Toe clips & straps

[brychan]

I’ve been using Toe clips & straps on my road bike, my feet seem to lose some feeling & calf’s ache after about 20 miles. I have the straps pretty lose not tight.

Does anyone else use them and experience similar problems when going out on long rides. I am thinking of taking the straps off or both. What do you think.

I do have a nice pair of shoes with cleats (not used) but I’m afraid of using them because I stop several times on the road for roundabouts etc, and not great going up hills. So I’m afraid of getting my foot stuck if I go into a wobble on a steep climb with so much traffic going past.

I’ve only been road cycling for 11 months so any advice most welcome. Cycle routes in southern Gwent

Mike

[PT1029]

First check you have the right size clips, if the clips are too small, you can't get your feet in the correct position (ie far enough on the pedal to get the ball of your foot on the pedal). Not getting your foot far enough on the pedal might make your calfs ache. Toe clips come variously in S/M/L or S/M and M/L.
Try with your straps definately loose, if the problem still occures the straps are innocent.
Don't do your laces up too tight, this can cause numbness. Try a ride with laces tight, and another with laces loose(ish) - if too loose you can end up with squashed toes as your foot pushes forward in the shoe.
If your shoes have stiff soles, fitting gell insoles to cushion you feet might help (sold in Boots among others).
If no joy, take the straps only off and see if the problem disappears, then try taking the clips off, if it does, try to work out why (in which case you might manage to refit/adjust them so they don't give a problem.
I find metal road toes clips tend to squash the top of my foot abit, using ATB resin clips avoids this, as the inside of the clip is taller (for ATB shoes). This is more of a problem in cold weather, the squashing of the shoe conducts all the heat away from my feet.
Also have the toe strap buckle on the top/off side of your foot, if the buckle is on the side of your shoe, they can dig in a bit.

Hope this helps

[foxyrider]

If you use step in pedals and cleats it's actually safer than using toe clips.

I understand your concerns but you'll never become more confident if you don't use them.

PT has pretty much covered all the potential variants with tc's - can't say that in over 20 years of using them I ever had any issues as you describe. I'll throw this in, is your saddle in the right position, it is quite important that you aren't over or under extending when you are pedalling which could exacerbate any other issues.

[thirdcrank]

Depending what cleat system you have, check to see if you can get some that are easy to release while you are getting used to them. I think for SPD's "M" type are what I mean - I don't know about others. Make sure you fit them in the right position on your shoes before you use them or they will cause more trouble.

I'm from the toe clips and straps generation but I've found cleats better. AFAIK, used correctly, toe clips are intended only to position the straps around your feet. Your shoes shouldn't touch the front of the toe-clip. Your feet should be positioned with shoe plates on the soles.

[mattsccm]

They are all correct. Almost all toe clips are used incorrectly, especially as nowadays they only appear on entry level bikes bought by beginners ( Generalisation of course so moan) or those ridden by old timers who know their eggs.
Just ditch them and try the clipless pedals with care.
Of course it maybe something else like position or seat height.

[djnotts]

"I find metal road toes clips tend to squash the top of my foot abit, using ATB resin clips avoids this, as the inside of the clip is taller (for ATB shoes)."

Plus 1 for this. Even fit my walking boots in winter! I've never used clipless - so many bikes come and go I'd end up with dozens of "systems". And I've always assumed clipped in restricts moving foot around for comfort. The studies which demonstrated that the claims for increased efficiency are largely nonsense were buried long ago by the manufacturers who wished to sell …..clipless pedals!

[tatanab]

I disagree completely with djnotts above (nothing personal )Metal toeclips are far superior to plastic ones which seem to be a modern abomination. The plastic bends and provides no support or security for your foot. Metal toeclips from different manufacturers have different profiles. When I rode toeclips exclusively I always had the straps just tight enough that I could slide my foot in and out, any looser and you cannot pull up against the clip and strap. These days I am so used to pulling up and back with clipless pedals that I have to strap in tighter with toeclips or I pull my feet out when pulling away from traffic lights. I cannot see how toeclips could make your calves ache unless there is something else going on.

[djnotts]

To the professional/very fit amateur, may be some tiny gain but to the average user I think not. E.g. ""...while torque during the upstroke did reduce the total positive work required during the downstroke, it did not contribute significantly to the external work done because 98.6% and 96.3% of the total work done at the low and high workloads, respectively, was done during the downstroke."
This is echoed in Physiological and biochemical determinants of elite endurance cycling performance published in the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 23:93-107, 1991. There are numerous graphs showing that pedal force is only exerted between the top and bottom of the downstroke, represented by a very sharp parabola spiking at 90 degrees from vertical."

And many more such in the 1990s.

