Jack of all Trades

Shimano PD-A530 SPD/Platform Pedals After the First Pedal Strike - Left Side Pedal

I've had new Shimano SPD/Platform pedals on Buddy for the better part of a month now, and some things are starting to emerge about them for anyone considering using them:

• If you are used to using single-sided, clipless pedals, such as the Wellgo magnesium models I have on the road bike, these will work as well as any others for that purpose. They are not optimized for racing, however. Get eggbeaters or some other four-sided pedal with good mud tolerance for cross racing. THESE are pretty tolerably good commute pedals.
• I experienced a pedal strike last week when pedaling through a left turn while using the pedals clipless. You can see where the aluminum was ground away due to the pedal strike at the outer right side of the pedal in the photo (the front outside lower edge when riding clipless). I can't recall the last time I struck a pedal on the ground except when making an instant turn. This is no doubt due to the generous platform area
• I found the platform mode somewhat clunky. This is because I almost invariably ride with either toe clips or with cleats, so a pedal that doesn't simply move where I move my foot is unusual for me. Sometimes, I'd have to encourage the pedal up into the "power position" by nudging it upwards with my toe. Superglue would fix this problem with conventional shoes, but that cure might be worse than the problem. I have not figured out how to use it in platform mode with toe clips and that would no doubt make any tendency to strike the pedal in turns much worse.
• Upon reflection, I cannot recall any time with these new pedals, in EITHER mode, that any of my toes has gone numb. I shall watch for symptoms, as the third toe on my left foot has tended to go numb with clipless pedals, AND with platform pedals. It's been worst with wool socks, but happens even with thin socks. Hmm, might these pedals contain magic?

All in all, I'm quite happy with these Simano SPD PD-A530 pedals so far. They work well with cleated shoes and work acceptably with whatever shoes I've happened to throw on. Unexpectedly, they don't seem to make my left foot go numb. Comparing them with the Ritchie pedals they replace; the double-sided Ritchies weighed 370g per pair. These new pedals, with their added flexibility, weigh 384g per pair. In real terms, that's just under a half ounce weight difference per pair. Actually, come to think of it, that weight difference was BEFORE I ground away part of the left pedal. Now, these puppies probably weigh just the same as the Ritchies and I haven't hit the right side yet. For comparison purposes, my "Costco Court Classic" shoes weigh 62 grams more than my Sidi shoes - WITH cleats.

Buddy Gets Urbanized

One Side of These Pedals are Platform, the Other is SPD. Good for a Longer Clipless Ride but Still Gym Shoe Friendly

Frankenbike is an assemblage of mixed parts from all over the world. However, Frankenbike is also a more obvious manifestation of what seems to happen to ANY bike I use a lot. Buddy mutates and changes just as Frankenbike does, despite being only two years old and considerably more up-market. In two years, Buddy has grown and shed knobby tires, sported various light and reflection accoutrements, grown fenders and busted them and regrown them. Buddy has also completely changed its braking, up to and including switching which lever operates which brake.


Now, Buddy’s gotten a little more urban. My recent experience with ice biking and daily cycling (even on the least torrid days in North Texas) has combined with my strong objection to carrying extra shoes along on a bike trip, like to simply ride my bike to the gym. A clipless approach works well for a transportation cyclist when the ride is long, traction reasonable, and there are appropriate shoes at the destination. On the other hand, platform pedals add flexibility. The reason I don’t like them for longer commutes is platforms are less efficient and don’t give me the security of knowing my feet will remain in the right place relative to pedals.

The solution has proven to be ridiculously simple. It’s shown in the photo at top. The illustrated pedals have SPD cleat retention on one side of the pedal and are a platform style on the other. Mostly these are available in a silver color, but I scored a pair in "high vis" black that fits the black and white and red themes that run throughout Buddy's frame and components. While I might have to do without the toe clips that are installed on Frankenbike and my wife’s bike, these new pedals allow me to ride buddy with shoes I’d otherwise have to carry separately, while retaining the clipless option. For my shorter commute and associated utility tasks, this makes sense. The road bike will retain its single-sided, magnesium SPD pedals. For cross racing, I’ll change back to double sided clipless pedals. If I ever got serious, I think I’d look at something like the “eggbeater” system.

