# First time clipping in, and cannot clip in



## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

For the life of me I tried for 45 minutes with shoes on my feet to clip in and cannot do it. Crank Brothers candy 1 pedals and FiveTen Kestrel shoes. Do I need to add the shims? What am I doing wrong?

Thanks!


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## evasive (Feb 18, 2005)

Apologies for starting with a really obvious question, but do you have the right cleats on your shoes? Crank Brothers pedals don’t use SPD-style cleats.


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## sgltrak (Feb 19, 2005)

I have never used Crank Bros pedals and cleats, but in the past I have had to trim some of the sole material from around the cleat hole on some models of shoes for my SPD setup to function correctly.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

I actually double shimmed my Specialized 2FO Cliplites to work perfectly with my Crankbrothers Mallet E and DH pedals. For you, try adding a single shim for each shoe and see if it works. You can also try attaching the shoe to the pedal without wearing it too. Doing that will let you see how the cleats are engaging into the pedal. 

If you do need to double shim, you may need to order extra shims seeing the pedal kit only comes with a single shim for each shoe.


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## Forest Rider (Oct 29, 2018)

The shop you picked up the shoes and/or pedals from may be able to help if you take your bike and shoes up there. Perhaps it is a common adjustment they can quickly solve.

I don't use clipless, but like mentioned above, I have HEARD that some of the flat pedal style of shoe don't offer enough clearance to the cleat to engage the pedal.


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## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

evasive said:


> Apologies for starting with a really obvious question, but do you have the right cleats on your shoes? Crank Brothers pedals don't use SPD-style cleats.


The cleats came with the pedals.


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## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

Everything came online, lol. No reason it should not work, going to try the shims.


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## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

Battery said:


> I actually double shimmed my Specialized 2FO Cliplites to work perfectly with my Crankbrothers Mallet E and DH pedals. For you, try adding a single shim for each shoe and see if it works. You can also try attaching the shoe to the pedal without wearing it too. Doing that will let you see how the cleats are engaging into the pedal.
> 
> If you do need to double shim, you may need to order extra shims seeing the pedal kit only comes with a single shim for each shoe.


Attaching the shoes to the pedal by hand worked but was very difficult. Guess I will add a shim. Thanks.


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

SpartyinWI said:


> Everything came online, lol. No reason it should not work, going to try the shims.


plenty of reasons. Every shoe I've ever used for clipless has needed either shims or sole trimming or both.


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

SpartyinWI said:


> Attaching the shoes to the pedal by hand worked but was very difficult. Guess I will add a shim. Thanks.


All the Crank Bros I've used need the shims. The only shoe/cleat combo I've used that work perfectly without shims or trimming is the Shimano ME7 with Shimano clipless pedals.


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## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

MSU Alum said:


> All the Crank Bros I've used need the shims. The only shoe/cleat combo I've used that work perfectly without shims or trimming is the Shimano ME7 with Shimano clipless pedals.


Good deal, thanks.


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## sptimmy43 (Jul 27, 2018)

I use the same shoes. As other have said you need shims. Alternatively, give the stainless steel shoe shields a try. They will do the same thing as shims but also give a better feel to clipping in and out and prevent the clip mechanism from wearing out the bottom of your shoe.

I've only been on clips for 2 months. I use the Crank Brothers Mallet E pedals. I found that getting the 10* release cleats was also pretty helpful but that is to aid in getting OUT of the pedals, not in.


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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

This is not likely you're problem, but one issue I've seen many times with those new to clipless is hooking the nose of the cleat in the pedal then dropping the heel trying to get the rear of the cleat to click in. Of course the pedal simply rotates with the foot so this doesn't work. I find it best to hold the foot slightly toe-down and push forward and down on the pedal keeping the toe pointed down. 

I started using clipless in the mid 90s, SPDs mostly, Crank Bro's for year or so, and Look on road bikes. The CB's were OK, but I preferred and went back to SPDs.


