Make SPD pedals/shoes sit horizontally on bike

911sc

I am doing the Duathlon race in Phoenix park on Wednesday and this time will use SPD pedals that i bought few weeks ago (prior to that i was doing the run/cycle/run with running shoes).

I have seen during previous duathlons, that some (all?) competitors attach their shoes to the bike with some sort of thread/elastic band (?) so that the shoes sit horizontally in the pedals (rather than hanging up-side-down in a 7:05pm or 8:10pm position) and are easier to jump in during T1.

What's the trick ?
Sorry if it a dumb question, but i am new to all of this, and this is only my 3rd duathlon on 40 years.

BTW, watch for race number #40 on Wed !! I was born on the 06th August 1968 at 7:30pm, and Brian kindly gave me #40.
Will i finish 40th though?:) Last time, i finished 138th, so could 98 competitors please slow down this time!:rolleyes:

Best luck to all on Wednesday

tunney

What sort of shoes do you have?

911sc

Shimano TR30

tunney

Okay - with tri shoes you can do what you describe.

Loop a short thing elastic band around the hook on the back of each shoe.
Stick the shoes on the pedals.
On the left side hook the band from the rear wheel skewer. On the right side, hook it on the front derailleur.

Then when you pick your bike up in T1 you run with the bike, jump on the saddle and put both your feet on the shoes, note ON not IN, and start pedalling, once up to speed to put your feet in the shoes and tighten them up.

911sc

Thanks a lot for your prompt reply.

911sc

Another dumb question:
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digitalage

This is a good video showing the setup.

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=1488

Bambaata

thanks for the video link. i desperately need to work on my transitions

Poncherello

it is worth practising putting them on and taking them off while on the move I pulled a muscle in my shoulder first time I tried !

blorg

To be honest if you are asking this question the day before the race I would not try strapping the shoes onto the bike, just put them on and clip in (IMHO.)

Otherwise, better get practicing

911sc

No problem last night during T1 (and yes, i had practiced a bit).
It actually went very smoothly in fact as i focused on what i was doing rather than being obsessed by the clock.
I had only band strapped the left shoe (as per video above) and tried to keep it simple.
Cycle mount lane was busy, so i had plenty of time to actually put my foot in the shoe rather than on the top (the right way!).
I was amazed at the quantity of runners who had not clipped their shoes onto the pedals, and put their cycling shoes before running out of T1.
I just can not run with cycling shoes.. so my options were restricted.