After receiving my test unit, I was initially intimidated by the shoe situation.
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in shoes. Peloton sent me a pair to use with the Bike+, but you have to attach
the cleats yourself, and that seemed like a lot of work. An instruction manual
that comes with the shoes explains how to attach, adjust, and tighten the cleats
and clip in and out of the pedals. You use an included Allen wrench to partially
tighten the bolts, adjust the cleat so it sits directly under the ball of your foot,
then tighten it all the way. That part was easy, and even a little fun.
Learning to clip in and out, however, has been a process. I watched the videos in
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After testing the Bike+ for around three weeks, I can now clip in fairly easily
each time. Clipping out is still a bit of an issue, but it’s getting simpler. To clip
out, you have to forcefully kick your heel away from the bike. It helps to push
down on the resistance knob to stop the pedals when clipping out.
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completing a bunch of rides with them, they’ve grown on me. With my feet
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especially helpful when I’m trying to go fast while standing up, as they make it
easier to pull, not just push, on the pedals, and it’s that pulling action that helps
me go faster. I like that you can hang your shoes on the back of the bike; this
keeps everything nice and tidy.