Originally Posted by
Panthers007
I've never had any accidents with platforms, and I ride them with, or without, toe-clips/straps. In a panic-stop, you have to be drilled in pulling-back and down when riding clips. The response is the same on just a platform. Fast and smooth action. I would think that turning your ankle in a panic would create a higher possibility of an accident.
Not in my experience. I've had a couple "bicycle and rider go airborne" accidents while in my clipless (Time ATAC and Time RXS) pedals, and disengaging just hasn't been an issue. Each time I was able to unclip without even thinking about it; it simply becomes an ingrained, automatic response once you've acquired a certain level of experience with such pedal systems. I certainly never had to do any "drills" to become proficient at disengaging in an emergency situation, other than just using the pedals on a day-to-day basis.
Actually, on the issue of emergency unclipping, I'm fairly sure that disengaging from a clipless pedal with a twist of the ankle can be executed far more quickly than removing one's foot from a clip pedal, though I welcome any evidence to the contrary.
On the other side of the coin, there's nothing like having an absolutely fail-safe connection between your foot and the pedal. I dare say that clipless systems really are safer, because a good clipless system reduces the chances of your foot slipping from the pedal to nearly zero. In my opinion, systems like ATAC which give you wide release angles and noticeable force feedback before disengaging are, in this sense, safer than e.g. Shimano SPD, which has surprised me in some inopportune moments.
On those few occasions where I get stuck on a bicycle with platform or clip pedals, I find myself riding far slower than on my own bikes—not so much because clipless pedals are
that much more efficient, but because I just don't feel safe applying full force to the pedals or riding at as high a cadence as usual if I'm not in my trusty ATACs or RXSes.