Run Run Away

Question:

Thanks to everyone for your comments so far. I now know that I need to do some more shopping, which is the "excuse" I need to make the trip down to Nytro or up to TriZombies. New question: If you get speedplays, do you need to have them adjusted in a bike shop, the way I needed help getting my Look clips set up? Or can you just put them on the crank and ride? Brian Sullivan

Response:

Brian: New question: If you get speedplays, do you need to have them adjusted in a bike shop, the way I needed help getting my Look clips set up? Or can you just put them on the crank and ride?

The biggest benefit to using SpeedPlays is that there is a minimum amount of adjusting required.  You really can just "put them on the crank and ride," and by spinning on a trainer for a few minutes you can easily determine the proper positioning. The front/back, side/side positioning of the cleat that is optimal will put the ball of your foot over the spindle when the crank arms are at 3:00/9:00.  The side/side position should be adjusted such that your foot is as close to the crank arm as possible, provided the shoe doesn’t rub against the crank arm or that you can’t clang your ankle on it (no kidding!). The downfall to SpeedPlays — which is why I switched back to Time cleats — is that the pedal surface area is smaller, and when subject to a large force the spindles froze over time and the bottom of my foot hurt after long rides. As for shoes, the best pair I’ve ever owned — it’s not even close — were built by Don Lamson of Rifle, CO.  I just traced the bottom of my foot and mailed it to him, and told him which type of pedals I was using, and the shoes were delivered in 6-8 weeks.  Not as expensive as you might think, either; I paid about as much as I did for my Carnacs and Time Equipe Pros.  You can probably get his contact info from Inside Triathlon, since he used to advertise there. HTH- Mike

Response:

I use speedplays and two strap Shimano shoes. I was advised against one strap Carnacs for the IM as they "don’t give as much support to the top of your foot" and then the salesman pointed to both Z