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## fredcook (Apr 2, 2009)

I tried CB's once a while back, and had a fit trying to get them to work as smooth as SPD's do right "out of the box" (Shimano brand pedals and cleats). It's not impossible to get CB's working, and they work they well once adjusted. But I went back to SPD. Just one less thing to worry about and fiddle with, and I personally like they way SPD's feel and work over CB's.


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## DethWshBkr (Nov 25, 2010)

Interesting. I wonder if the cleats are installed correctly?

I have never needed to shim/trim any shoe/pedal I've had. But, I've only ever run M747, M8000, M8020, and Candy pedals, on dedicated clipless shoes. (Not flats compatible)

If the cleat is installed backwards, they won't work.


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## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

sptimmy43 said:


> I use the same shoes. As other have said you need shims. Alternatively, give the stainless steel shoe shields a try. They will do the same thing as shims but also give a better feel to clipping in and out and prevent the clip mechanism from wearing out the bottom of your shoe.
> 
> I've only been on clips for 2 months. I use the Crank Brothers Mallet E pedals. I found that getting the 10* release cleats was also pretty helpful but that is to aid in getting OUT of the pedals, not in.


Thanks man.


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## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

Now I am frustrated, still cannot clip in even with shims. Something I am not getting. 

Any reco's for easy-to-clip in pedals under $100?


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## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

https://www.adidasoutdoor.com/five-ten-kestrel-pro-boa-mens-mountain-bike-shoe/BTL93.html

These are my shoes.


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

SpartyinWI said:


> Any reco's for easy-to-clip in pedals under $100?


Shimano spd's, 520's are under $50 and last forever.


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## mrallen (Oct 11, 2017)

SpartyinWI said:


> Now I am frustrated, still cannot clip in even with shims. Something I am not getting.
> 
> Any reco's for easy-to-clip in pedals under $100?


Please don't take this the wrong way, but I would hate to see you spend more money that is wasted. That shoe and pedal combo work, so you must be doing something wrong.

Even though you didn't buy the shoes from a local shop, I would take the whole setup to one and see what they say. My LBS would try to help you regardless.


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## KingOfOrd (Feb 19, 2005)

A picture is worth a thousand words... is that how the saying goes?


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## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

mrallen said:


> Please don't take this the wrong way, but I would hate to see you spend more money that is wasted. That shoe and pedal combo work, so you must be doing something wrong.
> 
> Even though you didn't buy the shoes from a local shop, I would take the whole setup to one and see what they say. My LBS would try to help you regardless.


I know, I don't get it. There is only one way to set these up, shims are in. Cleats are squared off. They are almost even with the plane of the shoe bottom. I can clip in by hand but still a lot of fiddling. The SPD cleats just look easier.


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## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

J.B. Weld said:


> Shimano spd's, 520's are under $50 and last forever.


Thanks.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Hard to say dude. I used double shims and it works perfect for my shoes. It might be the same for you. Definitely take it to a bike shop and let them see what they can do. They might have some shims to help you out. Plus the cleats do take time to break in. Does it feel too tight to clip in or is it just difficult to clip out? 

You can try SPD cleats and pedals to see what happens. If you still have difficulties, then it may be the shoes (and you will need to double shim).


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## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

Battery said:


> Hard to say dude. I used double shims and it works perfect for my shoes. It might be the same for you. Definitely take it to a bike shop and let them see what they can do. They might have some shims to help you out. Plus the cleats do take time to break in. Does it feel too tight to clip in or is it just difficult to clip out?
> 
> You can try SPD cleats and pedals to see what happens. If you still have difficulties, then it may be the shoes (and you will need to double shim).


When I take the shoe off I can clip in by hand with a fair amount of pressure. But with the design of the pedal there is a lot of fiddling around even by hand. With the shims, the cleat protrudes almost to the plane of the shoe rubber.

I guess one question is - how far should the cleat protrude outward?


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

SpartyinWI said:


> When I take the shoe off I can clip in by hand with a fair amount of pressure. But with the design of the pedal there is a lot of fiddling around even by hand. With the shims, the cleat protrudes almost to the plane of the shoe rubber.
> 
> I guess one question is - how far should the cleat protrude outward?


