Fifty Plus (50+) - Who ISN'T "clipless"

With all the clipless pedal threads, was wondering who on here (besides myself) isn't using clipless. And if not, did you every try clipless? I am using what some refer to as BMX pedals on my mtn and road bike (platforms with traction pins). Yes, I did try clipless, but didn't really ever "feel good" in them. No matter how I adjusted the cleats, didn't seem to ever get a position that felt good to me. Still have the shoes, cleats and pedals in case I want to try again (and mostly because I was unable to sell them!). So, how many of us are NOT clipless converts?

Moi

Edit: I do use toe clips + straps.

Me. I'm too lazy to drive, so convenience trumps everything.

Paul

I have the clipless and when I go on longer rides use them but for my 'exercize' rides around town and on the bike path I just pedal...I am comfortable both ways ....cept last time with clipless I was feeling it in the knees... need to do some adjusting.

Tried them didn't like what they did to my knees, went back to toe clips and leather straps on my road bike and trying power straps on my local rider.

I'm bi (clipless). Sometimes I am and sometimes I'm not. I've been known to take the clipless pedals off for vacation riding in crowded tourist towns with many unexpected dismounts. In fact, I've been know to take both types of pedals on a vacation and to change depending on the nature of the ride.

If you really ride, and I mean, really ride, especially up hills, there's just no substitute for having something that keeps your foot down on the pedal without you having to waste effort doing it yourself. If it's not a clipless pedal, then it would have to be a toe clip with straps (or something similar). Just a bare pedal is only good if pedaling at a relatively slow cadence on level ground, and even then, only if you are a flat foot pedaler. You can't really pedal toes down very well on a bare pedal.

Clipless is more convenient to use than toe clips, but they do have to be adjusted in a way that suits you. No matter what instructions you might follow, a first time clipless pedal buyer should really buy them from a reputable local shop that can be relied on to install the cleats for you.

Clipless is best seen as a refinement on toe clips, not as an entirely new concept. Even a hundred years ago, serious riders knew the benefits of having something hold their feet down on the pedals. So it's not like it's really a new thing. If you don't want to use clipless pedals for whatever reason, you still owe it to yourself to at least use toe clips rather than just a bare, unadorned pedal.

Variety is the spice of cycling. Clipless for the road bikes. On my singlespeed around-town commuter, I ride in "normal" shoes and platform pedals.

Depends on the bike. One clipless, two with toe clips.

That would be ME, I've never tried the clipless, I've been around too many riders that really beat themselves up, just getting the "hang" of clipping out! Mainly I'm a CHICKEN, I don't even like "full clips/w straps I only use either "metal or plastic half-clips". They keep the foot on the pedal and I don't have to "think" to get my foot out. Yes, I ride a MTB and do fall off now and then but the dirt is a little more forgiving than the pavement so I'll be the last rider using 1/2 clips one day:love:

Toe clips, straps, and slotted cleats for me.....and leather shoes

Road bike has MTB SPDs; touring bike has dual sided pedals, SPD one side, platform the other; city bike has Pedalite pedals with mini-toeclips. (http://www.pedalite.com/default.aspx) I try to get things to suit the intended purpose.

Toe straps for me ... and somewhat loose, since I am mainly concerned with preventing my feet from sliding off the pedals.

Each time I lose momentum and have an emergency "withdrawal" from the straps, I think to myself: "Couldn't have done that with clipless pedals!"

One severely wrenched knee and it would all be over for me - so I'm staying with the straps.

I have used old school toeclips and straps on all of my bikes since 1968. I set the straps just loose enough to permit me to yank a foot out, so that I get most of the benefit without the risk of getting trapped. I have a pair of smooth-soled Lake shoes and a set of treaded Diadoras, which were presumably designed for mountain biking, but I really miss my old Avocets with the steel shank and the four parallel grooves in the rubber outersole.

Others have urged me to convert at least the Bianchi to clipless, but I do not trust myself to adapt freely and reliably between two completely release motions.

BMX pedals on the daily, old school toe clips on the fixed, SPD's on the MTB.

But SPD on one side and platform on the other? I'll have to try that out...

Five bikes, all with platform pedals. Two of them have the nice platforms with pins. One of them does have a plastic half-clip on it, but I will likely be taking that off as I can't position my feet where I want them.

