Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - For those who have tried both: clipless vs. double straps

I've been riding clipless for a couple weeks now and just went back to double straps for the first time today. Needless to say... I think I like clipless better though there's definite pros and cons to both. Just wondering how the rest of the forum feels and why.

A couple pros to clipless for me:
-Better power transfer especially between 6-9oclock of the spin compared to clips/straps
-Makes me feel more inclined to spin rather than mash
-Feel more secure brakeless, haven't had any unwanted pull-outs with ATACs
-Better in the rain, don't have to worry about stretching leather straps

Cons:
-Walking around in cycling cleats
-Can develop 'hot spots' in foot while riding (if cleat is overtightened on shoe)
-Foot moves around in shoe if I wear too-thin socks

Doublestrap pros:
-Sambas fit beautifully in them
-Better power transfer than single straps, more secure feeling once in
-Stiff strap for good efficiency
-Able to do hipster tricks on bike and not worry about staying clipped in

Cons:
-Power transfer doesn't feel as good as with clipless
-Shoe moves in pedal in 6-9oclock position

I have fewer toe overlap issues with clipless and rarely pull out of them.

i have gone back and forth several times. it depends on lifestyle. when i had a 9 to 5, clipless was the way to go since i kept a pair of shoes at my desk at work. mow that i am a student, i hop o and off my bike a lot and will sometimes walk with friends and straps seem to be the way to go.

depending on my style of travel, commuting and general riding I prefer clips and straps, even though 30-50 miles is doable. When on long rides, clipless really shines (haha, like the rhyme?:D)

tried both, prefer powergrips

OT but can someone explain what a hot spot is to me? I have never had one of those things.

I am a clipless only guy, mainly just because my lifestyle up till now has made shoe changes convenient when commuting.

Tried both double straps and spd. No comparison, SPDs beat straps all the way. Better security, easier in and out.

For convenience, i.e. wearing regular shoes, straps are better.

OT but can someone explain what a hot spot is to me? I have never had one of those things.

I am a clipless only guy, mainly just because my lifestyle up till now has made shoe changes convenient when commuting.

basically, a certain part of the sole of your foot beguns to hurt because there's more pressure on it vs. other areas.

tried both, prefer powergrips

I have been really tempted to try powergrips as well. Currently SPDs and my cleats work for me (9-5 commuter) but if I move back into the city I may switch to powergrips. What kind of shoes do you typically wear with them?

Cons:
-Walking around in cycling cleats
-Can develop 'hot spots' in foot while riding (if cleat is overtightened on shoe)
-Foot moves around in shoe if I wear too-thin socks


Hot spot not a problem with Look/SPD-SL
Foot moves around = you have wrong sized shoes.

Definitely prefer clipless, which means a ton because I use cheap ass throwaway pulloff Wellgos.

Hot spot not a problem with Look/SPD-SL
Foot moves around = you have wrong sized shoes.

only happens if i wear lycra socks, which is about the same as no socks at all. if i have cotton socks on, no problem. i'm starting to hate lycra socks anyway; wool is probably in the forseeable future.

Hot spot not a problem with Look/SPD-SL


I had some hot-spot issues when i first started using spd-sl's so thats not necessarily true. The key is having the right size shoe and getting cleat position dialed in.

However, i would imagine hot spots would be more likely with the smaller platforms of other pedals.

You can get hot spots (or at least foot aches) pushing big gears for long periods on platform pedals too. no one style is immune.

Pros of clipless: fewer torn ligaments and tendons from failing to unclip in a crash

has that happened to you?

you can strap your feet in just as tight with straps if you so desired....

Look and SPD pedals on my bikes. My wifes' bike has straps. When last rode her bike around town for errands, I thought those straps a pain. Constantly uprighting those straps and searching for their position, and struggling to insert my feet. They are so distracting, it's enough to cause you to crash into something.

I have been really tempted to try powergrips as well. Currently SPDs and my cleats work for me (9-5 commuter) but if I move back into the city I may switch to powergrips. What kind of shoes do you typically wear with them?

ive used them mostly with a pair of trainers from vegetarian shoes and converses, so basically pretty flexible soled sneakers. Have them on regular inexpensive nashbar platform pedals. Powergrips hold your feet as secure as clipless (more secure than toeclips and straps and you dont need to deal with tightening). No hotspot issues even on 80+ mile days, you dont have to wear dorky cycling shoes, and theyre also easier to get your foot in them while moving than clips/straps are.

has that happened to you?

you can strap your feet in just as tight with straps if you so desired....

