Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Preferred Clipless Pedals for Fixies

I built up a single-speed/fixed gear Centurion last year and find it a lot of fun (and plenty of exercise) to ride. I generally use toe clips, in this case on Shimano 105 pedals, but my son, who also rides a fixed gear bike, says I'll have more control with clipless pedals. In particular, he showed me how to lift the back wheel while stopped and pull on the pedals to reposition the pedals for starting off. My question is this: Without starting a religious war, what pedals do the fixie folks prefer. As an aside, for me the most important factor is how quickly I can release my feet from the pedals. Thanks in advance.

Jim

Depends of the person... In track I used to have campy toe clips pedal and in the road Time pedals... so basically it depends of u... but makes sense that clipless pedals release is faster than toe clips pedals... but again it dependes if u have the straps tight or not too.. the shoes and cleats u have there...

If u feel fine using clipless go ahead... u know...do u use regular shoes or cycling shoes with your toe clip pedals??? ..

thanks...

try the search function, my original posting friend! this falls under the category of "dead horses we've kicked before."

ps- I use time atac's

It depends on what you use the fixie for. If it's training for road riding, I use the same clipless pedal as my road setup. If you use your fixie for commuting or fun, use whatever feels the best. Toe clips are great for all around use because you don't have to worry about what shoes you have to bring along.

i really really love my eggbeaters, and you can get a great price at performance, i think around 60 bucks right now

try the search function, my original posting friend! this falls under the category of "dead horses we've kicked before."

ps- I use time atac's
Thanks, I'll do just that. I'm usually involved with the 50+ forum, not this one, so I didn't know if this had come up before (but I suspected it had).

Jim

+1 Time ATACs

+1 eggbeaters

Spd

I ride ATAC's but now getting a set of MKS Sylvans with clips/straps because I dont want to be wearing my 90% mesh mountain bike shoes to class during the winter.

I've always wanted eggbeaters, but I'm not ready for the clipless commitment

speedplay zero

i just got the carbon time atacs... oh god, i love them so much. very very nice pedals. i've had bad luck with SPDs and fixed gear

another vote for eggbeaters

Ive got a set of Look Keo's and they are the ***** good bearings ,very light @ 220gms
cro-mo axle and all that jazz.

I go in for eggbeaters as well. On rides longer than 30 miles or so I sometimes get hotspots, but the tension and release feel really good around town.

+1 time atacs.

no matter what you get, check ebay. usually great deals on pedals.

I've used spd's on my fixed for five years now. No problems, not a one. I understand that they have this fisher price connotation, however, I see no reason to change.

Eggbeater Candy SL - Great taste, no hotspots.

look delta. cheap, stiff and strong.

ATAC. Great pedals. And they can take a really good amount of bashing too. Those things are not fragile.

+1 Time ATAC

Eggbeater Candy SL - Great taste, no hotspots.

+2 (got 'em on my 'cross rig as well).

-1 eggbeaters, ive only used shimano m505s before and my egg beaters but i like the platform on the shimano and the fact you can hear it unclick.. eggbeaters don't have that click that i so yearn for while riding fixed, not to mention the cleats are soft and likely to wear out faster.

Time ATACs on all my bikes.

+1 eggbeaters. don't waste your time with the candys or mallets, nothing surpasses the original concept.

Since I started this thread, I thought I'd give an update. Eggbeaters are on sale at Performance, so I bought a pair (two pairs actually, the second for one of my road bikes) and put them on yesterday. The weather wasn't terribly cooperative here, but I did try them out briefly. The Eggbeaters seem to offer a nice tradeoff in that I can reposition the pedals when stopped easier than with toe clips and yet still get out without difficulty. Thanks for all the responses.

Jim

+4 or 5 for eggbeaters (candy SL for a poor color match)

Time ATAC XS (adjustable tension)

SPD's +3 (MTB, commuter, and fixed racer).

Spd's, Shimano and its knock off cousins

Spd's, Shimano and its knock off cousins
I'll second that

speedplay zero
are those the ones with no float? I dunno but it seems like your knees would be ****ed up pretty fast with no float. I have the spd ish things that came on my pista. I like well enough. They are better imo than toe cages but they both have good points. Do you have any friend who would let you try their shoes? if so give it a whirl and see if they look like somthing you wanna do.
h

SPD (although have LOOK too on one of my road bikes). Go for a MTB pedal if you are worried about speed of getting out of them. Although even road ones are easy to get out of MTB pedals tend to be even easier. Heck, 99% of the time I'm getting out of my spd pedals without even thinking about it! (And the other one percent? Sure I thought about getting the shoe out, but even then it is too late and I'm out already. That is how easy it is when you are used to them and have them set up right)

All I have to say is be careful which clipless you choose if you go brakeless. I have popped out of so many SPD pedals during skids and stops. I went back to toe clips for a while before getting a pair of Time ATAC Carbons. I haven't popped out yet, and have the tension setting on "2", the second tightest setting.

I like the Time's because of the tension setting. Regardless of which type you decide on, make sure you regularly check your cleats for wear, and make sure your pedals' tension is tight.

+ eggbeaters. with MTB shoes.. I wont go back.

Float is a feature pedal manufactures tout so people don't blame their product for blown out knees. If you are fit to your bike properly and your cleats are installed to your shoes in a way that makes pedaling natural... float is not needed. Float just makes up for improperly fit bicycles.

i just got eggbeaters and sidi dominators and have been riding them for the last week and i'm in love.

All I have to say is be careful which clipless you choose if you go brakeless. I have popped out of so many SPD pedals during skids and stops. I went back to toe clips for a while before getting a pair of Time ATAC Carbons. I haven't popped out yet, and have the tension setting on "2", the second tightest setting.

I like the Time's because of the tension setting. Regardless of which type you decide on, make sure you regularly check your cleats for wear, and make sure your pedals' tension is tight.

+1. Crank those rascals down if you're going to be brakeless on the streets with SPD's, adn be ready to do the occasional eskimo roll when you can't get out fast enough.

Coming from someone who rides exclusivley SPD on all my bikes, I'd recomend staying the **** away from them for fixed gear use. It's a crapshoot for me riding wondering when (not if) my SPD's are going to unclip at a critical braking moment (brakeless). It certainly makes the ride a bit more interesting/ daring however.

I've been rolling some Crank Bros Mallets with a pair of SixSixOne Expert Mountain shoes for a couple weeks now and I dig the combo heartily.