# Girly Clipless Pedal Advice



## Your Bike Sucks (May 20, 2011)

I'm going to outfit one of my g/f's bikes with a set of clipless pedals, but want her to be able to unclip easily.

I run eggbeaters, which are a pain to get in and out of at times, and want something easier for her.

What are some of you ladies running that are easy to get in and out of?

TIA


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## mtb_rider11 (Dec 28, 2011)

I run Shimano SPDs. I set them on the loosest release settings and lube them regularly with White lightening. They are easy to clip in and out of, and have a larger platform than the eggbeaters.


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## MtbRN (Jun 8, 2006)

I agree. I like Shimano. Wouldn't call them particularly girly tho'.


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## Your Bike Sucks (May 20, 2011)

MtbRN said:


> I agree. I like Shimano. Wouldn't call them particularly girly tho'.


Thanks :thumbsup:.

And no offense meant...to any non-girly girls, or girly guys .


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## mudgirl (Jun 19, 2007)

I know you're thinking of something different than eggbeater, but I have eggbeater candies and like them quite a lot. They're not quite as adjustable as spd's, but there are two tension settings. I've not have any trouble getting in or out of them, after coming off spd's that I used to set at the loosest tension. I like the eggbeaters a LOT more because they shed mud better. They have a platform, and most importantly, they come in different colors to match her bike.  (this is actually WHY I got mine (darn Crank Bros. have their marketing campaign down to a SCIENCE, I'll tell you whut), but I ended up loving them for function as well as looks) :thumbsup:


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## Your Bike Sucks (May 20, 2011)

mudgirl said:


> I know you're thinking of something different than eggbeater, but I have eggbeater candies and like them quite a lot. They're not quite as adjustable as spd's, but there are two tension settings. I've not have any trouble getting in or out of them, after coming off spd's that I used to set at the loosest tension. I like the eggbeaters a LOT more because they shed mud better. They have a platform, and most importantly, they come in different colors to match her bike.  (this is actually WHY I got mine (darn Crank Bros. have their marketing campaign down to a SCIENCE, I'll tell you whut), but I ended up loving them for function as well as looks) :thumbsup:


I love my eggbeaters, too, but even on the easier release setting you still have to give your foot a decent turn to get out. No drama for me or you, but my g/f is still new to mountain biking. I naturally have her already riding the most difficult trails  and don't want to get her hurt .

I will say this for eggbeaters, though. They do have an emergency release procedure...I smacked a tree so hard going downhill one day that I flew over the handlebars and immediately came out of the pedals...without having to twist my feet :nono:.

I would not recommend this way to unclip, though .


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## connie (Mar 16, 2004)

Personally, I started on SPDs and found Crank Brothers to release easier and more consistently, but maybe that's just me.

I use flat pedals most of the time these days, but when I use clipless, I use eggbeaters or candies.


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## Your Bike Sucks (May 20, 2011)

connie said:


> Personally, I started on SPDs and found Crank Brothers to release easier and more consistently, but maybe that's just me.
> 
> I use flat pedals most of the time these days, but when I use clipless, I use eggbeaters or candies.


I've ONLY run eggbeaters, so I don't have anything to compare them to. When I first got them several years ago, I ran them on my Sidi's without shims and they were VERY difficult to get back into after taking your foot out on the trail. I found the shims and installed them months later and they worked moons better. I may just have bad memories of that lingering in my head, making me think the learning curve w/ the eggbeaters is worse than it really is .


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## bikerjay (Sep 16, 2007)

My advice to any one new to clipless is always the same. Find a grassy dog crap free field and when you can come to a complete stop and unclip both feet at a dead standstill before falling over you have got it. Same with the clip in, your not fast enough at it until you can get both feet in before actually moving forward. Falling on soft grass is kind of amusing.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

What?!! Post 11 and no Time ATAC love? I also switched back to flats after an ankle injury, and loved them so much I've stuck with them, but loved the ATACs for years on the MTB and still run them on the cross bike. Adjustable tension and 100% mudproof. And unlike Shimano's (in my experience), they get easier to unclip as the cleats wear instead of harder.


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## mtb_rider11 (Dec 28, 2011)

mtbxplorer said:


> What?!! Post 11 and no Time ATAC love? I also switched back to flats after an ankle injury, and loved them so much I've stuck with them, but loved the ATACs for years on the MTB and still run them on the cross bike. Adjustable tension and 100% mudproof. And unlike Shimano's (in my experience), they get easier to unclip as the cleats wear instead of harder.


