Perhaps unsurprisingly I fell off on ice last night. Not going fast; I was a mile from home and on back roads with the snow on the one in question obviously treacherous enough to require caution. Earlier, on an ice-rink of a residential road in Streatham (where else?) I had ridden past a cyclist sensibly pushing his machine along the pavement and to do so I had unclipped my shoes, pedalling awkwardly with the insteps so my feet were ready to put to ground in the event of a slip.
It didn’t happen, not then, but did later on a slight uphill that required some pedal force. Pressing on the pedals made the back wheel spin, enough at some point to make it slide out and dump me. This time I was still clipped in and unable to get my feet free in time to avoid sprawling inelegantly on the ice.
Which got me thinking about the pair of Shimano PD-A530 pedals in my shed. Actually, they are now on my Fuquay mtb in case I need to ride it again in the snow. There are, of course, other similar pedals with a flat side for non-cycling shoes and an SPD-cleated side for clipless pedalling, including Shimano’s PD-M324 model, but the A530s are particularly fine, with a cast aluminium body. They are, however, a little on the heavy side.
Weight is one reason why I have not previously found much use for them. Impaired ground clearance while clipped in is another, appearance a third, but in the current riding conditions I find myself able to ignore all three for the ability to unclip for ice or snow and still pedal effectively. Given that I often use the Fuquay for pub rides and trips to the High Street, they should also prove useful in less constrained circumstances.
Shimano PD-A530 pedals £59.99
