Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - pedal theory, please confirm

Start with pedals, no straps.

Then, once mastered, get straps.

Then, once mastered, get clips..

Right?

While I wouldn't get clips before I knew how to ride a bike, I wouldn't say you had to use straps before getting clips either.

I would actually get the straps first, then the clips, return the straps, get pedals, return the straps again, buy more clips, and then buy new straps. It is really that easy...:roflmao:

Originally posted by 165-48:17
I would actually get the straps first, then the clips, return the straps, get pedals, return the straps again, buy more clips, and then buy new straps. It is really that easy...:roflmao:
I was talking theory.. not real world :D

huh?

clips and straps work together, at least on my bike. and, they're attached to the pedal.

of course, i've also got a bike with just pedals, but no clips and certainly no straps (although i could have just pedals and straps if i used a powerstrap, or whatever it's called).

seriously...

if you're talking about learning to ride fixed, or increase one's level of comfort, it went like this for me:

1. BMX pedals, no toe-clips or straps of any kind.
2. clipless pedals (eggbeaters... easy in, out, etc.)
3. platforms, metal toe-clips, leather straps.

maybe some folks think that 3 is easier than 2, but not me.

As for clips, I meant clip in types, that have not a strap, like LOOK pedals...

Sorry I wasn't clear.

When I got my fixed gear bke, I first tried with straps I hated them :)
So then put my campy clipless pedals on the bike, been that way ever since.

If you know how to ride a bike, just go ahead and get some clipless mountain bike pedals, like SPDs or Eggbeaters or whatever. You have to buy a pair of shoes, but it is worth it; You will be able to put the most power into pedalling or slowing down. Just kick in and out of them a couple times to see how it feels, then ride away. It's no big deal, just remember to twist out before you stop so you can put your foot down. At speed there is no reason why they should cause you to crash or anything. The worst thing over regular pedals is maybe that you tip over if you stop without taking your foot out.

As far as a learning curve, there is no reason to have to use platforms first, or straps or whatever. You can ride the clipless pedals without locking in just to get the feel of the bike, but for any real riding you will want to be able to pull up on your pedals.

-Jason

If you are riding fixed(no freewheel) Start with toe clips and straps. This will make the move to clipless seem even better. Personally I would just start with clipless unless you like to wear regular shoes when you ride.

I'd just go straight to clipless; with straps and toe clips you'll develop habits you'll have to unlearn later when you go clipless. With straps you will get in the habit of pulling back to get out of the pedals, but on clipless pedals this doesn't work.

go straight clipless.
being locked into the pedals takes the whole "connected" feeling a couple of notches higher.
after your brain automates the process of unclipping, you can trackstand or whatever naturally, without fear of falling over. i rode toeclips on my fixed before, and moving to clipless sucked a little bit. i almost fell over once when i was trackstanding and tried to unclip by pulling back on my foot. i unclipped in time though.
if you're worried about walkability, get some nice mountain shoes and SPD/Time ATAC/Speedplay Frog pedals, whose cleats are really low profile and walkable.

I went from flat to clips without straps, to clipless and it worked okay for me, but I think I'd have been fine if I'd missed the clips stage.

I suppose if you go slow enough it's alright not to have toeclips, but IT IS STILL DANGEROUS. I know that if I rode without toeclips I would surly die. You can't skid or skip without toe-clips, and have to rely on A) slowing down VERY slowly at lights, or B) jumping off when you are going too fast to stop at a traffic light. That's just my two cents.

For the most part, these days, I find that I prefer to avoid wearing my overpriced SIDIs (two pairs, one road and one MTB) so that I can wear regular, comfy street shoes (all-stars, vans, or even sandals).

As such, I'm slowly moving from clipless to either clips/straps or just plain pedals, depending on the bike.

The fixie that has BMX pedals is the townie and it has a 60" drivetrain and a brake (not that I ever need it, since i never get going fast enough). The other two have clips and straps now, although one recently had a pair of eggbeaters that are now on my MTB.

This works for me mostly because something like 60% of my riding (time and distance) is just me riding around, commuting, riding across town to see a movie, or whatever. For this, I want regular shoes.

Dumpstervegan: If you have a brake then it is OK though.

Bent_sprocket: I totally agree with your philosphy of taking it easy and as such have wanted to build a bike with platforms and a brake, for those times when I don't feel like going all out, but every since I have had the Specialized Sonomas, which are quite comfortable and easy to walk around in (and look like normal shoes) I haven't worried about it as much.

-Jason

Originally posted by jasonyates

Bent_sprocket: I totally agree with your philosphy of taking it easy and as such have wanted to build a bike with platforms and a brake, for those times when I don't feel like going all out, but every since I have had the Specialized Sonomas, which are quite comfortable and easy to walk around in (and look like normal shoes) I haven't worried about it as much.

-Jason

For me, it's much more a combination of three things:

1. I've got VERY hard-to-fit feet. The only reason that I wear the SIDIs in the first place is because they're literally the only shoes that seem to fit.

2. Even though I spent the money on the SIDIs, I'm basically cheap. I wear a single pair of all-stars until they're useless, and then buy another pair.

3. My knees display an extreme level of antipathy to any clipless pedal, with the notable exception of my speedplay zeros. But, I only own one pair of these, and they're on my road bike. I can put up with the eggbeaters for my 2-hour off-road jaunts (2-3 times a month), but not for the 1.5-5 hours I spend riding every day on the road commuting, running errands, and just riding for fun.