I tried the Time ATACs and for me they were harder to unclip and clip back in, even at the lowest tension. But that is my experience only. Maybe I didn't have my heel down enough when unclipping, I don't know, but I haven't had trouble unclipping out of the SPDs unless I forgot to lube the pedals (did that once, now keep them properly lubed).


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## Christieland (Mar 12, 2012)

bikerjay said:


> My advice to any one new to clipless is always the same. Find a grassy dog crap free field and when you can come to a complete stop and unclip both feet at a dead standstill before falling over you have got it. Same with the clip in, your not fast enough at it until you can get both feet in before actually moving forward. Falling on soft grass is kind of amusing.


I've been riding bikes with clipless pedals for two years, and I still can't do this...


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## verslowrdr (Mar 22, 2004)

mtbxplorer said:


> What?!! Post 11 and no Time ATAC love? I also switched back to flats after an ankle injury, and loved them so much I've stuck with them, but loved the ATACs for years on the MTB and still run them on the cross bike. Adjustable tension and 100% mudproof. And unlike Shimano's (in my experience), they get easier to unclip as the cleats wear instead of harder.


LOVE Times. It's all we run in this house. I have a couple aliums (aka 'the cheap Times') that are into multiple thousands of miles and they're still working great.

And we've never done any maintenance on any of our pedals. 
None.
EVER.
Seriously- put them on, ride away, forget about them. They're a freaking marvel of modern engineering. During the time we've owned these pedals a friend has repaired/gone on to trash serveral crank bros of one kind or another. That $ math is pretty straight forward.

I have dinged up ankles so I seem to have some range of motion issues with kicking out of the cleats. I attach them on the easier releasing side (they shave down one corner- check the star) and angle them in the shoe so that it doesn't take as much rotation to clip out. Bada-bing.


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## oldladybiker (Apr 10, 2012)

bikerjay said:


> My advice to any one new to clipless is always the same. Find a grassy dog crap free field and when you can come to a complete stop and unclip both feet at a dead standstill before falling over you have got it. Same with the clip in, your not fast enough at it until you can get both feet in before actually moving forward. Falling on soft grass is kind of amusing.


Sounds like good advice for learning to use clipless (misnomer--I think it should be clip-IN; clipless makes me think of flat) pedals, and the dog crap part cracked me up. Wish I had thought of this before taking a friend for a ride (on what I thought was an easy trail) on her super duper shiny new mtn bike with clip-in pedals she'd never used before...she fell over a lot onto the muddy gravel road, and I doubt she's used the bike since--bad way to start off.


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## chuky (Apr 3, 2005)

oldladybiker said:


> Sounds like good advice for learning to use clipless (misnomer--I think it should be clip-IN; clipless makes me think of flat) pedals, and the dog crap part cracked me up.


Clipless refers to the lack of toe-clips. When clipless pedals were first introduced, toeclips were standard on most bikes.


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## bikerjay (Sep 16, 2007)

I wish more bike manufactures would sell bikes with out pedals, no matter what they spec its very likely not to be what the rider wants. It would also be nice if more shops stated stocking cheap flat pedals for new riders. 

Another thing I should have mentioned, start out in the learning phase I mentioned above with the pedal retention setting cranked all the way down for the hardest release possible. Then when you are through falling on the lawn and have it masted adjust to a reasonable setting. 

Here is another good tip, replace the bolts in your frame holding on your bottle cage, or plugging the holes with spare cleat bolts. Always a good thing to have, I have not need one due to proper torque and appropriate application of loc tite 242 but its saved some one elses ride before.


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## mtb_rider11 (Dec 28, 2011)

bikerjay said:


> I wish more bike manufactures would sell bikes with out pedals, no matter what they spec its very likely not to be what the rider wants. It would also be nice if more shops stated stocking cheap flat pedals for new riders.
> 
> Another thing I should have mentioned, start out in the learning phase I mentioned above with the pedal retention setting cranked all the way down for the hardest release possible. Then when you are through falling on the lawn and have it masted adjust to a reasonable setting.
> 
> Here is another good tip, replace the bolts in your frame holding on your bottle cage, or plugging the holes with spare cleat bolts. Always a good thing to have, I have not need one due to proper torque and appropriate application of loc tite 242 but its saved some one elses ride before.


The hardest release possible? That could be discouraging to someone new to clipless pedals.


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## redonwheels (Apr 8, 2012)

I love Crank Bros candies as well (mine are blue... and definitely match my bike!). I find them a bit easier to get in and out of than the SPDs I have on my commuter... plus they seem to clean the dirt/mud of the trails a better. That said, I have a friend who swears by the "multi-directional release" SPDs for mountain biking -- just because you can get out of them by twisting any direction. I could see that being a big draw for someone totally new to clipless. Might be worth a look.