My sister had a hideous ankle injury from regular clips and straps.

I can't figure out what your second sentence is trying to say... this isn't about being 'tight', it's about being able to release quickly and easily in an emergency so your ankle doesn't get injured. That's way easier with clipless.

depends. i'm off and on the bike all the time so regular shoes are an overwhelming pro. a couple of the other messengers won't ride fixed w/o clipless, though, which i can understand.

clipless is the way to ride if you DONT have to wear normal shoes.

if you are on and off of your bike all day and have to wear normal shoes clips make sense

that sounds like a messenger with a dress code to me though

To be honest, I've never used clips and straps for a extended period of time, so I can't say. And with clipless, well, you can dig into deeper arguments regarding the superiority of one system over another.

That said, I use SPDs, which I was, for lack of a better term, indoctrinated into when I started mountain biking years ago. I never even made the switch to a different, more comfort-oriented system when I started road cycling. In fact, the closest I ever arrived at switching systems was when I started riding fixed, and almost made the switch to Eggbeaters.

In the end, I never did: the SPD cleats were already on my shoes, and once you have a cleat on your shoe, well, you can forget about switching it out - the grooves make it difficult to get any other system feeling right. Not to mention the non-adjustable tension, or the "softness," yield - whatever you want to call it - of the cleats that I constantly heard of. I really just wanted 4-way entry, forward and reverse.

Never even considered clips and straps; then again, I think clipless is the best investment a cyclist can make.

As for shoes and socks issue - as sad as it is to admit to this - I keep a two pair of SIDIs a size apart, as well as a pair of Pearl Izumi Vagabonds that I use as "grocery shoppers." That said, I know of a few people who do the same - to accommodate different socks in variety of weather situations. And I never really find them too uncomfortable - I've gone whole workdays in cycling shoes on a number of occasions.

It's only kind of odd when your walking down the hall, and the guy in front of you glances back because of the click clack, and you kind of intrinsically know he only did it 'cause he thought it was a girl in heels. Or, maybe he though it was a girl in cycling shoes. Who knows.

wtf lycra socks?

My sister had a hideous ankle injury from regular clips and straps.

I can't figure out what your second sentence is trying to say... it's about being able to release quickly and easily in an emergency so your ankle doesn't get injured.

I was trying to say that straps can be just as (maybe more) constricting than clipless, but it sounds like we are on the same page now.

I never really find them too uncomfortable - I've gone whole workdays in cycling shoes on a number of occasions.

QFT. I'm only just onto my second pair of clipless shoes. My first pair were 'walkable' soft soled ones and I was a bit worried about getting fully stiff soled MTB shoes. It turned out there was barely a thing to worry about as far as walking comfort goes, but the benefits of the extra power transfer... absolute, unadulterated wickedness.

And the 'clip clop' sound when walking around makes me feel like a sexy man.

And the 'clip clop' sound when walking around makes me feel like a sexy man.


haha

i love coming around a corner and seeing the faces of people who were expecting a woman in heels!

hooves

wtf lycra socks?

yep, the heat of the summer plus riding 25+ miles a day drives you to do some borderline weird ass sh.it





now that it's winter though, lycra can kiss my ass.

Never tried clipless but I love my Toshi double straps. Huge upgrade over the single straps I had before. I'm running MKS track pedals now, but would be curious to see what the Nuevo Wides feel like. I've got some big ass feet.

I talked to a couple guys who had run both before that said they'd rather run straps because they don't run brakes and they'd be afraid of coming unclipped going down a hill or something. I've never run clipless though, so I don't know how hard it'd be to accidentally unclip. Anyone running clipless ever come unclipped on accident? I'd guess certain types of clipless are more secure than others?

Never tried clipless but I love my Toshi double straps. Huge upgrade over the single straps I had before. I'm running MKS track pedals now, but would be curious to see what the Nuevo Wides feel like. I've got some big ass feet.