Can you share some photos of the shoe clipped on to the pedal and a photo of it not clipped in? When I double shimmed mine, you can hear me do the "cleat walk" which means they were sticking out just enough to hear the cleats contact the concrete in my garage. Hearing the cleat touch the ground isn't an indicator that's installed properly. It just means it protrudes out enough to be clipped in.

Share a couple of photos. I will take a couple shots of mine with double shims and show you what it looks like. Worldwide Cyclery did a big Crankbrothers cleat and pedal video where they talked about shims. They said you may need to double shim the shoe if necessary.


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## Forest Rider (Oct 29, 2018)

Is there an obstruction on the bottom of the shoe that may be interfering with the cleat?


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Here's some photos of my double shimmed cleats. There is a noticeable cutout that the cleat sits into and my pedal clip fits inside of it. The problem is that the cleat sits too far inside the cutout which makes it hard to clip in. Double shims raises it up just enough to clip in. I did have to change the traction pads out so you may need to do the same on your candy pedals.










Here is a flat shot of my cleats. Double shimming raises them just barely above the cutout which makes engagement much easier.










Last, here are some shots with the shoes attached. If it's incredibly difficult to press the shoe on to the pedal, then you most likely need a 2nd shim.



















Sent from my snail mail via Tapatalk.


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## mrallen (Oct 11, 2017)

Battery said:


> Here's some photos of my double shimmed cleats. There is a noticeable cutout that the cleat sits into and my pedal clip fits inside of it. The problem is that the cleat sits too far inside the cutout which makes it hard to clip in. Double shims raises it up just enough to clip in. I did have to change the traction pads out so you may need to do the same on your candy pedals.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


So having the cleat stick out a bit isn't an issue. Try another shim and also maybe try swapping out the plastic friction pads like Battery suggested. They make the different sizes to account for the different depth of various shoes.

One thing I notice that helps clip with CB pedals is to slide your shoe forward over the mechanism. Once you have the cleat sticking out far enough you should be good to go.


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## Forest Rider (Oct 29, 2018)

Is the opening the same on the 510's as the Specialized?
Maybe OP will need additional shims if the 510 has a deeper recess too.


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## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

Battery said:


> Can you share some photos of the shoe clipped on to the pedal and a photo of it not clipped in? When I double shimmed mine, you can hear me do the "cleat walk" which means they were sticking out just enough to hear the cleats contact the concrete in my garage. Hearing the cleat touch the ground isn't an indicator that's installed properly. It just means it protrudes out enough to be clipped in.
> 
> Share a couple of photos. I will take a couple shots of mine with double shims and show you what it looks like. Worldwide Cyclery did a big Crankbrothers cleat and pedal video where they talked about shims. They said you may need to double shim the shoe if necessary.


I am having trouble at the moment downloading photos from my Samsung to my MAC.

Anyways, the pedals only came with 2 shims so I would have to purchase 2 more. Maybe that is it. I am yet to have the cleat walk. Maybe I will try the 2 shims I have on one shoe and see how it goes. Thanks.


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## KingOfOrd (Feb 19, 2005)

Could probably make some shims out of an old fender or other plastic with similar thickness.


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## Lone Rager (Dec 13, 2013)

See post #13?


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

SpartyinWI said:


> I guess one question is - how far should the cleat protrude outward?


I wouldn't say there's a rule, but I can walk on my wood floors.....carefully!....without my wife yelling at me for scratching them.


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## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

Lone Rager said:


> See post #13?


I ordered some SPD SLX pedals. $55.


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## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

MSU Alum said:


> I wouldn't say there's a rule, but I can walk on my wood floors.....carefully!....without my wife yelling at me for scratching them.


Thanks. I have wood floors as well lol.


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## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

FYI - First time it took me about 15 seconds to clip in with SPD pedals. So much easier than crank brothers. Then I promptly fell down in my back yard.


