I decided to have a mid-life crisis and instead of being boring and unoriginal (Porsche), am instead going for the bike variety.
To that end, my SPD-SL pedals and shoes arrived yesterday, and I have temporarily attached them to my winter commuting road bike, just to try them out. As with my SPD pedals, getting my shoe into them the first time was next to impossible, but once I'd done it the first time, it was much easier to get into them each time.
The problem I have is getting out of them.
The instructions say you twist your ankle outwards to release your foot, but no matter how much I twist, I can't release them that way. My knee gets to the bike's bar, and still my foot is locked in tight. I can release them twisting my foot inwards, which tbh is how I get in and out of my SPD pedals, but I'm slightly scared that this is unintended and I'll break the pedals. They're made of carbon (mid-life crisis, remember).
Does anyone know whether twisting inwards is a bad idea and will potentially break the pedals? Will they potentially release easier after a bit of use? They are on the loosest setting already, I dare not try to loosen it any more.
I'm aware of the obvious disadvantage to releasing inwards (put foot through your wheel / spokes) and take care that I have my foot away from the wheel when releasing inwards, but as I say, I'm more concerned about the pedal disintegrating. Maybe carbon is a harder material than I'm giving it credit for.
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