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Gwero
Strange
Registered: 08/26/08
Posts: 146
Loc: México
Last seen: 4 hours, 26 minutes
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Quote:
oh, I didn't realize that I'd need special shoes for clipped pedals.
"Toe clips" are the basket style pedals with a stap to tighten them down. Regular shoes work with theses, although a stiff sole is better. "Clipless" pedals are the snap-in kind used with special shoes that have cleats. Both help with pedal efficiency.
You can buy shoes for clipless pedals that look and walk like regular tennies. I like shimano pedals, they start at about $50. Wellgo is a cheaper brand starting at about $30 at pricepoint.com. Rei has good deals, too. And, you should try shoes on before buying(duh).
Gwerito
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youbreakyoubuy
Monkey Mouth
Registered: 10/16/05
Posts: 2,632
Last seen: 13 years, 10 months
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Re: Biking [Re: Gwero]
#11553817 - 11/30/09 08:25 AM (14 years, 3 months ago) |
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Are the shimano pedals clipless or do they have the baskets?
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Wasteland
Elektromeister!
Registered: 07/26/06
Posts: 4,776
Loc: A pathetic small town in ...
Last seen: 3 years, 4 months
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Would it be possible to a rig a bike to be able to climb snowbanks?
-------------------- The Mad Shroomer said: People are always promising the apocalypse. They never deliver.
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youbreakyoubuy
Monkey Mouth
Registered: 10/16/05
Posts: 2,632
Last seen: 13 years, 10 months
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Ok. Googled that. Answer found.
But....from Chainreactionbicycles.com
Quote:
For non-recessed (cycling-only) designs, very high quality pedals start around $80 for a basic LOOK pedal, to $125-$250 for the newer, lighter Shimano SL and Speedplays. All represent excellent choices and offer what's known as a "floating" cleat. This type of cleat is one of the most wonderful things to come along to cycling in years; it allows your foot and knee to determine their own alignment on the pedal, which is extraordinarily important in reducing knee stress and pain. Prior to these designs, an improperly-set cleat could actually cause serious knee injury!
That's scary! Do you still have to worry about this? What's this floating thing that this mentions? I don't think I understand it.
What about the shoes? What's the difference between recessed and non-recessed clipless pedals?
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PDU
travel kid vs.amerika
Registered: 12/03/02
Posts: 10,675
Loc: beautiful BC
Last seen: 8 years, 6 months
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You might want to start with baskets, if your not riding alot or super confident on a bike.
To clear up the confusion about clipless though:
non recessed pedals would be for pro road cyclists ie. You couldn't walk in them at all because there would be a metal cleat sticking out further than the rest of your shoe and the shoe would have no grip.
Most cycling shoes would be non recessed. I am partial to Lake brand cycling shoes, but shimano are fine too. I strongly dislike skate style or casual style cycling shoes and prefer stiff racing type shoes....
You likely wouldn't know the difference, so don't worry about it. Just go with a style that seems like it'll work for the type of riding your doing. Ie: get shoes that are comfortable to walk in, if your going to be hanging out, or shopping wearing your bike shoes.
The key phrase in the bit about knee injury is:
Quote:
Prior to these designs, an improperly-set cleat could actually cause serious knee injury!
Clipless pedals pretty much adjust themselves and keep your knee in optimal position. The float they mention, means that your feet is not locked in static, it has play and you can move it slightly from side to side without clipping out. The only adjustment is tension which is one bolt which adjusts the ease of the spring when clipping in or out.
And for the record - All adult bikes have 26" wheels or 700CC for road bikes, or maybe 27" on old 10 speeds.
24" wheels are for small people, or young teenagers or maybe small women.
Your efficiency as a cyclist improves greatly when riding 26" and even more so now that they have made 29" wheels for tall people....
The bigger the wheels, the easier it is to pedal, within reason.
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otherwhitemeat
Registered: 10/25/06
Posts: 877
Loc: Florida
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Re: Biking [Re: PDU]
#11573399 - 12/02/09 10:06 PM (14 years, 3 months ago) |
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hi youbreak. before you go off and replace your pedals, and maybe your shoes, please read http://kentsbike.blogspot.com/2007/01/cycling-with-platform-pedals-and.html
if your handlebars are 4"-6" below your saddle when adjusted properly as Gwero prescribes, chances are the frame is too small unless you aim to cruise above 20mph regularly and need to stay low and out of the wind. you have to be strong to do that no matter how you slice it, and on your $25 bike you bought for getting around town, i suggest that you concentrate on lower hanging fruit like being comfortable: raise the bars. with your too-small frame this may require purchasing a taller stem and/or handlebars with rise and sweep. this will be money better spent than on clipless pedals/shoes in my opinion. ideally there will be at least a gentle bend in your elbows when your hands are resting on the grips.
a crude rule is that if you feel pain in the front of your knee, move the saddle further rearward and/or higher. if you feel it in back, the opposite. moving the saddle rearward will also take weight off your hands in case you're feeling too much pressure there, or experiencing neck or shoulder pain from maintaining what feels like a push-up.
lose the knobby tires, yes. slick-ish tires are best for pavement. fat ones are comfier, and in spite of popular belief, don't necessarily have higher rolling resistance than skinny ones, though they may accelerate a little slower since they're heavier. really good efficient tires that don't flat too often tend to be expensive. schwalbe big apples are a favorite - can be ~$40 each. if you want to optimize, pump them up until they sag to 85% of their unweighted height when all your weight is on the bike.
chances are good that, if you last a couple weeks and decide that you like this activity, or could, you'll save money in the end buying a bike that suits you better as is than undertaking to modify the Pacific extensively. no matter how expensive, any bike you ride often instead of driving is a great value, while no matter how cheap, any you don't is a waste.
i'm 43, have ridden about 5,000 miles a year for 18 of the last 25 years, have never owned a motor vehicle even as a parent/homeowner, and i own a bike shop.