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## MX9799 (Feb 11, 2018)

SpartyinWI said:


> FYI - First time it took me about 15 seconds to clip in with SPD pedals. So much easier than crank brothers. Then I promptly fell down in my back yard.


It happens. Glad you got your problem worked out. Way back when I was just learning clipless pedals, I was so worried about falling over from not being able to get my feet unclipped that it would literally be on my mind the entire time I was riding. Any time I would stop riding, I would purposely unclip before I came to a complete stop so I wouldn't look like a rookie falling over. To my surprise, it all came natural pretty quick, and before I knew it I was unclipping without problems without even thinking about it. Have fun learning the new pedals. I can say without a doubt that back in the day, clipless pedals took my riding to a whole new level.


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## Forest Rider (Oct 29, 2018)

Get between the door jambs in your house and practice. It's easy to hold yourself up that way and you can repeadetly go through the motions with both feet.

I'm more natural unclipping from left. I only have clipless on the road bike, but I always unclip left first when approaching a stop.

If it is super natural to you, you can just ride in a familiar easy environment and practice throughout the ride, instead of practicing stationary.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

SpartyinWI said:


> FYI - First time it took me about 15 seconds to clip in with SPD pedals. So much easier than crank brothers. Then I promptly fell down in my back yard.


I run SPDs on my road bike. All you need to do is just run out the mechanism to where your foot can slip in and out easily. From there, start slowly tensioning the pedal until you find a comfortable spot to clip in and out. When I use my SPD pedals, I leave mine insanely loose.

Funny thing about this thread...I just got a set of FiveTen Hellcats for $70 direct from Adidas. I could not unclip the shoes from my CrankBrothers pedals because the stealth rubber was grabbing the pins so well. I had to drive my pins down super low and work my shoe side to side on the pedal to create my grooves for about 10 minutes. They work perfectly now


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## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

Battery said:


> I run SPDs on my road bike. All you need to do is just run out the mechanism to where your foot can slip in and out easily. From there, start slowly tensioning the pedal until you find a comfortable spot to clip in and out. When I use my SPD pedals, I leave mine insanely loose.
> 
> Funny thing about this thread...I just got a set of FiveTen Hellcats for $70 direct from Adidas. I could not unclip the shoes from my CrankBrothers pedals because the stealth rubber was grabbing the pins so well. I had to drive my pins down super low and work my shoe side to side on the pedal to create my grooves for about 10 minutes. They work perfectly now


Yeah this was my first time. Fell down because I stopped before I unclipped. This is for my gravel bike. No way do I feel ready to clip in on my Mountain bike.


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## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

Forest Rider said:


> Get between the door jambs in your house and practice. It's easy to hold yourself up that way and you can repeadetly go through the motions with both feet.
> 
> I'm more natural unclipping from left. I only have clipless on the road bike, but I always unclip left first when approaching a stop.
> 
> If it is super natural to you, you can just ride in a familiar easy environment and practice throughout the ride, instead of practicing stationary.


Will try that out. Thanks.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

SpartyinWI said:


> Yeah this was my first time. Fell down because I stopped before I unclipped. This is for my gravel bike. No way do I feel ready to clip in on my Mountain bike.


I still do the "clipless crash" every now and then. A few weeks ago, I tried to do a low speed 90-degree gravel skid in front of my friends. I had just a touch too much momentum and I toppled over with 1 foot clipped in. Like great friends, they laughed really hard at me and told that's why they will never ride clipless pedals. I wish I had it on camera. I was recording that day but it wasn't running at that time.

You will get used to clipless in no time! I'm glad to see you found a set that works for you.


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## SpartyinWI (Jun 24, 2016)

Battery said:


> I still do the "clipless crash" every now and then. A few weeks ago, I tried to do a low speed 90-degree gravel skid in front of my friends. I had just a touch too much momentum and I toppled over with 1 foot clipped in. Like great friends, they laughed really hard at me and told that's why they will never ride clipless pedals. I wish I had it on camera. I was recording that day but it wasn't running at that time.
> 
> You will get used to clipless in no time! I'm glad to see you found a set that works for you.


