General: Riding issues with clipless pedals...

I just made the change over from riding platforms w/ cages on my fixed gear, to riding clipless. I started out with a pair of Crank Brothers Eggbeater pedals and Bontranger Street shoes.

I'm having a few iffy feelings about staying with this combination, because I'm unsure if what I'm feeling when riding is normal for clipless. First off, I'm used to having my foot tucked and tighten securely into a cage with double straps, so on first ride with the clipless, I was very bother by the "float" of the pedals, or how your foot and dance all around from side to side. I found this rather bothersome. Is this normal for all clipless pedals to have this wiggle and jiggle, and it's just something you get used too?

Second, when standing up to pedal and sprint, I feel like my feet are dancing around on two little jiggling ice cubes. The soles of these shoes are super stiff, but I guess the best to way to describe the feeling is that I'm dancing around on little ice cubes, compared to a big platform pedal that I can really mash down on. Is this just a characterists of Eggbeater pedals, or do all clipless have this feeling? I checked out the "Candy" pedals, which have the eggbeater and small platform, but when clipped in, the platform does not even touch the shoe.

Anyway, getting in and out of the pedals is super simple and that's not a problem. I don't see why people are so afraid of falling over because their foot won't come out.

I just wanted to get some peoples input if what I'm feeling is normal and I need to get used to it, or maybe they have better recommendations. Thanks!

Its called float. Some pedals have more than others. Eggbeaters are more floaty than most. They are used for mtbing more than anything so having a little play is part of their appeal for many people. Depending on which shoe you put the cleats on you can adjust the float a few degrees (the cleats are switchable between shoes and this adjust the float). Some pedals have adjustable float. Speedplays have adjustable float from something like 0-25 degrees.

Float can be good. If you didnt have it, it would be easier to unclip which can be a problem when you are first starting out. If it really bothers you I'd suggest speedplays.

I'm currently riding the Crank Bros. eggbeater's and yeah, there is a pretty good amount of float in them. The SPD insert to the shoe can be put on two different ways, one way gives you more movement and the other way less. Check which way you put them on your shoe, maybe you'll like them better swapped.

My only beef with the eggbeater's is that they sometimes squeak, and that can be annoying. Good luck.

Posted By: Aaron Cif you are going to run eggbeaters they work best with mtn bike shoes where the cleat is recessed inside a heavy tread. eggbeaters are always kind of squirly so i dont think i would run them with flat soled shoes where the only contact point is at the cleat.

Yes and no. I ride Crank Brothers exclusively on my clipless bikes: Candys on mountainish rigs, and Quattros on straight road bikes. For me, the CB pedals have been great, because I can get in/out of them and feel confident about doing so, which I could never pick up with SPD (I haven't tried SPD-SL or Look). The Quattros have a platform as big as Look or SPD-SL pedals.

CB uses the same cleats on both mountain and road pedals, so I can ride my road bike with either my SIDI road shoes (with the Quattro adapter on the standard clamp) or my SIDI/Shimano mountain shoes. The Quattro cleats are the standard Eggbeater cleat + a plastic adapter, which provides a wider platform to engage the pedal. The upside of the adapter is that it stabilizes the foot considerably; the downside of the adapter is that it turns Eggbeater-equipped road shoes into the same clicky-soled, duckwalking road shoes that everyone else wears. But that's life. There's a different Quattro adapter that uses brakepad-like pontoons to hold the shoe in position, similar to some SPD adapters.

One detail of the Eggbeater system is that the left and right cleats are slightly different: You get different amounts of float, depending on which cleat is mounted on which shoe. If you feel you're getting too much/too little float, try swapping the left and right cleats onto the alternate shoes.

Any pedal system takes some adjustment. Since you already own the Eggbeaters, I'd try getting the full Quattro mounting kit, mount the adapters between the cleat and your sole, and ride with them for a while; they may grow on you.