I’ve also made other adaptations associated with the new commute. I’ve acquired some new bags and plan to put them to a thorough test when the weather gets to being warm instead of somewhere between frigid and pleasant. Still, I fear that I’ve gotten carried away for commuting purposes and risk getting into serious shopping territory. Still, in the words of the “Mythbusters” cable show, “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth OVERdoing.”

Buddy With Platform Pedals

Buddy With Double-Sided SPD Pedals and Knobby Tires

PS: Looking this all over, it struck me "YOU GOTTA GET PAST A BICYCLE FRIENDLY AMERICA. WHAT WE REALLY NEED IS A GYM SHOE FRIENDLY BICYCLE!" Hmm, maybe that would not be well received by people without a sense of humor...

Thoughts About Snow Riding Comments

Doesn't Such a Photo Just Make You Want to Stop and Be Thoughtful for a Bit?

A few last nuggets of wisdom to capture points that might otherwise escape.

Big Oak: "Learning to fall is good. Learning to not get into conditions that lead to falls may be better!"
Take Away: Unfortunately, learning and falling go together at first, just as they did when we first learned how to stay upright. Just as when I first learned, I got better as I went along at recognizing the conditions that lead to falls and on staying upright whatever the conditions. If I lived somewhere that offered frequent opportunities for riding in such conditions, I'm pretty sure I could begin to regard them as "routine." Snow biking may not be as glamorous as freeskiing, but you don't have to buy lift tickets!

John Romeo Alpha: "The ideal hand solution for me was ... sniper gloves."
Take Away: I am gradually collecting more and more gloves. One thing I found interesting is that ski gloves worked fine for shifting SRAM road shifters. Mittens not so much. Gloves had more difficulty with Shimano shifting gear because both the lever and the brake lever do different things while with SRAM you just push the lever further and the brake lever keeps to the business of stopping. It's ironic that I bought new half-finger gloves at the Hotter 'N Hell 100 and haven't worn them other than to try them on - in Texas!

Apertome Item 1: "Personally, I generally use platform pedals in the winter (and always when commuting). Not because I don't think clipless offers any advantage (I think it does), but because this way I have a lot of flexibility in my footwear choices. Also, winter clipless shoes are VERY expensive, and I refuse to shell out huge amounts of money for them."
Take Away: I'm looking enviously at clipless pedals that also include a platform attachment. They seem to offer the best of both worlds - clipless when the weather is reasonable, combined with added footwear flexibility for when survival trumps mere efficiency. This winter has been easier than last partly because I've not been as constrained by using the shoes that'd work with my SPD pedals. Both Shimano and Wellgo offer such "convertible" pedal models. For the moment, my old Ritchie clipless pedals are back on Buddy, but I'm looking! I think the platform spd pedals might also help in better weather with the syndrome in which the third toe on my left foot tends to go numb.


Apertome Item 2: "MUPs are almost always worse than roads, in terms of conditions, I've found. They're usually not treated, or even if they are treated, they don't get as much, or as consistent traffic, as the roads."
Take Away: Look at the photo above - those MUPs LOOK so nice, just like a calm body of water, under which alligators await. While I'm skeptical about most MUPs even in the best of conditions, a snowy MUP is a trap for the unwary cyclist...

Apertome Item 3: "I strongly recommend wider tires, your 'cross tires would be great for these kinds of conditions."
Take Away: Since I got new rims for my road bike last summer, I actually have unused 700c rims that I could mount the cross tires on. When it's cruddy out, I'd simply say "Thank God for Quick Releases!" I'm not a fan of multiple tire changes, but my wife would look much more favorably on those extra rims with a set of tires mounted on them. What's more, it'd also encourage me to actually PRACTICE riding in real cross conditions.

Justin: "I will get some knobbies for next year - my MTB has a pretty non aggressive tread, and I was sliding around like crazy. It was fun."
Take Away: I think the last three words pretty much sum things up...