Thanks.


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## plummet (Jul 8, 2005)

To me the issue is completely and utterly obvious. I don't know why there is 44 posts fluffing around

The platform section of the pedal is hitting the rubber of the shoe. Get out as grinder and grind the shoe until there is a small gap between shoe and pedal when clipped in. This will stop the shoe binding on the pedal.


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## AndrewMV (Aug 23, 2020)

SpartyinWI said:


> Attaching the shoes to the pedal by hand worked but was very difficult. Guess I will add a shim. Thanks.


Pardon me for digging in this topic year later. I really guess that the fact of manual clipping problems is defining in this topic.

Just bought Candy 2 - these are my first clipping stuff ever.

So I experienced the same you did: cant clip in - doing this in standing position works out only with holding both front and rear brakes - you catch the front of the clip cage on pedal with spike on a shoe, then push feet down to press rear spike on a shoe to a cage, but pushing has to be tooooo hard to be successful.

and doing it by hand is almost impossible but as you mention it is possible with some fiddling, yes.

So I discovered, that if you're able to clip in with hand even through titanic effort, the numbers of shims utilized is not solving the problem for sure.
Through some time the spring, holding moving parts of clipping cage together, is going loose, so clipping itself is going to be more possible even with hand.

But its still crap, because you have to wear the spring out mechanically, through many attempts of clipping in, or, like me - manually, stretching spring with two thick screwdrivers stucked in clipping cage. 
And still - the spring tension is too high, but it seems like clipping in is more possible with hand and hence when you're in saddle doing it by feet. But still totally uncomfortable to get in quick.
Maybe its factory screw up with certain ones, but still frustrating. You even can't change tension of this spring.

So, I'm moving to shimano, like you))


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## AndrewMV (Aug 23, 2020)

SpartyinWI said:


> Attaching the shoes to the pedal by hand worked but was very difficult. Guess I will add a shim. Thanks.


Pardon me for digging in this topic year later. I really guess that the fact of manual clipping problems is defining in this topic.

Just bought Candy 2 - these are my first clipping stuff ever.

So I experienced the same you did: cant clip in - doing this in standing position works out only with holding both front and rear brakes - you catch the front of the clip cage on pedal with spike on a shoe, then push feet down to press rear spike on a shoe to a cage, but pushing has to be tooooo hard to be successful.

and doing it by hand is almost impossible but as you mention it is possible with some fiddling, yes.

So I discovered, that if you're able to clip in with hand even through titanic effort, the numbers of shims utilized is not solving the problem for sure.
Through some time the spring, holding moving parts of clipping cage together, is going loose, so clipping itself is going to be more possible even with hand.

But its still crap, because you have to wear the spring out mechanically, through many attempts of clipping in, or, like me - manually, stretching spring with two thick screwdrivers stucked in clipping cage. 
And still - the spring tension is too high, but it seems like clipping in is more possible with hand and hence when you're in saddle doing it by feet. But still totally uncomfortable to get in quickly...
Maybe its factory screw up with certain ones, but still very frustrating. You even can't change tension of this spring.

So, I'm moving to shimano, like you))


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## DeadGrandpa (Aug 17, 2016)

There is a tension adjustment for the pedal to accept the clip thingy and snap closed. See instructions.


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## AndrewMV (Aug 23, 2020)

DeadGrandpa said:


> There is a tension adjustment for the pedal to accept the clip thingy and snap closed. See instructions.


Unfortunately, there is not - the tension is fixed, and you have no means to change it except as I mentioned wearing it out to get spring more flexible but it is pain in known place.
not sure for entire model row for candy, but on first three series entities spring has no any tweakers.

I got Wellgo W01 yesterday - im able to clip in even on hardest spring setting. (This model comes with tension changing screws).
And today I also brought back Candy 2 to a shop I bought it from - local consultants agreed that there is something overtighten: it could be spring itself or pedal axis. I just filled form for product quality check, and will wait for investigation final results. Hope to get my money back or some valuable replacement.


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