Diamondback Bicycle - Pedal Types and Usage

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E. Pedals
1. Toe Overlap is when your toe can touch the front wheel when you turn the handlebars to steer
while a pedal is in the forwardmost position. This is common on small-framed bicycles, and is
avoided by keeping the inside pedal up and the outside pedal down when making sharp turns.
This technique will also prevent the inside pedal from striking the ground in a turn.
WARNING:
toe overlap could cause you to lose control and fall. ask your dealer to help you determIne
If the comBInatIon of frame sIze, crank arm length, pedal desIgn and shoes you wIll use results In pedal
overlap. If you have overlap, you must keep the InsIde pedal up and the outsIde pedal down when makIng
sharp turns.
2. Some bicycles come equipped with pedals that have sharp and potentially dangerous surfaces.
These surfaces are designed to add safety by increasing grip between the rider’s shoe and the
pedal. If your bicycle has this type of high-performance pedal, you must take extra care to avoid
serious injury from the pedals’ sharp surfaces. Based on your riding style or skill level, you may
prefer a less aggressive pedal design, or chose to ride with shin pads. Your dealer can show you
a number of options and make suitable recommendations.
3. Toeclips and straps are a means to keep feet correctly positioned and engaged with the pedals.
The toeclip positions the ball of the foot over the pedal spindle, which gives maximum pedaling
power. The toe strap, when tightened, keeps the foot engaged throughout the rotation cycle of
the pedal. While toeclips and straps give some benet with any kind of shoe, they work most
effectively with cycling shoes designed for use with toeclips. Your dealer can explain how toeclips
and straps work. Shoes with deep treaded soles or welts which might allow the foot to be trapped
should not be used with toeclips and straps.
WARNING:
gettIng Into and out of pedals wIth toeclIps and straps requIres skIll whIch can only Be
acquIred wIth practIce. untIl It Becomes a reflex actIon, the technIque requIres concentratIon whIch can
dIstract your attentIon and cause you to lose control and fall. practIce the use of toeclIps and straps
where there are no oBstacles, hazards or traffIc. keep the straps loose, and don’t tIghten them untIl
your technIque and confIdence In gettIng In and out of the pedals warrants It. never rIde In traffIc wIth
your toe straps tIght.
4. Clipless pedals (sometimes called “step-in pedals”) are another means to keep feet securely in
the correct position for maximum pedaling efciency. They have a plate, called a “cleat,” on the
sole of the shoe, which clicks into a mating spring-loaded xture on the pedal. They only engage
or disengage with a very specic motion which must be practiced until it becomes instinctive.
Clipless pedals require shoes and cleats which are compatible with the make and model pedal
being used.
Many clipless pedals are designed to allow the rider to adjust the amount of force needed to
engage or disengage the foot. Follow the pedal manufacturer’s instructions, or ask your dealer to
show you how to make this adjustment. Use the easiest setting until engaging and disengaging
becomes a reex action, but always make sure that there is sufcient tension to prevent
unintended release of your foot from the pedal.
WARNING:
clIpless pedals are Intended for use wIth shoes specIfIcally made to fIt them and are
desIgned to fIrmly keep the foot engaged wIth the pedal. do not use shoes whIch do not engage the
pedals correctly.