# Clipping into look-style pedals - help!



## gero (Apr 5, 2006)

Hi,

Just bought my first road bike. Got some Shimano look-style pedals and cleats for my new bike shoes.

I've installed the pedals on the bike and turned the tension screw on the pedals to the loosest possible setting. But I can't seem to click into the pedals no matter what I do. I must be doing something wrong - it LOOKS like I should be able to put the front of the cleat into the front of the pedal and then just press down with my heel - but even with all 175lbs of me bouncing on the pedal I can't get it to click in!

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!


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## Bianchiguy (Sep 8, 2005)

I use the Shimanos' also. They come set for the least resistance so make sure you didn't actually increase tension.


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## gero (Apr 5, 2006)

Bianchiguy said:


> I use the Shimanos' also. They come set for the least resistance so make sure you didn't actually increase tension.


They're definitely at the loosest setting. I can get them in using the shoe in my hands and holding the pedal. Is there some sort of technique required other than pressing straight down? I tried riding down the street and had 100% of my weight on the pedal and it went nowhere - just stayed un-clipped.

I actually got one of them clipped in while I was in my living room - but wasn't able to reproduce it on the road.


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## gero (Apr 5, 2006)

It seems like the problem is that I can't get any pressure on my heel to get the spring to open up. This seems obvious because when I press down with my heel the pedal just spins back and I end up not putting any more pressure on the heel than I was with the pedal in the 'flat' or forward position.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Technique*



gero said:


> I can get them in using the shoe in my hands and holding the pedal. Is there some sort of technique required other than pressing straight down? I actually got one of them clipped in while I was in my living room - but wasn't able to reproduce it on the road.


You obviously are not getting your foot in there right if you can do it with the shoe in your hands but not by standing on it. My first guess would be that you are not "approaching" the pedal with your shoe pointed down at the toe. You want to engage the front of the cleat with the front of the pedal such that the lip on the cleat is under the lip on the pedal. Once you have done this, THEN you step down on the pedal and it should go right in.


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## gero (Apr 5, 2006)

Kerry Irons said:


> You obviously are not getting your foot in there right if you can do it with the shoe in your hands but not by standing on it. My first guess would be that you are not "approaching" the pedal with your shoe pointed down at the toe. You want to engage the front of the cleat with the front of the pedal such that the lip on the cleat is under the lip on the pedal. Once you have done this, THEN you step down on the pedal and it should go right in.


The front of the cleat is definitely in the proper position. I even had my gf look underneath to confirm this. If I lean the bike against the wall and put the right foot in the left pedal, I can get it into the proper position and then very easily click it in with my hand. The issue is getting that amount of pressure on the spring without using my hand. It seems almost impossible at this point.


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## ari (Jan 25, 2005)

gero said:


> This seems obvious because when I press down with my heel the pedal just spins back and I end up not putting any more pressure on the heel than I was with the pedal in the 'flat' or forward position.


This may be obvious, but I'll try anyway. You shouldn't actually be pushing down with your *heel*. You should be pushing down on the pedal ... more like with the ball of your foot.

Cheers,
Ari


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## dom3333 (Mar 1, 2006)

Please post a picture of your shoes, cleats and pedals.


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## Powder Hound (Aug 11, 2005)

Ensure that your heel is straight in the pedal when clipping in. If it is off 5-10 degrees, then you can stand all day on that thing without connection.

If you can click in with your hand easily, you should have no problem in the saddle. When I am doing any race with a transition area (tri-du), I usually attach my shoes to the pedals. It is noticeably difficult by hand for me. 

Perhaps have a friend look at it for you to confirm the problem source


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## gero (Apr 5, 2006)

I've made a little progress - I can now clip in with the right pedal by pointing my right heel in towards the bike and then pressing down while moving my heel out to the side. Doesn't seem to work with the left at all. This diagonal motion seems to work great on one side but not on the other.


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## dom3333 (Mar 1, 2006)

Could his cleats be upside down?.


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## Dave_Stohler (Jan 22, 2004)

dom3333 said:


> Could his cleats be upside down?.


 I'm betting he using actual Look cleats, which, of course, don't work on Shimano pedals......


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## gero (Apr 5, 2006)

Dave_Stohler said:


> I'm betting he using actual Look cleats, which, of course, don't work on Shimano pedals......


The cleats say 'shimano' on them. Again, clipping in with the right is fine now. The left just won't clip in. It gets 'close', and if I reach down with my hand I can click it in the rest of the way - obviously this doesn't do me any good when I'm actually riding the bike.


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## captal (Dec 27, 2005)

I have look cleats going into wellgo pedals and it's not hard to clip in once you have the front in... very little pressure is necessary.