Posted By: oldmutharileyi'm having the opposite problem - i ride look keo classics with sidi carbon road shoes - theyre brilliant with a bit of float - i feel like i can really get the optimum power out of the bike with this combination - i've never tried egg beaters but there's not a lot of "pedal" under your foot so they probably don't feel that solid.

my problems is on my fixed bob jackson i've got some pedals/straps/clips and i find trying to get my foot in is a complete pain in the a**e - how are you supposed to do up the strap when youre pedalling a fixed gear??

Every pedal system, as you know, takes getting the hang of and then it's always cake. As far as getting into a traditional cage / strap pedal it's just a matter of getting the fluid "flip pedal/slide foot in" motion down. Best way to adjust your straps is to just get the them snug enough to hug your feet and prevent unwanted movement but not so snug that you have trouble sliding your foot out. Once you've got the straps tightened properly you just leave em that way. With enough frustrating "get-the-fuck-in-there!" moments you'll find it easier and easier to just slip your foot in and be on your way.

Posted By: oldmutharileyi'm having the opposite problem - i ride look keo classics with sidi carbon road shoes

i have keos as well as eggbeaters. i love the keos, feel great and a super solid. that being said they suck on the street on a tack bike. doesn't help that i have the tension dialed all the way up but they are a bitch can be irritating to clip into on a track bike on the street. i pretty much reserve them for the track.

eggbeater are by far my favorite clipless system for all weather commuting.

Keos work just fine--if you don't plan on doing alot of clipping and unclipping (one sided pedals are kinda inconvenient on a fixed gear) or walking around off the bike

they are what you make it. people make a huge deal about carrying another pair of shoes with you in your bag... when it's not that big of a deal at all. my tools that i carry on the day-to-day are heavier than my extra pair of shoes.

greg should add a category to the member profile page: Preferred Cleated Pedal Brand...

Regarding the Big Float, I've heard a lot of favorable comments about Speedplay, but the cleats have a big duckwalk factor. I've never seen Bebops face-to-face, and I'm normally very twitchy about using parts I can't easily replace (says the guy with the Sachs/Huret derailleur and the Berthet-Lyotard pedals). Crank Brothers have worked well for me, and the fact that I can use the same cleats with all pedals (and rebuild the pedals themselves) is a real plus.

Gotta stock up on Quattro rebuild kits and cleat adapters, though. And I should probably ferret out another couple sets of pedals.

What's hard to replace about Bebops? The only moving parts are the replaceable bearings and two springs in each cleat.

I think they're pretty cool, m'self.

Speedplays have a lot of float in terms of rotating your heel/toe horizontally but none in terms of rolling your ankle vertically.

What pedals do that? I'm very curious now! (I assume you mean they can roll the one remaining dimension?)

Posted By: Joshua A.C. NewmanWhat's hard to replace about Bebops? The only moving parts are the replaceable bearings and two springs in each cleat.

I think they're pretty cool, m'self.

Speedplays have a lot of float in terms of rotating your heel/toe horizontally but none in terms of rolling your ankle vertically.

What pedals do that? I'm very curious now! (I assume you mean they can roll the one remaining dimension?)

Egg beaters do once your cleats are worn out like mine.

Huh. Mine only did that when I had the cleats in the wrong place.

Mancha, there are a couple of "systems" and the names are absurd.

There are regular pedals. You know, chunk of stuff with a spindle in the middle that you step on. They're often called "platforms" because that's what they are, in the vernacular.

There are "platform" pedals, which are an older style of track pedal. They have a cage in the front which is pretty necessary. They're almost all one-sided, and without the cage, they flip upside down. A lot of times, they're sort of pointed in the front for some reason. Maybe someone can explain to me what the deal is with that.

There are "clipless" pedals which, naturally, are the ones that have clips that click into cleats. That's because the toe "cages" or "traps" go over your toes are often called "toe clips" even though they don't clip into anything.

Don't confuse those "traps" with "bear trap" pedals, which are a kind of regular pedal, often called a "platform", but not the track kind.

Please don't kill the messenger.

Anyway:

Clipless: the ones with cleats that look more like a machine interface than a human one.

Track: requires toe clips.

Plain ol' pedals: Like BMXers use so they can get on and off them in a hurry.

Questions are awesome. No apology necessary.

And yes, you're correct.