My ride into work on Thursday was rough. The left crank arm on my bike came loose, and before I could get it tightened, it became damaged beyond repair. I stopped by Maplewood Cycle, but they don’t open until 10AM. Rather than waiting around for an hour, I rode on to a Shell station with an auto-shop and tools.

A mechanic was nice enough to try and tighten the loose bolt, which worked for about 2 minutes until my pedal was wobbling from side to side so much that it was really hard to get the rest of the way in. It was also very dangerous to do anything besides coast downhill; I actually had to dismount and walk the bike up one hill.

I dropped off the bike yesterday at Southside Cyclery. While my girlfriend and I enjoyed a walk around the St. Louis Zoo & a picnic on Art Hill in Forest Park, my bike was repaired. The best part of it: It was all warranty work and cost me nothing.

I fully expected to pay for the repairs, and was pleasantly surprised not only at the fast turnaround, but also the care they took to do a full inspection and tune-up of the whole bike. That extra cash I set aside went into a pair of shoes and a pedal clip system.

As I had no prior experience with clip systems or cycling shoes, I relied on Wayne’s recommendation and instruction. I remember doing a lot of useless research before buying my bike; being really disappointed that I’d picked out a bike on the Trek website that nobody in St. Louis carried. Not to mention, I had nothing upon which to base my selection.

Now, all I do is head over to Southside and ask Wayne what he recommends. The guy has never steered me wrong, and I love the clip system. Each rotation is more than twice as efficient as it used to be, and they are really easy to get into and out of. Get a set for yourself; you’ll never go back.