Clipless - Why ??

[nosmo king]

I use clips and straps, always have done and always will. They've served me well for 30 odd years and I see no real reason to change. I have the straps just tight enough to slip in and out of but not too tight that I have to adjust before stopping. I also like the "traditional" aspect of cycling so that might have somrthing to do with it.
It seems to be a personal preference rather than any significant gains either way.

[Mick F]

How do you slip in and out?

When I had clips and straps, I had cleats. I couldn't slip in and out. Maybe you have flat shoes?

Before I had cleats, I used training shoes. Very uncomfortable! The pedals dug in and hurt my feet, so I bought real cycling shoes with hard soles, but I still had to tighten the straps to hold my feet firmly. It was some years later that I went to better shoes that would take cleats.

No matter which footware I used, I could never slip out.

[swansonj]

How do you slip in and out?

Each to his or her own; I have no wish to convert anyone to my preferences or to denegrate theirs.

But what works for me is to have rattrap pedals with a plastic toeclip and loosish straps. I cycle in what I guess you'd call hiking shoes - fairly stiff soles anyway (but for me the advantage I can just about get away with not changing them in the fairly informal office I commute to).

I flip the pedal the right way up and jam the foot forwards till it's stopped by the toeclip. This holds the foot in position pretty well. The tread on the sole grips moderately well on the pedal so I can pull back slightly at the bottom of the stroke, not I am sure as much as with cleats but fine for my purposes. But I can also remove the foot pretty easily just by sliding it backwards with a slight lift.

[sea lion]

I have the shimano pedals with SPD one side and flat the other. 99% of the use is with the spd's. Personally I feel safer with the spd's. The bike feels part of me and i feel more planted when going down hills or on rough terrain etc.

[tatanab]

How do you slip in and out? When I had clips and straps, I had cleats. I couldn't slip in and out. Maybe you have flat shoes?

Easily.

I used toeclips and straps from 1967 to 1995. I started the change to clipless in 1995 but still have one machine with toeclips and straps. Along with my contemporaries, some of whom were very rapid racing men, I used cleats (shoe plates) only for racing. Our normal club riding shoes had smooth soles (I don't recall cycling shoes of the time having anything else, generally a leather sole at that) and the toestraps were done up to be a snug fit. This meant it was possible to slip the feet in and out as needed but still give a snug fit to stop any slipping. About the only time we would tighten straps beyond that would be for a fast descent on fixed. When climbing I'd sometimes find that I kept my heel a bit low, flat footed, so that I could use the upper of my foot to pull on the toeclip.

[Mick F]

I had smooth soles too, and the straps would "capture' the uppers. My whole foot and shoe was held happily and snugly. Great stuff! That's what I wanted!

I couldn't just slip my feet out without releasing the straps first.

[aprildavy]

I've used toe clips for 30 years, but recently changed to SPD mountain bike shoes on my Dawes Galaxy. I had numerous firends at work who were happy with the switch.

I was completely at ease in the toe clips but my shoes were very worn and I needed a new pair anyway. I could easily slip my feet in and out, and yes I had flat bottomed shoes.

The greatest advantage is that when I am tired my legs are in right place. I am more confident on putting in sharp bursts of speed over very busy roundabouts etc, where the ability to pull up on the upgoing leg can deliver more power than pulling up on the underneath of the toe clip.

I have tried to find objective scientific articles but the ones I found seemed to indicate no increase in efficiency. But not confusing efficiency with power, I understand, and can vouch that you can apply more power, but without an increase in efficiency you are obviously using more energy.

If you buy a pair of SPD pedals 2nd hand on Ebay, you can always sell them later. Obviously the shoes cost money. I'm very happy with my Bontrager MTB race shoes which were about 65 quid I think. I bought them as they were wider than the Shimano, a problem as my feet are wider than standard.

I fitted the so called flat pedals on one side of each pedal - actually Shimano claim they are mounts for reflectors and that is what I bought them for - for night time riding to ensure I had reflectors on the pedals. other people seem to claim you can use them as "training shoes". I didn't ahve any problems getting used to the SPDs at all.

Cheers,

[corshamjim]

I'm finding a skate-board style shoe works really well for me with toe-clips and straps.

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/sco ... e-ec019211

It's easy to get a snug fit, while at the same time easy to get out of.

I'm also enjoying using SPDs now too.

[ANTONISH]

I couldn't just slip my feet out without releasing the straps first.

Perhaps you never developed the knack Mick. Like others I can't remember having a problem with this (and I always had shoe plates) unless the straps were especially tightened. In fact I had a ride with a friend last summer who has been using toe clips for over fifty years and he didn't have to undo his straps to release his feet.
In fact most people moving to clipless pedals have some initial difficulty releasing ( I had to ride around and find a wall to lean on etc) so I would suggest that for most of us it was easier to pull out of toe clips.
As for pedalling efficiency Sean Kelly continued using toe clips long after all the other Pro's were using clipless and it didn't seem to adversely affect his performance.

[glueman]

While I have SPD pedals on most bikes I think their advantage over non-clipless types is much overstated. Most of it is fashion.

[benm]

Learned to ride without toe clips.. got used to feet being everywhere.

Learned to ride with toe clips when I was bigger - never bothered with doing up the strap but DID have the strap on the crank side of the clip threaded through to stop the toeclip breaking too often when jammed against the road. No problems with slipping in and out nor with 'pulling up' on the upwards part of the pedal rotation.

Got the Orca (recumbent), tried without SPDs - bit of a nightmare but never did manage to run over my own leg, though nearly lost the contact between foot an pedal going down hill on anything other than a smooth surface. Now have SPDs and yes I do pull backwards significantly when putting the effort in - if I use the non SPD side of the pedal (cos I fluff the engage) my foot flies all over the place on the backstroke.

B.

[go4it]

I shall be going clipless shortly, just waiting for wind to cease
I have been told I WILL fal off while learning
I will be on SPD Shimano (not SL) any tips or just kiss the Black Top and smile?

[meic]

Dont worry about it as you will not be moving (except downwards ) when you come a cropper.
It will not happen when you are learning as such, it will happen when you forget that you are learning/wearing cleats.

[corshamjim]

So far (after 3 months or so on Shimano SPDs) I'm lucky, I haven't fallen off yet. (famous last words - I hope not)

I definitely recommend setting the pedals at the loosest setting for a while (I'm still only at about 1/3rd full strength). There have been a few times when brute force and ignorance have got my foot off the pedal rather than a finesse twist of the heel!

[Mick F]

I couldn't just slip my feet out without releasing the straps first.

Perhaps you never developed the knack Mick. Like others I can't remember having a problem with this (and I always had shoe plates) unless the straps were especially tightened.

Perhaps I wanted my straps nice and tight.
Perhaps that is why I love clipless, because my feet/shoes are held tightly and securely AND can come out easily and quickly.

If you have your feet/shoes on the pedals without any security, you may be happy.
I spent most of my life just like that, and when I went to clips and straps, I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread - - - - until I discovered clipless.