Toe clips and loose straps here also. Reasons:

1. My clips really do keep my foot anchored to the pedal.
2. A single club Tombay fall could break something important
3. I save the $100-$300 it would cost to go clipless
4. It's nice to use normal shoes when off the bike

True, I may be missing out, but I'm happy with my current system.

Moi

ditto

I rode with clipless for over two years because 'it was the way to go' and 'it's the modern solution' and 'it does everything except kickstart your jumbo jet while still making toast for breakfast'.

I tried to ignore the suspicion that they seemed to offer no additional benefit over the toe clips and Specialized touring shoes (again with the steel shank) that I'd been using since the eighties. Tried to ignore the graunching and crunching noises everytime you tried to walk everywhere. I tiired to ignore the fact that even SPD shoes aren't particularly comfortable off the bike especially seeing my ancient Specialized shoes were pretty good apart from that stiff shank. Then the rubber sole of my SPDs wore to the point where I was walking on the cleats rather than the sole of the shoe (actually, this happened really early but it reached the point where it was really pissing me off).

Because I include my bikes in my normal life rather than just treating cycling as a specialist activity, I realised the clipless (even with SPDs) was just a bunch of compromises so I bought a pair of flat soled, BMX shoes and returned to toe clips.

I can wear the same pair of shoes all day - why should you have to carry a second pair of shoes?
There's no drop off in pedalling efficiency - when you're spinning a fixed gear bike down a hill and pulling a cadence in excess of 120, you need to be able to pedal properly and I do this regularly with this setup.

I do miss the stiffer sole ... I think. My old Specialized shoes are too small for me now (and very tatty) and the modern industry doesn't provide a real alternative because they want everyone using the same gear. Hoever, the BMX shoes I'm wearing haven't given me any problems so far, so maybe it's not a problem. Interestingly, I've read a couple of articles now from serious bike fitters that throw doubt on the 'benefits' of stiff soles (suggesting they don't actually offer any). It's also interesting that I used to have a lot of foot problems (hot spots etc) with SPDs but have had none with the return to toe clips.

I like being able to move my foot around on the pedal - having your foot locked in one place is only a benefit if it's locked in the right place and seeing no-one really knows where that is and considering you do seem to need your foot in different places for different jobs, clipless could be seen as a retrograde step from a positioning point of view. I do move my foot depending on whether I'm spinning or sprinting or climbing and I also move it for comfort and I also move it because I flamin' well feel like it.

So it's toe clips for this little back duck ... until I get all silly and buy another set of clipless shoes I suppose, none of this sort of stuff is religious, it's just fun defending your position as though it is.

Richard

Toe clips, no straps for me.

Speedplay drillium platforms. The only way to go. bk

Each time I lose momentum and have an emergency "withdrawal" from the straps, I think to myself: "Couldn't have done that with clipless pedals!"

I used toe clips with and without straps for decades, and I really do mean decades. Got clipless pedals in 1998. My experience has been that with the right clipless pedals and the right adjustment, there's probably more chance of not being able to exit fast enough with toe clips than there is with clipless pedals. My bike is a classic-type lugged steel road bike. Can't say vintage, since it was only built in 1998, but I much, much prefer the look of my old Campy quill pedals on it with the Christophe toe clips and leather straps. Sometimes I let myself be tempted to put them back on, but just one ride makes me realize that my clipless pedals are more practical even if uglier. Nostalgia and contrarianism only go so far when faced with reality. Have a look at some SPD with the multi-release cleat, and back off on the release tension. I give you my personal guarantee that you will NOT feel like you would be locked in, and you will fall over at a stop only if you're a total idiot, like the little tricycle guy on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-in.

Clipless on the roadies, platforms on the mountain bikes, tourer, folder, and vintage.

New CF Roubaix last month - first new bike in 29 years. Immediately added 29-year-old Ideale 90 leather saddle and toe clips/straps. Kinda gave a pedestrian bike some class, ya' know? :thumb:

I have used old school toeclips and straps on all of my bikes since 1968. I set the straps just loose enough to permit me to yank a foot out, so that I get most of the benefit without the risk of getting trapped. I have a pair of smooth-soled Lake shoes and a set of treaded Diadoras, which were presumably designed for mountain biking, but I really miss my old Avocets with the steel shank and the four parallel grooves in the rubber outersole.

