Speedplay Frogs

Speedplay Frogs constitute chapter three in my lifetime cleat history.

I cut my teeth on slotted cleats.  That's dating me, for sure.

And them came Looks.  They attracted my attention because they offered float, something occasionally lacking with slotted cleats.  They required less precision with the placement of the cleat, so were more forgiving.

After many years of using Looks, the temptation to try something more walkable caused me to take a look at Speedplay Frogs.  I chose them ... simply because there was a pair lying around the house.

After using them on my commuter for several days, here are my thoughts:

I notice the smaller platform.  Perhaps this isn't completely a factor of the size of the platform but also the flexibility of the sole of the shoe.  I SUSPECT this causes a slight loss in power transfer to the pedals, though maybe it's not a huge issue.

A brief note on the shoe: it is quite comfortable.  Easy on/easy off, with a toggle to draw the lace through.  Just don't forget to put the lace through itself, so it doesn't flop into the chainrings.

Pearl Izumi X-Alp Drift II MTB Shoe

Riding this setup, compared to Looks, feels a tad like now being barefoot.  Just a tad.  I have yet to do a long ride, so will learn more ... soon.

Now the big question: what is getting in and out like?  The clicking in motion is fairly similar to Looks: place foot on top of pedal, slide forward until something catches.

In contrast, the click is quite small.  With a Look pedal, there is a snap that can be felt through ones entire skeleton.  With the Frogs, the connection is so subtle that I find myself wondering if I'm actually in.  A slight pull back will confirm, however, so no need to be uncertain.

The double sided feature is necessary because, unlike Looks, which always have their connection surface facing back, these can be in any orientation.  Stepping down on them, however, causes one or the other of the two connection surfaces to be in the same plane as the sole of the shoe.

The configuration of the sole helps guide the shoe onto the cleat

The release is just like with a Look: rotate your heel to the outside ... and viola!  This too is quite subtle, compared to a Look: there is no spring to work against, in order to release.  So, in a sense, you can just "float" out.  The inward float is limited by a ridge on top of the pedal.  The cleat installation instructions suggest aligning the cleat so the inward float stops just before ones ankle hits the crank arm.  This works out quite well.

The next question: how are they in traffic?  This is another way of asking how are they to get in/out of quickly.  As mentioning, getting out is so easy that I find myself worrying I might come out during riding.  This has NEVER happened however, so confidence builds over time.  Getting in quickly involves NOT looking (IMHO), but instead placing the foot on the pedal, moving foot back (if necessary, to have the cleat behind the pedal), then sliding the foot forward.  The design of the sole of the shoe assists with the alignment, prior to the engagement, making the process surprisingly smooth.  Sometimes it feels as if there is a magnet pulling the two surfaces together!

The mating surface of the Speedplay Frog pedal.
Note ridge (upper right corner of pedal (in photo)).
This limits inward float.  Also note grease port on
outside edge of pedal.

The float is nearly frictionless, which is a slight contrast to Looks (even without factoring in the spring that limits the float).

In summary, so far so good.  Next step is to put them on the front of the tandem (which was the main reason for this investigation).  In the world of tandeming, MTB shoes are generally recommending.  The reason is to have a more secure footing WHEN putting the captain's foot down.  That being said, after nearly 20 years of captaining tandems using Looks, I can say that it's not that big of a deal: just use the BRAKES to stop the bike!  :-)

Close up of the cleat.

So now the big question: how are these beasts for walking (which is supposed to be their forte, compared to Looks, eg.)?  The shoe is a compromise.  The sole is NOT as flexible as a regular walking shoe.  If it were, it would be TOO flexible for pedaling.  So, for walking, one is still not quite using ones normal gate.  I find I don't walk nearly as fast as I would in a regular walking shoe.  But then again, normally I'm not trying to get particularly far.

Frankenwatch

I've had my Garmin Forerunner 405CX for three or four years.  It has been a workhorse (it has had to be).  There have been some repairs along the way.

About a year and a half ago the battery died.  I found a youtube video showing how to do the replacement oneself, but in the end I opted to mail it to a guy who advertised on ebay.  There was an option to go for a battery with a bit longer life than the original.  I went for that and have been happy: the watch truly does have a longer run time now.  Whoever did the repairs was a bit brutal however: both halves of the wrist band came back cracked.  If I were to send the watch out again, I'd first remove the wrist band.  Some time later (more on this below), when I opened the watch, I discovered that the threads for one of the screw holes had been stripped.  There's probably no way to protect oneself from this.

