Jdsk wrote: 29 Oct 2025, 12:10pm
Gear inches I find difficult: gear metres would work fine but I'm not aware of any movement on that front.
Metres development is commonly used in some countries. Essentially the same thing but without the penny-farthing reference.
Thanks: that's good to hear.
Jonathan
Gear inches are based on wheel diameter while development is based on wheel circumference, so a factor of pi comes into the conversion between them in addition to the conversion of units of length.
Thus, a 60" gear has a development of 60 x 2.54 x 3.142 cm = 4.79 m.
Jdsk wrote: 29 Oct 2025, 12:10pm
Gear inches I find difficult: gear metres would work fine but I'm not aware of any movement on that front.
The irrationality of gear inches and gear development irritate me. Any argument for including wheel dimensions applies equally to the crank, and any argument for excluding the crank applies equally to the wheel. Including one and not the other makes as much sense as including the chainring but not the sprocket.
Gear ratio = (wheel radius X chainring teeth)/(crank length X sprocket teeth)
Now you have a simple dimensionless ratio that includes all the relevant variables and excludes none.
(Other ones are DD.MM.YYYY instead of YYYY.MM.DD, and semiconductor diode cathodes instead of anodes designated as the positive.)
“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche
The cranks on any one bike will remain the same length whatever gear you're in, so gear inches and gear development are pretty rational for talking about the gear range on a bike. As the wheel size is also constant, even chainwheel x sprocket is rational (even though it's illogical, because any calculation of actual gearing would be chainwheel/sprocket). If you have more than one bike, it's still fairly likely they all have the same crank length, particularly as most people (though maybe not most keen cyclists) never give any consideration to crank length.
The trouble with walking in most 2-bolt cycling shoes is two-fold:
The cleat in almost all cases protrudes slightly and forms an unnatural "high spot" on the sole;
Even when this isn't the case, the sole of a cycling-specific shoe is inherently stiffer than a normal shoe (even compared to an oldskool leather walking boot with shanked sole) and this interferes with both gait and, to a lesser extent, proprioception.
They're fine for walking from bike to cafe, and the stiffness and protruding cleat don't matter so much on soft surfaces, but walk as little as half a mile on a pavement and you'll certainly notice it. Or at least I certainly do.
Bmblbzzz wrote: 29 Oct 2025, 6:47pm
The trouble with walking in most 2-bolt cycling shoes is two-fold:
The cleat in almost all cases protrudes slightly and forms an unnatural "high spot" on the sole;
Even when this isn't the case, the sole of a cycling-specific shoe is inherently stiffer than a normal shoe (even compared to an oldskool leather walking boot with shanked sole) and this interferes with both gait and, to a lesser extent, proprioception.
They're fine for walking from bike to cafe, and the stiffness and protruding cleat don't matter so much on soft surfaces, but walk as little as half a mile on a pavement and you'll certainly notice it. Or at least I certainly do.
And I usually run cos I'm in a hurry or just find running more comfortable than walking sometimes so I don't tolerate clumpy shoes on me too well. I like my light hi-tec's with foam sole for getting about at my pace.
"Lifted like a kite from the ground both wind and string we need."
There's quite a range of shoes available and you can't judge one from another.
My current ones (SD5 sandals, Spesh Roost and 5.10 Trailcross) don't have protruding cleats, are fine to walk in and not really any worse to jog in than a walking shoe. They're nothing like as stiff as my shanked winter walking boots.
Previous ones I've had have been quite a bit stiffer and weren't nearly so good for walking. I've only had a problem with protruding cleats after I've worn the soles down a lot.
I'm not trying to suggest cleated shoes are the thing for everyone, just pointing out that generalisations about how they behave turn out to have numerous exceptions.
Another thing that causes a lot of confusion in cycling is SPD and SPD-SL. Two totally different pedal systems with very similar names. This causes endless confusion especially amongst newish cyclists. A friend bought a new bike and asked other friends if they had any spare SPD pedals, when he actually needed SPD-SL’s.
Bmblbzzz wrote: 29 Oct 2025, 6:47pm
The trouble with walking in most 2-bolt cycling shoes is two-fold:
The cleat in almost all cases protrudes slightly and forms an unnatural "high spot" on the sole;
Even when this isn't the case, the sole of a cycling-specific shoe is inherently stiffer than a normal shoe (even compared to an oldskool leather walking boot with shanked sole) and this interferes with both gait and, to a lesser extent, proprioception.
They're fine for walking from bike to cafe, and the stiffness and protruding cleat don't matter so much on soft surfaces, but walk as little as half a mile on a pavement and you'll certainly notice it. Or at least I certainly do.
And I usually run cos I'm in a hurry or just find running more comfortable than walking sometimes so I don't tolerate clumpy shoes on me too well. I like my light hi-tec's with foam sole for getting about at my pace.
Likewise. Walking on a busy pavement brings out in me what others express when they drive!
Brought some Shimano EX399 shoes in the Black Friday sale, being a bit naive I was expecting the cleats to be included, but obviously not.
I am now surmising that I would be able to buy the 2 pronged cleats from the likes of Halfords, sports direct as they are the nearest shops to me.
Are the cleats standard?
If you buy Shimano SPD cleats, they will fit Shimano SPD pedals. There are 2 models (SH51 and SH56) but they both fit. SH51 are Single release and SH56 are Multi Release.
Halfords should sell them, but be careful not to buy Boardman (Halfords own brand) cleats as they may not be compatible.