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## quid (Aug 12, 2011)

I´ve only used Shimano SPD, but found them really easy to learn to get in and out of. Adjust them to the lightest tension and combine with multi release cleats. And maybe prepare her for the fact that she is going to fall over once or twice in the beginning, but that´s all part of the learning curve.


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## 510667 (Oct 13, 2010)

Love my Speedplay Frogs, my knees love them (I strongly dislike SPD for several reasons, but pedal choice is highly personal). I currently ride BMX pedals on the mountain bike, but I ride Frogs on the road and fully intend to use them on my Jamis when I move to clipping in on the mountain bike.

Speedplay is releasing a new mountain bike pedal later this year that will have adjustable float. Thankfully they have no plans on discontinuing Frogs and forcing Frog-fans to move to another pedal. I emailed Speedplay and they actually called me in under 12 hours, I was impressed by their response.

Don't know anything about "girly" pedals


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## NicoleB (Jul 21, 2011)

if she is new to mountain biking, and riding tough trails....is she really ready for clipless? that sounds like a nightmare to be "learning" on technical trails when you're new!


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## Astra2 (Dec 27, 2010)

SPDs. My new bike came with eggbeaters and while the right side released quickly, the left side never did. After many, many slow motion tip-over falls and a loss of confidence on the trails, I went back to SPDs, adjusted them to my preference and haven't looked back.


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## 510667 (Oct 13, 2010)

NicoleB28 said:


> if she is new to mountain biking, and riding tough trails....is she really ready for clipless? that sounds like a nightmare to be "learning" on technical trails when you're new!


Good question! I started learning how to mountain bike last year, and I do clip in on the road, but am far from being ready to do the same on the trails. It does add complexity and those few seconds dealing with the pedals can certainly make a difference... Personally, I think it is better to focus on learning how to mtb first and bring in the clips later...but that just might be me.


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## NicoleB (Jul 21, 2011)

i'm like you. i clip in on road (loose tension SPD) but not for MTB. I have before, but i'm so uncomfortable and tense on them (sort of like claustrophobic). i end up riding worse. i told myself maybe i'd try again some day, but now i have awesome thin sticky platforms and 5ten shoes, and honestly, they work awesome. i am in no hurry to switch...and maybe i never will. who knows. In the end, comfort and fun factor outweighs efficiency in my opinion!


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## oldladybiker (Apr 10, 2012)

*Clipless or Flat Pedals??*

QUOTE:"if she is new to mountain biking, and riding tough trails....is she really ready for clipless? that sounds like a nightmare to be "learning" on technical trails when you're new! "

I agree with you, but she told me she had been riding a mtn bike off-road for some years (just not this new bike), and the trail I took her on was a 12-foot wide gently rolling compacted gravel fire road--not technical to me. I failed to ask if she were used to the clip-in pedals yet (I had forgotten initially it takes some practice to use them safely). In places even this gravel road was still soft/squishy from snowmelt--the soft spots were challenging to both of us, but not knowing how to release the pedal clips made matters worse when a soft spot threw her off balance.

I finally own a long-handled (leverage!) pedal wrench with which to quickly change out the pedals for different conditions I'll be riding. Maybe everyone else learned or knew this up front, but I've learned through trial-and-error that clipless/clip-in pedals work best (for me) for cross-country, non- to minimally technical riding where I can maintain a fairly constant speed, not too different from road biking conditions where I first used old-style toe clip cages. For me, flat (no clips) pedals are the way to go for riding technical, balance-challenging, highly variable speed trails when it's worth the detached pedal shin scrapes to be able to quickly put out a foot to prevent falling and much worse scrapes, but they are annoyingly ineffecient for cross country riding.


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## [email protected] (Apr 21, 2012)

NicoleB28 said:


> i'm like you. i clip in on road (loose tension SPD) but not for MTB. I have before, but i'm so uncomfortable and tense on them (sort of like claustrophobic). i end up riding worse. i told myself maybe i'd try again some day, but now i have awesome thin sticky platforms and 5ten shoes, and honestly, they work awesome. i am in no hurry to switch...and maybe i never will. who knows. In the end, comfort and fun factor outweighs efficiency in my opinion!


What are you using for platforms and shoes?


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## NicoleB (Jul 21, 2011)

^ convert forte pedals (big and sticky!) and i WAS using five-ten guide tennies, but they are not really meant for mtb because they are not stiff enough for long rides, but the rubbery sole is the same. I ended up buying five-ten Impact lows. they'll be coming in the mail on Monday, so we'll see!
Forté Convert Platform Pedals - Mountain Bike Pedals
Five Ten | Impact Low


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