[thirdcrank]

If clip-in pedals offer no advantages - and I understand why this may be so - I'm at a loss to see any advantage in using toe-clips since both are supposed to do pretty much the same thing but in different ways.

[djnotts]

" I'm at a loss to see any advantage in using toe-clips since both are supposed to do pretty much the same thing but in different ways."

Stop feet slipping off forwards especially when wet!

[thirdcrank]

And clipless will do that, which is my point. In this context, the only advantage of toe clips is that they will work - more or less - with any footwear.

[peetee]

I suspect you are producing an unnatural pedalling action to maintain the position of your feet in the loose toe clips. I have noticed that BMX riders appear to point and curl their feet downwards when pulling the bike Into a jump and at the same time keeping the pedals in contact with their feet. This movement would rely largely on the calf muscle. Perhaps you are doing something similar to maintain your foot position?
Also perhaps the clips are the wrong size and by placing your foot to the end, the ball of your foot isn't over the pedal axle and your calves are working hard to stabilise your foot above the pedal.

[pwa]

My wife and my daughter both get on pretty well with the half clips and no straps, which of course don't hold your foot but do limit how far forward your foot goes and ensure correct positioning, and allow rotation. I used them years ago and found them good. Not expensive and worth a go.

[thirdcrank]

You could try removing the toeclips and riding on the bare pedals. That would eliminate the toeclips as the problem. Also, you could try riding in a pair of ordinary shoes if it's possible that your cycling shoes are on the tight side. I'm with those who have suggested that your saddle is at the wrong height. As a general guide, if your leg is straight your heel in shoes without heels - eg some cycling shoes - should just rest on the pedal.

[slowster]

AFAIK, used correctly, toe clips are intended only to position the straps around your feet. Your shoes shouldn't touch the front of the toe-clip. Your feet should be positioned with shoe plates on the soles.

I would modify that to "used correctly by racers".

Traditional non-clipless touring shoes do not have the cleat with the slot, and the sole is not as stiff (while still being stiff enough that it can be used without the traditional style pedal cage causing pressure spots and pain). For non-racers, toe clips serve the function of helping to get the foot in the right position on the pedal with the balls of the feet approximately over the pedal axle, and keeping it there. The strap is typically not done up tightly, and it's easier to remove the foot than with clipless pedals, because there is no need to perform the small twist of the ankle to generate the force necessary to release the foot (even though that action becomes instinctive and almost unnoticeable, it still has to be done to release the foot).

In comparison, I've noticed that the position of my foot is harder to maintain on a bike fitted with MTB type flat pedals (the type with small pins, which are supposed to perform a similar function to toe clips). I keep realising that my foot has moved on the pedal in one direction or another (e.g. too far outboard or too far inboard), prompting me to look down and see what is wrong and then reposition my foot in broadly the correct position. I'm using walking boots and sandals, and I imagine might not experience this quite so much if I used the Five Ten style shoes which are designed for that type of pedal and have a stickier compound for the sole, but I'm fairly sure it would still happen.

In this context, the only advantage of toe clips is that they will work - more or less - with any footwear.

Another advantage is that it virtually eliminates the difficulties that some have with clipless pedals, i.e. getting the cleats correctly positioned initially, and - for some - aches and pains as a result of the foot being held in one position for lengthy periods, even if it's the 'correct' cleat position. Clipless pedals manufacturers had to introduce 'float' for their pedals because of these issues, and many cyclists have been prepared to pay a very high premium to get clipless pedals with a lot of float, e.g. Speedplay. A traditional pedal and toe clip offers vastly more 'float' than even the very best of the clipless pedals (maybe there's a marketing opportunity there - double the price and call them 'cliplessless pedals': the current generation of wealthy new cyclists who have only ever known clipless pedals will snap them up ).

The main problem with toe clips is the limited availability of shoes that will fit under the relatively low profile of a traditional metal toe clip, but there never was a huge choice of such shoes, and they are still available online, if not in your LBS, e.g. Reynolds, Arturo etc.

However, that problem disappears if you use the plastic toe clips available from the likes of Zefal (http://www.wiggle.co.uk/zefal-toe-clips-43-515xl-set/), with which I can use any shoe and even walking boots, and which have the added advantage of being less prone to marking/scuffing leather than metal toe clips.

The other advantage I find of using toe clips instead of clipless pedals, is that is very liberating (both in sensation and in practicality).

For a lot of cyclists the activity has become as divorced from normal daily life as Formula 1 is from driving a car on the road. They typically ride a high performance road bike, and - like the Formula 1 driver with his special clothing, footwear and helmet - every time they want to ride, that means getting dressed in specialist clothing and putting on shoes which are only suitable for cycling. OK the helmet is optional, and I grant that shoes with MTB soles and recessed cleats are an option, but it's still all very constraining of what should be and can be one of the most liberating activities available to us.