Cycling UK Forum

I may be wanting to use my old circa 1980s Campag Record pedals on my Moulton and was wondering about half clips.
The bike may get used locally soon ........ shops, pubs etc and I don't think I'll need clipless on it any more.

I was thinking about these.
Any comments?


https://www.cyclestore.co.uk/mks_half_t ... r-ID_20970
Free delivery.

How much pedal clearance (from the ground) is there on a Moulton?.

Not used those exact ones, but we have something very similar on the rear of our tandem. My partner has never got on with clipless (after the usual forgetting to unclip incident). She finds these work really well on the tandem, however they do suffer the normal issue of taking a bit of clipping into and if you end up pedaling with them "upside down" then they do reduce the ground clearance a fair bit. This is not a problem on the tandem as she clips in before we move off. However she did not like them on her solo bike and has taken them off. I'm sure if you are used to using old style clips it will not be a problem, but you may want to check the clearance.

gloomyandy wrote:How much pedal clearance (from the ground) is there on a Moulton?.

Same-ish as on a normal bike I think.
Just measured it.
4.5" from pedal spindle to ground at bottom dead centre.

I've used half clips a bit like those for years, though mine are black nylon by Zefal. Ground clearance isn't a problem - they occasionally scrape a little if I haven't managed to get my foot in but not badly, and in any case I normally get my foot in first time. You can wear quite chunky shoes in them.

I'm a big fan of the MKS half clips for around-town, off-road, etc. Never tried the fancy leather ones but just got a set.

They're made real well, & nice & shiny. Plenty of room for 'regular' shoes, and they 'hold' your foot on the pedal well. I saw some discussion somewhere of these vs. VO ones, I think it was one of the VO 'fan forums' so maybe biased, claiming the VO ones were bigger or taller or something. The MKS are plenty fine sized, plus made in Japan!

On touring when on the bike for longer time I like regular clips & straps (I don't use Looks et al. anymore after a ~10-year love affair).

I think half's drag/scrape a little less than regular because they're not as tall. Depending on pedals (I use only MKS sylvan touring!), getting a set of the MKS pedal flips may be useful as well. Why not hot-rod your pedals with the leather clips and the flips!

Mick F wrote:

gloomyandy wrote:How much pedal clearance (from the ground) is there on a Moulton?.

Same-ish as on a normal bike I think.
Just measured it.
4.5" from pedal spindle to ground at bottom dead centre.

is that with you sat on it? If not I think you will lose a bit of that once you are...?

cheers

LollyKat wrote:I've used half clips a bit like those for years, though mine are black nylon by Zefal. Ground clearance isn't a problem - they occasionally scrape a little if I haven't managed to get my foot in but not badly, and in any case I normally get my foot in first time. You can wear quite chunky shoes in them.

Zefal half clips on my shopper. Ideal for pootling around. Mine do scrape the ground if upside down and i lean. Not really a problem though and you can wear most shoes, chunky boots, although i draw the line at sandles.

I have these on one of my bikes. They measure 8.5cm from the center of the fixing holes to the top of the clip:



They clear the ground when the pedal is inverted:



But drag on the ground when the pedal hangs down:



Steve

Brucey wrote:

Mick F wrote:

gloomyandy wrote:How much pedal clearance (from the ground) is there on a Moulton?.

Same-ish as on a normal bike I think.
Just measured it.
4.5" from pedal spindle to ground at bottom dead centre.

is that with you sat on it? If not I think you will lose a bit of that once you are...?

No.
Just a quick measurement. However, the only difference on a normal bike would be tyre drop. On the Moulton, the suspension would take some more drop. Valid point, I think, but hardly worth worrying about IMHO.

However, if the pedal is hanging down, like in the photos above, it could be a problem.

I was using clips and straps for many years on various bikes - including Mercian - and although the clips scraped on the ground at times, it was never much of an issue.

I use half clips all the time on my 'town' bike. They're extremely convenient, they give you foot location and the ability to pull a pedal up when stopped/idling but allow the use of any shoe and easy disengagement.

Their propensity to drag on the ground is no more or less than regular toeclips i.e. it happens sometimes. For either the worst case is when wheeling an IGH bike 'cos the pedals go round, irritating but not a real problem.

The MKS ones are well made with lots of toecap room (needed if you want to wear boots), the leather bits protect your shoes. The nylon ones make less noise when they hit the ground.

As long as you are not used to having your feet held secure by SPD and other cleated systems, half clips work well. They help keep your feet positioned and provided a bit of security against slipping. Like all clips, though, they can make an annoying racket tapping the ground when you start off and fail on your first attempt to get your loose foot in. If you have a lot of stop-start you may find them a pain.