I talked to a couple guys who had run both before that said they'd rather run straps because they don't run brakes and they'd be afraid of coming unclipped going down a hill or something. I've never run clipless though, so I don't know how hard it'd be to accidentally unclip. Anyone running clipless ever come unclipped on accident? I'd guess certain types of clipless are more secure than others?

almost any unintentional unclipping is due to user error or poor cleat maintenance. It's happened to me a couple times when I twisted too far just messing around with hockey stops/fishtailing, but then again i run a pretty small release angle.

i've accidentally come unclipped twice.

the first time was about 3 days after i had switched from freewheel to fixed and was trying to descend a rather steepish hill--i was pulling backwards against my pedals pretty hard and my left cleat unclipped. thankfully i run a front brake so it wasn't really an issue, but it was pretty scary. the second time was pretty much the same scenario, just on a different hill.

the second time i was trying to hop up a curb and my left cleat came unclipped and my foot almost went into my front spokes.

i really don't think it's an issue with the SPD system in particular as much it had to do with the condition of my equipment--my cleats were pretty worn down from walking around on pavement in my bike shoes.

i havent tried clips/straps for an extended period of time but i love riding clipless enough that i don't really want to switch.

I'd guess certain types of clipless are more secure than others?

Never ever have i unclipped accidentally in almost 3 years on spd-sl's. But i hear it can be more of a problem with MTB cleats, especially if set on low tension or worn out.

all the messengers i've talked to who run time atacs say they've never had a problem.

atacs are excellent. but be sure to not get the aliums (or whatever they are called) if you want float.

tried both, prefer powergrips

+1

I used Powergrips with some WTB generic pedals when I used to wear my steel toe shoes to work. Didn't really like the combination so I started wearing my Sambas and carrying my steel toes in my backpack. Love it. I'm actually ditching the clips and straps on my new bike and ordering a powergrip set for it also.

Look and SPD pedals on my bikes. My wifes' bike has straps. When last rode her bike around town for errands, I thought those straps a pain. Constantly uprighting those straps and searching for their position, and struggling to insert my feet. They are so distracting, it's enough to cause you to crash into something.

Thats only while one gets used to them, Ive been using them forever and can get in and out of them as fast as anything :) I just recently tried the clipless pedal system and really didnt like it, it does help when it comes to a more efficiant ride on long distances but I rarely go long distance so toe clips work perfect for me :) now, the OP asked about the DOUBLE toe clips, Ive always used the regular ones, anyone have any advice on the doubles? also, I have never used the power grips but remeber when they were introduced a lot of the Cycling magazines gave them not bad reviews but did say that they felt no different than regular toe clip types, but again, Ive never used them =)

Toshi doubles are worth it if you're die hard into straps and refuse to get Time ATACs. Otherwise, ATAC ftw.

atacs are excellent. but be sure to not get the aliums (or whatever they are called) if you want float.

I have alliums and they do have float. They're a bit heavy, but my bike isn't exactly light to begin with, so it's not an issue

I have alliums and they do have float. They're a bit heavy, but my bike isn't exactly light to begin with, so it's not an issue

sorry about not clarifying, the xs have alot more than these do. comparatively, its almost as if the alliums don't have it next to the xs'

just to throw my two cents in:

spd's are definitely better for spinning and power. whenever i enter races, i use spd's. that being said, tricks, fishtails and quicksilver stops are more difficult with spd pedals and shoes. also, accidental clipouts are infrequent, yet scary. i've also ripped the cleat out of the bottom of a shoe once.

never broken a strap yet. to the bloke who rode his wife's bike around and found straps and cages clunky and distracting and was having trouble flipping the pedal around, that becomes second nature after a while.

personally, i really like using straps. i like wearing street shoes and i like being able to hockey stop/fishtail/slalom my rear wheel without worrying about clipping out unintentionally. also, if you're like me and you only have one fixy running at the moment, and you don't want to bother with the easy, yet annoying task of switching pedals on the weekend cos you don't want to wear your stinky, hardsoled spd shoes around and/or carry extra shoes with you, straps and cages win.

all the messengers i've talked to who run time atacs say they've never had a problem.

The old ones are better than the new ones.

EDIT: That goes for the pedals as well as the messengers.

when you guys say "clipless" , are you all talking about SPD cleats and not road-style cleats?

b

when you guys say "clipless" , are you all talking about SPD cleats and not road-style cleats?

b


Clipless = any cleat + pedal systen, whatever works for you.

10 years on this set up, no problems, I love it.

http://www.bebop.com/web/images/deluxe3.jpg

+

http://xoomgear.com/i/p/l/SHOE-10.jpg

The old ones are better than the new ones.

EDIT: That goes for the pedals as well as the messengers.

yep, i was lucky to get some barely-used old atacs for a good deal, and when i talk to people rocking them, that's typically the version they have too.

still no problems with fishtailing and clipouts.