Shimano R501, so both fairly low end shoes, non carbon soles, and the Shimano are so much more comfy, and power transfer is much better, out of the saddle is where it really shows as you have a much better base for your foot so don't get the need to push at a certain point in your stroke, and also when pulling the back of the stroke, your foot feels much more planted within the pedal.

I'm going to invest in some full on carbon soled shoes for this years TTing, and reckon this will again be a step up over the Shimanos.
 
Roady said:
I'm riding with Shimano XC30's on M530's (both MTB style) even though I only ride on the road. I chose the shoes due to looks, price and 3 velcro closure. I don't walk far but I prefer my shoes with some grips for my safety & a little cleat protection! Chose the M520's for the platform 'feel' as I'd never ridden clipless before July. Turns out they're also very handy for easy riding unclipped through traffic when commuting.
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Very similar setup to me then Roady. I have the same (but older!) shoes and M540 pedals. Fresh cleats though!

Do you find the balls of your feet hurting on long rides? I'm getting a bike fit this week anyway so hopefully that'll help. If not I think I'll just get stiffer/better fitting mtb shoes as I really like being able to walk in my bike shoes.
 
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