how to waste more time and money
After a relatively short life, my (left) Crank Brothers Quattro pedal kicked the bucket this weekend. I found myself on an un-ridable pedal while on my way to our local bike shop. The shop didn’t have a whole lot in stock, but I opted for a pair of Speedplay Frog pedals. They look a little goofy, and have a LOT of float, but first impressions are pretty good so far.
This brings up a problem with my other pair of Eggbeaters though. I was able to ride both bikes off the same set of cleats previously. Now I’m finding myself looking for a pedal alternative for the (currently fixed) IF bike. I am running platform pedals on it right now, but I feel my foot slip around while spinning downhill. I’ve lots contact with the pedals on a regular downhill bump that I have to hit every day, so I am pretty uncomfortable without foot retention. I kicked around getting toe clips/straps so I can just ride my “regular” shoes. I have very limited experience with them and am afraid that they will make my bike a rolling death trap (especially with the fixed wheel). I am probably overstating the learning curve, but it makes me nervous to drop any money on something that I can’t test out before hand.
Option number two is buying a second set of Frogs. I haven’t put enough miles on the first set to know if I am going to be happy with them. I’d hate to have 2 sets of pedals that I don’t like. This is a viable option if the pedals hold up to my 200k this weekend though.
The third (and possibly most expensive) choice is to buy a new pair of shoes. Sure, I could buy some cheaper shoes… but I am probably too vain to do that. There are a lot of ugly bike shoes out there. Besides, I am sure that I’ll need another pair of SIDI’s some day.
I suppose if this is the worst of my problems right now, I have it pretty good.
Thanks for wasting your time with me.
p.s. Le Tour is getting good. Doping be damned.
July 21st, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Consider powerGrips http://powergrips.mrpbike.com/ . I assume they are still available. Pretty simple, basic, cheap, durable, easy on/off and once you get the hang of them pretty easy getting in and out. You can go this route without a major investment and if you don’t like them, oh well, you’re not out much. I prefer them to clips and straps.
BTW, the Frogs actually provided me a little too much float and I developed knee pain.
Yr Pal Dr C
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:15 am
Yeah, they are something I’ve definitely considered. My other issue is the fact that I don’t have any shoes that I wear on a daily basis that will handle Seattle style weather. It kind of begs for a good pair of cycling shoes.