loose or toe clips?

[sevenhills]

Hi

I have never riden a cycle with to clips of any kind. I maybe starting to cycle a little more, but is there a need for toe clips? Are they just for those that want extra speed? I have no intension of wearing different shoes for cyclinG.

[eileithyia]

The only way you get benefit is by being able to 'pull up' as well as 'push down'. When i started cycling wiht toe clips we would tighten the straps for a hill so the foot was held tighter and we gained advantage of being able to pull up with out loosing the pedal.

[Si]

Are they necessary? Nope, people do perfectly well without.
Are they just for those that want extra speed? Nope, they can also help keep your foot on the pedal, for instance if you are riding rough paths, or if you are used to clipless (I normally ride SPDs but when I went back to flats on the commute bike so that I could use office shoes, I found it uncomfortable because I kept pulling up and thus slipping off the pedal).
If you are happy with what you currently use then why change? On the other hand clips and straps can be really cheap so you've not got a lot to lose if you want to try them out.

[Gearoidmuar]

The only way you get benefit is by being able to 'pull up' as well as 'push down'. When i started cycling wiht toe clips we would tighten the straps for a hill so the foot was held tighter and we gained advantage of being able to pull up with out loosing the pedal.

This is often quoted but scientific measurement shows that the degree of energy transmitted by pulling up, vs. pushing down, can be discounted.
It's really all pushing down.

[LollyKat]

The advantage with toe clips is that they keep the correct part of your foot (the ball) on the pedal, which is more comfortable and also gives more power output for the same perceived effort. Otherwise it is easy to end up riding on the instep. Also, if you like to stand on the pedals for short hills it is much easier with clips - without them your foot can come off the pedal altogether.

Zefal make ones without straps which can be used with any shoe and are easy to get in and out of. I use them on my hack commuter

[bogmyrtle]

I have always uased flat pedals but find the grip wears off them quite quickly, also every pair of cycle shoes I've owned have been slippy when the soles get wet. Using toe clips stops my feet skidding off the pedals in wet conditions. I don't find they make any difference to peddaling efficiency.

[[XAP]Bob]

The only way you get benefit is by being able to 'pull up' as well as 'push down'. When i started cycling wiht toe clips we would tighten the straps for a hill so the foot was held tighter and we gained advantage of being able to pull up with out loosing the pedal.

This is often quoted but scientific measurement shows that the degree of energy transmitted by pulling up, vs. pushing down, can be discounted.
It's really all pushing down.

I find that hard to believe.... having ripped the threads out of spd bolts.
Of course I was on a 'bent at the time.

The biggest effect for me is that my feet are always in the right place.

[Si]

The only way you get benefit is by being able to 'pull up' as well as 'push down'. When i started cycling wiht toe clips we would tighten the straps for a hill so the foot was held tighter and we gained advantage of being able to pull up with out loosing the pedal.

This is often quoted but scientific measurement shows that the degree of energy transmitted by pulling up, vs. pushing down, can be discounted.
It's really all pushing down.

I find that hard to believe....

that's because it's untrue, or at least, a massive over simplification as to make it meaningless

[BigG]

The only way you get benefit is by being able to 'pull up' as well as 'push down'. When i started cycling wiht toe clips we would tighten the straps for a hill so the foot was held tighter and we gained advantage of being able to pull up with out loosing the pedal.

This is often quoted but scientific measurement shows that the degree of energy transmitted by pulling up, vs. pushing down, can be discounted.
It's really all pushing down.

I have read similar research (but I no longer remember where) carried out with professional racers. Even when they were asked to pull up on the return stroke, most were only pulling hard enough to lift that leg thus reducng the pedal force to about zero. Of course, in this situation, the foot would unhelpfully float about on the pedal. I use clips purely to keep my feet properly located on the pedals and there is no doubt in my mind that they make me feel more at one with the bike.

[thirdcrank]

Hi

I have never riden a cycle with to clips of any kind. I maybe starting to cycle a little more, but is there a need for toe clips? Are they just for those that want extra speed? I have no intension of wearing different shoes for cyclinG.

