My Egg Beater Pedal Journey
Alright, so I decided to finally switch over to clipless pedals, and everyone kept talking about Egg Beaters, especially for muddy conditions which, let’s be honest, happens a lot around here. Seemed simple enough, less stuff to get clogged up.
Got the pedals in the mail. Pulled ’em out of the box. Looked kinda weird, not like the flat pedals I was used to. Just four little bars sticking out. Came with the cleats too, these small brass things.
Putting the Pedals On
First thing was getting the old pedals off. Needed a pedal wrench for that, one was stuck on pretty good. Remembered lefty-loosey, righty-tighty is backwards for one of the pedals, almost messed that up. Cleaned the threads on the crank arms, put a little grease on the new Egg Beater threads, and screwed them in. Easy peasy.
Now, The Cleats… Ugh
This was the part I wasn’t looking forward to. Had my cycling shoes ready. The cleats have these two little bolts. You gotta figure out where on the bottom of your shoe they go. I just kinda eyeballed it at first, trying to get the ball of my foot over the pedal spindle. There were these little plastic shim things too, apparently needed if the shoe sole tread gets in the way. My shoes needed them.
- Lined up the cleat.
- Put the shim underneath.
- Screwed in the bolts, not super tight yet.
Then I read the little paper that came with them. Turns out, you can switch which cleat goes on which shoe to change how far you have to twist your foot to get out. One way is 15 degrees, the other is 20. I went with the easier 15-degree option to start. Didn’t want to be trapped.
The Practice Runs
Okay, cleats on, pedals on. Time to try it. Man, this felt weird. I did what everyone says – leaned against a wall in the garage. Trying to clip in felt like I was fumbling around blind. Stomp, stomp, miss. Stomp, wiggle… click! Okay, one foot in. Now getting out. Twist the heel out. Clack. Okay, that wasn’t too bad. Did it like 50 times. In, out, in, out. Switched feet.
Then I took it to the lawn. Figured falling on grass is better than pavement. Rolled about two feet, tried to clip in the other foot, wobbled like crazy, and yeah, tipped over. Slowest fall ever. Felt like an idiot. Got back up, tried again. Clipping in while moving is a whole different game.
Hitting the Road (Carefully)
Finally felt brave enough for a quiet road. Started off with one foot clipped in, pushed off like normal, then tried to clip the other foot in while rolling. Took a few tries. The first few stops were panicky moments, trying to remember to twist out before I stopped completely. Almost fell again at a stop sign, unclipped one foot but leaned the wrong way. Classic.
After a few rides, though, it started clicking. Literally. Finding the pedal became easier, that four-sided entry actually helps, you don’t have to get it perfectly lined up. Clipping out started becoming muscle memory. I did have to adjust the cleat position slightly on one shoe, my knee felt a bit funny, just loosened the bolts, nudged it, tightened it back up.
So, How Are They Now?
Been using them for a while now. I get why people like ’em. Mud doesn’t seem to bother them much. Clipping in is pretty easy from most angles. There’s a bit of ‘float’, meaning my foot can wiggle side-to-side a little, which feels comfortable. They’re simple. Haven’t done any maintenance yet, just ride. Still gotta remember to unclip when stopping, but it’s way less scary now. Definitely a learning curve, and yeah, expect a slow-motion fall or two, but stick with it.