Edited by otherwhitemeat (12/03/09 11:49 AM)
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youbreakyoubuy
Monkey Mouth
Registered: 10/16/05
Posts: 2,632
Last seen: 13 years, 10 months
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Well guys, just got out of the hospital after 5 days and 4 nights of laying up in the ICU.
Thursday morning I was late to work so I grabbed a granola bar on my way. I then wrecked going from the sidewalk, over the curb, and into the street. Because I was eating the granola bar, I had only one hand on the handlebars and lost control. My abdomen went into my handlebars very heavily. I lacerated my spleen and liver. My liver was especially damaged, but the reason I was hospitalized so long was because of my spleen. The docs were talking about taking it out all weekend. There was a lot of observing going on until I was cleared to leave.
So....I think I'm gonna steer clear of the clips for a bit guys. I'm gonna hone up on my my road skills a bit more before I even worry about clips. I'll be back on my bike as soon as possible, of course, but I wasn't even wearing a helmet. I was lucky I didn't crack my skull or anything like that.
Thanks for all the encouragement and advice guys, I'll get back to biking sooner or later.
PDU/otherwhitemeat---guys! You're awesome! As soon as I get back on my feet, I'll say some more about you guys' advice. I've only glazed over it, and I don't really have the energy to look into it too indepth right now. I'm still pretty light headed from these last few days.
-------------------- Let that which doesn't matter truly not matter.
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Gr8fulJ420
strange but nota stranger
Registered: 02/17/01
Posts: 2,778
Loc: 0 moco
Last seen: 1 year, 4 months
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may you make a speedy recovery brother. I am very glad that you are okay and still here, sounds like a horrible accident. Rest, eat healthy, and stay well hydrated!!!! :-)
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PDU
travel kid vs.amerika
Registered: 12/03/02
Posts: 10,675
Loc: beautiful BC
Last seen: 8 years, 6 months
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Oh no, falling off on the road/in traffic is the worst. Sounds pretty bad - the handlebar in the gut can really mess some people up, you are fortunate.
Glad you're alright, hope you have a easy and speedy recovery.
-------------------- GO OUTSIDE.
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youbreakyoubuy
Monkey Mouth
Registered: 10/16/05
Posts: 2,632
Last seen: 13 years, 10 months
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Re: Biking [Re: PDU]
#11633070 - 12/11/09 09:30 PM (14 years, 3 months ago) |
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Thanks Gr8fulJ420 and PDU!
I'm mostly recovered now. I don't have my bike with me during xmas break, but I'll be getting a helmet and a bike rack for xmas! () Can't wait to get back to school to ride again! And now I'll be able to take my bike out to some trails!
I want to make sure that I'm maintaining my bike correctly. Does anybody have a good link regarding maintenance? Or can anybody describe a proper maintenance schedule?
Also, how hard is it to fiddle with my gears? Currently my bike doesn't efficiently change from the 2 big gear down to the 1st very readily. I have to push the chain with my heel while I'm riding, which I'm sure isn't good for the chain or my survival. Any ideas? Do I just choke back the wire that goes down to the gear-changer-thingamabob or what?
Oh, and what sort of kit would I need to switch tires out from knobby to slicks? Just that tool you guys mentioned above?
-------------------- Let that which doesn't matter truly not matter.
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PDU
travel kid vs.amerika
Registered: 12/03/02
Posts: 10,675
Loc: beautiful BC
Last seen: 8 years, 6 months
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If you get slicks, i wouldn't recommend riding on mountain trails. But yeah, you can change your tires easily with 2 or 3 tire levers and you might need a wrench to take your wheels off the bike, if you don't have quick releases.
Fiddling with gears is an art and not one i am completely competent at - there are adjustment screws on both your deraileurs which align the deraileur with the chainrings, for me its trial and error. Here's a link with details: http://www.ehow.com/how_233_adjust-bike-gears.html
For maintanence, you shouldn't have to do too much beside lube your chain with bicycle specific chain lube every 50kms or so (every couple days if your riding alot.)
You might want to go over and lube all your cables, and clean your rims every once in awhile and adjust the breaks as the pads wear, plus keep your tires at the right pressure.
Bike's keep working forever usually, if they were set up right in the first place and not fucked with too much.
You will find a good t-handle allen key set to be invaluable, and a folding bike tool too. The toppeak Alien 2 has 31 tools in one folding tool and is highly recommended.
-------------------- GO OUTSIDE.
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youbreakyoubuy
Monkey Mouth
Registered: 10/16/05
Posts: 2,632
Last seen: 13 years, 10 months
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Re: Biking [Re: PDU]
#11633215 - 12/11/09 10:03 PM (14 years, 3 months ago) |
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Cool. I'm hopping to fix a clinking noise that always seems to be present. That procedure done by that link seems pretty easy to go through. How do you elevate your bike when you're working on it? I've just been flipping it upside down, but this protocol calls for suspending it from a repair stand or strapping it to some bungees. To be honest, I think I'm just over analyzing this.
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youbreakyoubuy
Monkey Mouth
Registered: 10/16/05
Posts: 2,632
Last seen: 13 years, 10 months
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Hey guys, back on my bike now.
I just wanted to say thanks for helping me out. I know you guys could have just told me to google it or whatever, and I appreciate you taking the time to help a guy out.
Just fiddled with my gears, and now I'm gonna head out doors for a night ride. :tumbup:
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Gr8fulJ420
strange but nota stranger
Registered: 02/17/01
Posts: 2,778
Loc: 0 moco
Last seen: 1 year, 4 months
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Happy cruisin dude!!! May the weather your way be conducive to safe riding! :-)
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