In terms of on-road riding, I'd say "Hold it right there." If you want to use ordinary shoes, you are as well with plain pedals. IMO.

(The basic idea of toe clips is that they hold the toe strap in the right place to grip your shoe. To be certain that your shoe is in the right place to be gripped, you need what used to be called shoe plates and came to be known as cleats. Unless you want squashed toes, shoe plates keep the front of your shoes from being pushed against the front of the toe clips.

Modern shoe/ pedal systems just lock the shoe into the pedal and once again have cleats, but set into the sole.)

[profpointy]

The only way you get benefit is by being able to 'pull up' as well as 'push down'. When i started cycling wiht toe clips we would tighten the straps for a hill so the foot was held tighter and we gained advantage of being able to pull up with out loosing the pedal.

That's not really my experience at all. If it does help you "pull up" the benefit is marginal to say the least. The advantage for me is keeping my feet safely on the opedals in the right position -specifically with the ball of the foot on the pedal. Without clips or spds, you tend to pedal on the instep, which is less efficient ie harder work. In my view the pulling-up thing is marginal at best - and is in any case not the reason for having them. I've had toe clips for 20 of the last 30 years; until i changed to spds.

[gentlegreen]

I wear MTB shoes and grippy BMX pedals and I find I don't sit square on the bike. My left foot is in close and parallel - to the extent that the laquer gets worn off the pedal blade. My right foot sits slightly towards the edge and at an angle.
Probably at times I move my feet depending on the terrain.
Perhaps it's me, perhaps it's the bike, but it works for me and doesn't bode well for having my feet attached to the pedals. That and preferring not to have to think about how to put my feet on the ground - or rather my toes - because my saddle is set high ...

[gaz]

I spent my first 18 months or so of club riding on flat pedals, no toe-clips, straps, cleats or other retaining systems.

It worked fine but I was being encouraged to get toe-clips and straps. When I got another bike I also got toe-clips and straps, I liked them.

A few months after I went back to the flat pedal bike for a ride. My feet seemed to be lifting up off of the pedals on the up strokes and generally sliding about a lot. I soon got some clips and straps.

Some years later I switched to SPDs, I liked them too.

The really odd thing is that last year I got a commuter with flat pedals. My feet have not lifted off the pedals on the up strokes once, they've slipped about a little, generally in the rain, but not so much that I've been worried about it.

So personally whilst once an adherent to the belief I no longer think there's that much in the theory of pulling up on the pedals.

I'm still planning to put SPDs on the commuter later this year.

[LollyKat]

I have no intension of wearing different shoes for cyclinG.

If you want to use ordinary shoes, you are as well with plain pedals. IMO.

(The basic idea of toe clips is that they hold the toe strap in the right place to grip your shoe. To be certain that your shoe is in the right place to be gripped, you need what used to be called shoe plates and came to be known as cleats....

I don't agree. All my commuting is done in ordinary clothes and shoes, with toe-clips (sometimes strapless ones) but without cleats. The clips come in different sizes so they keep my foot in the right position. On day rides or tours I use stiff-soled cycling shoes, and straps with the toe-clips but still without cleats of any kind, so that I never have any problem getting my feet out I'm too old to start messing about with spds!

The advantage for me is keeping my feet safely on the pedals in the right position -specifically with the ball of the foot on the pedal. Without clips or spds, you tend to pedal on the instep, which is less efficient ie harder work.

Exactly. The one thing I don't like about my Brompton is that it doesn't have clips and it's not easy to fit them, at least on the folding pedal.

[sevenhills]

The really odd thing is that last year I got a commuter with flat pedals. My feet have not lifted off the pedals on the up strokes once, they've slipped about a little, generally in the rain, but not so much that I've been worried about it.
.

Not only do I like to move my feet on the pedals, I also like to move my bum on the seat. My worry would be anything that kept me in exactly the same position would lead to numbness.