Something has to be screwy here, perhaps ask at your LBS.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

*Re-read ari's post # 7.*

You really need to stop thinking about your heel. Pushing down with your heel rotates the pedal backwards, making it impossible for you to exert any real downward force on the pedal spring clip. Try this:

Get the front of the cleat in position. Rotate the pedal into a horizontal position and keep it there - you might have to lean forward a bit over the bars to do that. Now think of the clicking-in motion as raising up on your toes to make yourself taller, then bouncing your weight onto the ball of your foot. This is a lot easier if the crank is at bottom dead center.

The only time to think about moving your heel upward, downward, left or right is when you twist *out* of the pedal.


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## gero (Apr 5, 2006)

I figured it out! The pedals were set at the loosest setting, which was just WAY too loose. The cleat would only stay in the pedal half the time, and the left one wouldn't grab at all. I tightened them up to about halfway and they actually work properly now.

Thanks for all your suggestions everyone - that was a frustrating one.

d'oh...


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## captal (Dec 27, 2005)

Glad to hear you figured it out! That's sort of a funny problem


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## Dave_Stohler (Jan 22, 2004)

*Good luck with your "bear traps" there....*



captal said:


> I have look cleats going into wellgo pedals and it's not hard to clip in once you have the front in... very little pressure is necessary.
> ..................


From my brief but harrowing experiences with Wellgo cheap-sh!t Look-alike pedals, the big problem was getting your !^$#ing foot *out* of the damn thing without breaking your ankle! Take a look in the reviews-my extremely negative review of these death-traps was only one of many.....

For god's sake, save up a few bucks and get some *decent* pedals!


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## captal (Dec 27, 2005)

It probably would be smart to pick up some keos now that I have keo cleats... that's $60 wasted at the LBS for the Wellgos though.

How about the Look Keo Classic Road pedal:









$85 at Amazon


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

*Hmmm.*

You're using KEO cleats on Wellgo pedals? Correct me if i'm wrong, but I thought Wellgos take the the Look ARC cleat.

KEO and ARC cleats appear similar, but they're definitely not identical.


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## captal (Dec 27, 2005)

There is definitely a little play when I'm pedaling- it doesn't feel like it's a tight fit. I didn't realize there was a difference and wanted to try the grey look cleats and bought the Keo cleats.

I love the grey cleats vs the red cleats- I took a 20 mile ride on Sunday with the grey cleats in the Wellgo pedals and it was much better than the red cleats, but there was definitely some play- I tightened them down but it's still not a tight fit.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

For many years, LOOK made only one one style of pedal and one style of cleat. There were cheaper and more expensive pedals, and cleats (called ARC) with float or no float, but it was all still one type of design - the old LOOK system.

Not too long ago, LOOK brought out the KEO pedal. That pedal has its own KEO cleat. This new KEO system is NOT designed to work with the any of the old LOOK system stuff.

If your Wellgo pedals are a copies of the *old* LOOK pedal (as I'm almost sure they are), your KEO cleats are the cause of your difficulties. Get Wellgo or old LOOK ARC cleats. Or, as you said, buy KEO pedals. Your cleats and pedals need to match, whichever way you choose to make that happen.


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## captal (Dec 27, 2005)

Do they make the grey cleats (4.5 degrees float) in the old style? Because I really like them.

I should probably just drop the money on those Keo pedals I posted above... $85, free shipping.


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## djg (Nov 27, 2001)

captal said:


> Do they make the grey cleats (4.5 degrees float) in the old style? Because I really like them.
> 
> I should probably just drop the money on those Keo pedals I posted above... $85, free shipping.


Look makes a black (fixed) and a red (float) cleat for the "old" Look pedals. There are actually two versions of the red ones floating around, one having little white teflon sections built-in and one not. 

The Look Keo pedals take a Keo cleat and you shouldn't swap between the "old" style and the Keos--it's a similar size and shape but it's not the same size and shape.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

There's no middle-ground old style LOOK cleat. As djg said, the black old-style cleats give you no float at all - my choice for the last 20 years. The red old-style ARC cleats give you 9 degrees of float, like it or not. The white teflon inserts on the more recently made ARC cleats are supposed to eliminate the dreaded "LOOK squeak." They do, sort of, sometimes. 

My vote: Get the KEO pedals.


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## captal (Dec 27, 2005)

Thanks for the info guys- I really love the grey cleat- I don't think the black cleat would work well for me because I have had knee problems in the past and don't want them to come back.

Looks like the Keo pedal is the best bet- has anyone used the version I posted? I also noticed there is a "sprint" version, but the only difference seems to be 30 grams in weight (and $50 more expensive). Weight isn't an issue to me, so the $85 pair is fine (though retail is only $90- I'd think I could find them cheaper somewhere...)


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## txgal (Apr 18, 2006)

I bought the Look keo sprints from probikekit.com for $80 and free shipping. I'm extreamly happy with them. Been riding on them for about 3 weeks now and they are vastly different and much better than my older, much heavier look pedals.


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## captal (Dec 27, 2005)

Where were you 4 days ago... sigh I paid $71 for the classics shipped from ebay


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