?How easy are SPD pedals to get use too?

[Biketouringhobo]

?How easy are SPD pedals to get use too?

Should I set the tension low?

And I am going to use Shimano m545 SPD pedals and
I am going to use Shimano SH-56 multi-release cleats

[Nyimbo]

I am a fan of the multi-release especially for learning. 

My only suggestion is to plan a practice session where for maybe 30 minutes or more you are stopping and starting over and over again clipping in and out over and over.

Also plan that practice session away from traffic or people and perhaps on a flat place.  Unless you have a remarkable ability to concentrate for a good long learning session you will fall.  So minimize any damage to your person by practicing in a safe place.  I like the idea to practice in a park with grass or soft ground on either side of the trail or sidewalk that you can fall onto.  Then practice by stopping and clipping in and out at every turn.

[John Nelson]

It's pretty easy. Nevertheless, you will fall because you forgot to unclip ... twice. Once in the first day, and once a month later when you stop suddenly and unexpectedly. After that, you'll never fall again, and you won't even have to think about it.

You can set the tension low. But I wouldn't. They will arrive from the factory with the tension set to the middle of the range. Leave it there. Setting the tension low may cause more problems than it mitigates. You might fall because you came out of the pedals unintentionally.

[johnsondasw]

It's pretty easy. Nevertheless, you will fall because you forgot to unclip ... twice. Once in the first day, and once a month later when you stop suddenly and unexpectedly. After that, you'll never fall again, and you won't even have to think about it.

Interesting.  My experience exactly, and that of two other people I convinced to get clipped in.  However, we all use Crank Bros eggbeater style and really like them.

[walks.in2.trees]

I would practice like this:
Find something you can balance the bike with, so you aren't in motion... You can't really clip-in unless you put your full weight on it. The important part is knowing the motion you need to do to release from it.
It's a twisting motion, twist your heel away from your frame. After you do it with each foot successfully while stationary, then try riding around an empty lot. 

Always use your dominant foot when you stop. As you prepare to stop, stand on your non-dominant foot and unclip your dominant foot. Make sure your balance favors a landing on that foot, not the opposite side. Always using the same foot helps ensure this.

Always give yourself time to do this. You don't want to go down at a traffic light. As pointed out above, it's when you get surprised that your most likely to forget to unclip.
I've fallen a bunch of times, exactly because of that. Fortunately, it's usually when you're trying to stop anyway, so you probably won't get hurt.

Don't unclip your other foot until you stop, especially going from traffic light to traffic light... Use the still-clipped-in foot to pull the pedal up to a good take off position. If the distance to the next stop is short, don't bother clipping it back in.

Sent from my SM-T817V using Tapatalk

[misterflask]

All good advice above.  I haven't used them, but I expect the multi-release cleats should alleviate the I sticking point I experienced in the learning process.  You can get the logical part of your brain trained, but when you pull up to a stop sign cleated-in and your bike tilts a quarter of a degree, your brain is going to skip over the logical training and revert to what it has done in years past in similar situations.  Your multi-release cleats should save you here and maybe you can train for this situation.  I would try pulling up to a stop and not uncleating until the bike starts to tilt.

I was still taking an occasional fall several months later from hanging up while trying to side-release.  In frustration, I filed off the corners of the release notches on the pedals.  I later read bad reviews of this particular shimano pedal model that users had written from their hospital bed, so shimano apparently got it wrong on these.  Can't remember the model but this was 15yrs ago so hopefully this issue is resolved.

[fastrog]

i agree withe the post that you will fall twice. but i will add that the spds put a lot of pressure on the balls of you feet. i got major pain in one foot and had to stop them for a year, on advice of podiatrist. just getting back and hoping for the best.

[canalligators]

... the spds put a lot of pressure on the balls of you feet...

I have experienced this problem, but it was due to shoe problems.  In my case, the plate on the inside of the shoes had bent so that the edges stuck up.  This made a bump that pressed on my foot.  Note that there is an area in the middle of your foot where a lot of nerves go through a concentrated area, and pressure will give you numbness.

What I did:
1. Removed the cleats and plate, flattened the plate and reinstalled
2. Cut a hole in the insole so that there is no pressure on the middle of the foot (like a cutout in a saddle)
3. Check the shoe once or twice a year to make sure the plate hasn't bent again

Even if your shoes do not have a plate on the inside, you may want to cut the hole in the insoles to prevent problems.

[Biketouringhobo]

we all use Crank Bros eggbeater style and really like them.
[/quote]

I am looking at Crank Bros mallet DH Pedals

[PeteJack]

The experience of stopping at a light and being unable to take your feet of the pedals is not to be missed.
Having said that, I can't/wont ride without them these days.
i bought a pair of Shimano SPD boots for winter and found out the hard way that there are two kinds of clips. For some reason the place I bought the boots at installed the kind that unclip when you pull up. When I got out of the saddle for a short hill one foot would come out of the clip. I thought it was something wrong with the pedal, eventually I learned it was the thing on the boot that was wrong. I changed that and now they are perfect.
TIP make sure you grease the screws that go into the shoe sole - I changed out some worn cleats and had to grind the screw heads off.

[johnsondasw]

Another tip--when you change your cleats, keep the old ones and carry one in your bag of tricks.  I've had a partner lose one on a ride and was able to replace it right there.  it would have been a total ride-wrecker had we not had a spare.  They can come loose and fall out in the weeds. 

[PeteJack]

Another tip--when you change your cleats, keep the old ones and carry one in your bag of tricks.  I've had a partner lose one on a ride and was able to replace it right there.  it would have been a total ride-wrecker had we not had a spare.  They can come loose and fall out in the weeds.

+1 And if only one screw falls out you'll wish they were lying in the weeds. On a positive note you'll be delighted with how much extra power you get particularly when out of the seat and pulling up on the back pedal.

[misterflask]

I find it astounding that you carry spare cleats and you ride with someone who needed one.  That is definitely the happy coincidence of the week.

I'm going to use this as an opportunity to segue into the irritating noises that spd pedals make, the first source of which would be loose cleats.  They also seem to get noisy when the surfaces are totally dry of lubricant, a situation that I usually remedy by cleating through a roadside-find waxed cup or wax paper wrapper and riding for a mile or so. 

[RussSeaton]

They can come loose and fall out in the weeds.

Nonsense.  Lies.  Fantasy.  Whatever.  SPD cleats are attached to the shoe soles with two bolts.  Allen bolts.  They are about 1/2 inch long.  If they got loose, the cleat would wiggle and squirm for miles and miles.  Anyone would notice this.  You would immediately stop and see your bolts are maybe coming loose.  You would then get out your 3mm Allen wrench and tighten them.  When you got home you would take the bolts out and reattach them using blue Loctite.  They cannot fall out by themselves without you knowing they are going to fall out for hundreds of miles before they fall out.

[DaveB]

You would then get out your 3mm Allen wrench and tighten them. 

Details, details, it's a 4mm allen wrench.  However, I agree with your thesis that any rider would notice a loose cleat well before it actually fell off the shoe.