All in all, I nearly had to smack myself over the head with the pedal wrench when I realized that the old skool platforms or track pedals with clips and straps felt great, while the new, expensive pedals with whatever degrees of float and expensive shoes tortured my already-addled knees.

All that I could think about was how many years-worth of all-stars I could have bought with what I've spent on clipless pedals that I currently don't use.

And then there's the whole quest for a saddle that I like, which is another story altogether.

I know this is a bit off topic, but I highly recomend egg beaters! I have them for my road bike and they rock. They are probably even better for Mtn bikes. The new ones they sell are super light too (if you can afford the several hundred $ they charge for them).

I personally do alot of urban/social riding...from one place to another, into the grocery store, out of the grocery store, meet a freind at his house, come back to mine, things like that, where normal shoes are pretty nice to have on (esp. if you end up locking your bike and then taking a walk which I often do) That's why I have clips on my pedals. Simple enough: its functional, and I get to wear whatever shoes I need to wear: I pedaled to a job interview last month in very very girly red heals.)

I tried eggbeaters on my MTB, but I already have enough problems with not falling to remember to pull up and not back, I stick to platforms, simply because of the jumping and falling.

Originally posted by bent_sprocket

All that I could think about was how many years-worth of all-stars I could have bought with what I've spent on clipless pedals that I currently don't use.

i'm an all-star guy (well, i was, until fscking nike bought converse) and i can never ride my bike in them. even though i have nice comfortable platform pedals, i can feel every little ridge and hole through those soles.

that's one reason that i've grown to love clipless pedals. even though it may seem that you can ride your platforms in any shoes, you really need some sturdy shoes with thick soles. i found out that i ride one pair of shoes almost exclusively on my toeclips bike--due to their thick soles. so i might as well wear cycling shoes.

that said though, i like toeclips for other reasons; that's why i still ride them. i just don't try to make the "i ride toeclips so i can wear whatever shoes i want" argument anymore, because it's not true. in my case, anyway.

Does anybody have advice for getting in toe clips while they're moving? Or maybe it's just that I have big feet...I ride around town on a fixie with platforms geared at 175:48x18 with a front braks, and that works well, but I'd like to gear it higher if I can get in clips.

sckot, you really can't :)
if you get to high rpm it becomes near impossible to get into your pedal. the way you do it is when you take off. i take off with with my right foot clipped in and forward, and when the left pedal comes around on the first revolution, i flip it and engage it. this has become automatic; i don't have to look down anymore. if i miss it on the first try, i keep going slow and try again.
so you don't need to (and really can't) get in clips at high rpm. you just get in at takeoff.

So how quickly do you guys & the lady unbuckle when comming to a sudden stop? Do most clippers even tighten the straps?

I do for extended rides, but for anything like down the block or to the grocery store (say..a mile?) I don't bother. If I'm going cross town, or my normal half hour to my boyfreinds house, I'll yank on them a bit. I do wear converse. purchased before nike bought them out.

getting into the clips: right foot in to start, left foot flips in on the first 1-3 revolutions of the cranks. helps to have pedals with the flip-tap on the underside.

tightening down: mostly i just don't do it, especially if i'm wearing the all-stars, which are nice, and low-profile to begin with. i've just evolved the right balance of strap tightness vs. being able to get in/out.

feeling the pedals through the soles: this is why i don't wear the all-stars on longer (more than about 45 min.) with the platforms. instead, i wearn vans, which have a stiffer sole. and, it helps to lift up slightly against the clips on the upstroke (but then again, it's good to do that all of the time).

let's face it though, nothing so far seems to beat redlight's girly red high heels.

For shoes, check out the DVS Millans. Love them. I want every color.

Grunk, those are bike shoes (like SPD compatible??) I didn't know DVS was in to bike shoes now.

For people who just lightly strap in: Are you able to push/pull through your entire pedal stroke?

-Jason

The DVS Millans are skate shoes. They aren't SPD compatible. A good alternative to Chucks (stiffer) and Adidas (wider). Plus you can shred the gnar with them.

http://www.activemailorder.com/Catalog/category.aspx?j~&cp=1&ct=3&sc=36&sm=-1&br=0&pr=1421&bx=1&px=1&at=-1&bi=0

cory

Oh, haha, ok.. I thought that sounded a little weird.. :)

-Jason

Originally posted by jasonyates
Grunk, those are bike shoes (like SPD compatible??) I didn't know DVS was in to bike shoes now.

For people who just lightly strap in: Are you able to push/pull through your entire pedal stroke?

-Jason

I wouldn't say the entire pedal stroke. Most if it, especially the up-from-under and over-the-top parts.

I don't do much of the pulling-through-bottom of the stroke, but that's fine, since that was always hell on my knees anyway.

Instead, I concentrate (when I bother to think about it...I've been doing this for a long time) on pushing my knees toward the bar, which will in turn pull the foot up and around and over and a relatively smooth fashion.

Originally posted by SinGate
I know this is a bit off topic, but I highly recomend egg beaters! I have them for my road bike and they rock. They are probably even better for Mtn bikes. The new ones they sell are super light too (if you can afford the several hundred $ they charge for them).

To each his own, but I ride alot and egg beaters have not only ruined one pair of sidi's for me, but a few of my friends too. The cleats just wear down the sole.

speaking of sidis, i just got a pair of genius 4's and they are the most comfortable cycling shoes i have ever worn...

mc