A few months ago, as the rainy season in Seattle set in, the watch became fogged up.  So I took it apart and blasted it with a hair dryer.  When I put it back together (if not before), it had lost the functionality on the right and left sides (Training and GPS).  Working with this loss has been a challenge:

1. I must now go into Simple Training Mode via touching the bezel on the bottom and going in via the extensive menus, it can't be done via touching the bezel on the right side.  Then it is necessary to set the duration (distance, time, or whatever) to match the run.  In the case of a marathon, eg., however, I put in 27.0 so as to be able to watch whole miles accumulate.  There is a horrible down side to this situation: if ever the watch decides to move from this mode (while none-the-less still running in the background), it is impossible to get back in without killing the run.  So, all you can do is run along and if you happen to glance at the watch at the end of a "lap," you'll catch the lap summary.
2. It is now impossible to enter GPS Mode, via touching the bezel on the left side, to turn off the GPS.  So, even if you're training INDOORS, the GPS is on.  At least I now have the longer run battery.  None-the-less, you can't actually go into the GPS mode to use any GPS-specific functionality (i.e. can't set waypoints, etc.).
3. It is also now impossible to turn on the back light.  Fortunately I almost never run at night.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I'm more of a morning runner.

During a recent 10 mile run in the rain, the watch fogged up again.  So I took it apart again to zap it with a hair dryer.  The O-ring seal was broken in one spot.  If I take it apart again, I'll hunt for a replacement.  If you know where I can get a replacement O-ring, please let me know.

The other problem that has always been present, in rain, is the watch's tendency to start cycling through its displays (or, in the case of Simple Training mode, to completely leave the mode).  I finally discovered the way to prevent this is to lock the bezel.  Works like a charm.

So there you have it, Frankenwatch takes a licking ... and still kinda sorta keeps limping along.

DNFing on the BRR (Big Ring Randonée)

The day started out a bit iffy: I turned on the Garmin … and the course was NOT there.  Turns out I had merely downloaded it to my computer, but not to the Garmin device itself.  Sigh.  Oh well, the cue sheet looked pretty impressive … so HOW could anything go wrong?

My other issue was lack of training.  I’d actually been riding frequently, of late, but had kind of omitted the distance thing.  My longest ride this year was the previous Saturday: 38 whopping miles.

Somewhat to my relief, things were going OK.  It was a fairly flat course and there is a LOT to be said for that.  My cruising speed, which has started to suck in recent years, had not improved, but it hadn’t got much worse, either.  I was staying ahead of Rando pace.

All of this changed at mile 52 when I arrived at a T and encountered these cues:

0.4	52.0	Continue straight onto Sweet Rd
1.7	53.7	Continue onto Hughes Ave
0.2	53.9	Turn left onto Bell Rd
0.4	54.3	Continue onto US-99/WA-548 S/Blaine Rd

“Continue” – an interesting choice of words.  Left FELT correct; right made more geographical sense.

I opted for left.  I crossed I-5 without seeing any signs for Hughes.  Immediately after I-5 was the correct turn.  I don’t recall noticing it, however, nor any sign for Bell Rd.  I continued on, shortly arriving at US-99/WA-548 S/Blaine Rd.  Sadly, it WAS signed: Peace Portal Dr.  Sigh-o-rama.

All of this convinced me that I had turned the WRONG way at the T.  So, I biked all of the way back (uphill) and continued in the other direction (very STEEP uphill).  Then the road turned left (unsigned) and continued UP.  I wondered about doing THIS in the big ring.

Eventually the road Teed at H Street, which was a big descent into the heart of Blaine.  This did NOT do my morale much good, especially because it had now started to rain.  I continued west until I hit the water.  I knew I need to be south, so I turned that direction.  I stopped at a store and asked directions.  They told me to continue south.

I came across Hughes, I came across Bell.  I arrived at the control: 10 extra miles (and not FLAT ones, either, sigh). 

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/466640890 

I was ~25 minutes in the hole.  I had a quick snack and continued.

By the next control, to my disappointment, I had only gained TWO minutes.  My legs were feeling tired, and my cruising speed was not what it needed to be to overcome the deficit.

A bit before Ferndale it was time to turn lights on and put on rain gear.

At the Loomis Trail Road info control it was time to advance to the last page of my cue sheet.  But wait: somehow that page was gone!  I phoned Dan Turner, explaining I was going to be the big Hors but could he please dictate the cues for me and I would write them down.  Dan graciously complied, then suggested he come and get me.

I pondered his offered … especially thinking about having to drive home, get a little bit of sleep, and get myself to Mercer Island for the half marathon.  I accepted!

I biked on and Dan and I encountered each other in Lynden.  I had put in 122 miles and felt OK.

I got home at 00:20.

The next morning I made it to Mercer Island OK, having taken two buses (getting to the start of this run, by ANY mode, truly sucks, so busing isn't too bad).  

My legs were tired, at the gun, but they were moving.  It wasn’t until ~ mile 10.5 that they seemed to have turned into lead weights.  But, I finished.  And, it was a gorgeous day.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/466522201

And a pretty good weekend!