General Cycling Discussion - Are these shoe-straps useful?

I'm just wondering if shoe-straps like these are useful for mountain biking, since i would buy clipless pedals till Christmas. Would these increase my efficieny and help me in bunny hopping of logs and sfuff on the trails?

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=581119&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=521371&bmUID=1058381992620

It's only $6.50 CDN and i'm wondering if it would actually be more useful, or a pain in the butt. Thanks!

Better than a plain pedal I'll tell you that.

Clipless are even better. You'll hate clipless at first (when you get em). But hand in there.

I got my first pair of clippless in 95, hated the damn things, was gonna through them away. 2 weeks later I never looked back.

Digger

You definitely want some sort of foot retention system. Most members of this forum are firmly in the clipless "snap-in" camp, but a few of us retrogrouches, particularly the transportation cyclists, still like our toeclips and straps, partly because they permit us to ride in street shoes.

Unless there is a strap that loops through the top of these clips and wraps around the pedal these toeclips are going to be marginal for bunnyhopping. Your shoe will easily pull out of these
in any significant maneuver. They are designed for more sedate trail and road riding where one pedals fairly smoothly and help retain the shoe but would not be reliable for jumping logs etc.
Steve

Here's another alternative to clipless & toe clips. I love 'em. They work with any shoe & are easy to get in & out.

http://bicycling.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.nashbar.com/

Sorry for the above. I didn't get the entire link pasted. Here's a picture.

I just converted to toe straps for my road bike and my touring/commuter bike and left my clipless peddles on my MTB. I found my feet went a little numb when I went on long tours and the toe clips allow a little more freedom. My road bike has these old Shimano biopace chain rings and apparently, they work better with toe clips. Nevertheless, I still prefer my clipless and I will convert all my bikes to them. I believe the MEC toe clip straps are sold separately.

That type of plastic toe holder usually doesn't work well with common sneakers, since it doesn't reach very high. Also, if your foot is larger than about a size 8 (US size), the ball of your foot will sit back too far making for very uncomfortable pedalling.

Originally posted by AquariaGuy
I'm just wondering if shoe-straps like these are useful for mountain biking, since i would buy clipless pedals till Christmas. Would these increase my efficieny and help me in bunny hopping of logs and sfuff on the trails?

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=581119&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=521371&bmUID=1058381992620

It's only $6.50 CDN and i'm wondering if it would actually be more useful, or a pain in the butt. Thanks!

To be honest, those toe clips look like junk, I think they would be more of a pain in the butt than usefull. If you really need to clip your feet to the pedals for cheap, power grips would be a better choice but will cost more like $15, maybe $20 CDN. Otherwise wait 'till christmas and get clipless pedals & shoes.

For bunny hopping you will need clipless pedals, however when I was doing some downhill MTBing a few years ago I went back to "bear-trap" pedals as it allowed me to put my foot down and balance a bit easier on slippery gravel surfaced corners. This can be done with clipless but it can sometimes be hard to clip back in on really bumpy descents. Needles to say I wasn't very good and went back to road riding.:D

CHEERS.

Mark

Toe clips are a huge leap in efficiency and safety compared to plain platform pedals. Clipless pedals are more efficient still, but I think the leap from plain to toeclips is a bigger improvement than from clips to clipless.

A lot of clipless advocates view toe clips as difficult and dangerous to use. It is possible to use them in this fashion, but its pretty simple to use them safely.
You can get toe clips in various sizes and shapes, in plastic and metal, with leather or nylon straps.
To work effectively you need a toeclip which has enough room for your shoe's toe-box. You need to pick shoes which have a clean profile with few mouldings, a lacing system which is not sticking out and a sole which is reasonably smooth not knobbly. Shimano leisure cycling shoes are ideal, trail shoes and some of the simpler pattern of sports shoe also work well.

In the old days when racers used them, people used to cinch the straps tight for efficiency, and even use a slotted plate in their shoe to engage on the edge of the pedal. There is no need to do this, it makes the exit much slower. Many riders in my touring club and many commuters in my area use toe clips, but none of them cinch the straps tight.

For racing or sporting use, clipless pedals are the best, but for just riding along, where you want to wear everyday footwear, for winter footwear, toe clips are still a valid choice.

Bean Counter

In you first post I followed the URL and they had a road pedal that looked interesting. Do you know why they seemed to imply for road only?

Joe

I used clips and straps before I went clipless. When I pedaled hard and concentrated on pulling up on the pedal, I found I often bruised the tops of the toes that sat just under the clips. Clipless pedals have eliminated this.

If you think you might want clips and straps as an interim pedal before you go clipless, you can probably find some inexpensive pedals and clips. I think mine were around $20 U.S. I used them for about half a year. Lately they have been attached to my son's hybrid.

JoePrim

I have used this type of pedal on both road & off. I don't know why they would suggest that they be used only for road. IMHO, they are as easy to get in & out as clipless.

I like the power grips. I rode a bike with those on once and it felt much less akward that the traditional shoe straps.

Originally posted by Gordon P
I just converted to toe straps for my road bike and my touring/commuter bike and left my clipless peddles on my MTB. I found my feet went a little numb when I went on long tours and the toe clips allow a little more freedom. My road bike has these old Shimano biopace chain rings and apparently, they work better with toe clips. Nevertheless, I still prefer my clipless and I will convert all my bikes to them. I believe the MEC toe clip straps are sold separately.

You're right, my size is 9 1/2 and straps pushed my feet back, so the part before my toes, was on the pedal, and it was REALLY uncomfortable =(

Thanks for all your opinion guys! Well i went out and bought a pair, but they weren't comfortable because of my shoe size ( 9 1/2) Too bad... some of u said they were helpful! The Power Grips look too pricey for me, so i will just save that money for the clipless hopefully in the future (probaly spend it on food lol)