Others have urged me to convert at least the Bianchi to clipless, but I do not trust myself to adapt freely and reliably between two completely release motions.

I think this is exactly where I am -- I've used toeclips since then, too, first with sneakers and any old street shoe, then in the '80s with Adidas Col d'Izoard touring shoes which I still use. I also have some Diadora hard-slotted cleat shoes, which seem to spin better, but also raise my foot on the pedal.

I like having help to keep my foot in one place. I use toestraps just tight enough to help hold my foot still, prevent all blood flow restriction, and pull out my foot when I need to. This also allows me to tip in very easily. I can also do the Hinault "scrape my foot" thing at teh bottom of the power stroke - you don't need clipless to enable it.

Clipless might help me or might not, but walkability is something I do not want to live without.

Road Fan

Regular platform pedals on my one errand bike (fixed gear)
Everything else, clipless.

Platforms for me, on both bikes.

I have an older flat bar road bike with combo platform/SPD pedals. Riding it in street shoes works if I'm riding a mile or so to the Spring block party.

Otherwise, clipless all the way. Maybe since I got into cycling a bit later in life (when I was 50) and clipless had pretty much become the norm I just think of it as natural. Of course I don't have the sort of knee problems some do; that certainly helps...

Tried it three times, and while I was comfortable (and got past the fall-over-at-stoplights stage), I didn't see any advantage.
I've done the same commute for more than 25 years, 12 miles each way, on at least eight different bikes, including my Atlantis and Rambouillet, a singlespeed, a recumbent and two mountain bikes with road and knobby tires. I've used BMX pedals (on the singlespeed), toe clips with and without cleats, Power Grips and two different clipless systems, each on at least two bikes, so it's a fair sampling.
In all those hundreds (thousands now?) of trips, I haven't been able to record any significant speed differences I can attribute to either pedals or tires. The knobbies were slow, of course, but the 37mm Paselas at 75psi weren't consistently slower than the 25s at 100. And the pedals, trip after trip and year after year, made no difference at all. I like riding with toe clips for the freedom of rotation, so I have those on everything now except the singlespeed, which still has the big BMX platforms.

This thread makes me feel better....I ride plain, (platform?) pedals on my 25 yo MTn bike (non susp)and toe clips with loose straps on the 25 yo road bike...tried cleats on dedicated shoes 20 years ago with the toe clips, but that was a PITA...
Bud

I tried clipless on 2 separate occasions. Last time for 5 weeks. I apparently wasn't doing something right as I found no benefit to them. I pretty much just cruise along at 11 to 14 mph. Sitting more upright with a flat bar road bike. It's been platform pedals with traction pins on both bikes and New Balance 608 sneakers, foot wear of choice for all occasions.

I have toe clips on all my bikes. Never even tried clipless pedals. My brother has been trying to get me to join the clipless generation, but why change what I'm comfortable with. I like my toe clips.

Not clipless here either.

I've got toe straps on my Schwinn Racer and I just purchased some EKO Power Grip Straps to try on my Volae Tour, otherwise I've had no inclination to vary from basic platform type propulsion.

Toe clips, straps, and slotted cleats for me.....and leather shoes

Yeah, I had some of those -- back in the 70's!! Vittoria leather shoes with slotted cleats -- that brings back some memories...

Come on, Tex, get with the 21st century! :lol::lol:

Platforms on my touring bike and clipless on my road bike

I'm clipless Jerry and I'm Loving it

Toe clips and straps for roadie me- but I'm thinking of experimenting with clipless. I do worry about it being a gateway drug to harder stuff like aero helmets and matching kits and such...:eek:

I've never tried anything but platforms. I wear Shimano mountain bike shoes without the cleats installed. They give me a nice stiff sole without any problems walking while off the bike.

Toe clips and straps for roadie me- but I'm thinking of experimenting with clipless. I do worry about it being a gateway drug to harder stuff like aero helmets and matching kits and such...:eek:

It's a never-ending downhill spiral. Eventually, folks have to join PA (Poseurs Anonymous)

Shimano Look-style on the road bike
SPD on the commuter
Traditional metal clips and straps on the fixed

But I never ride without something holding me feet.
I remember being a kid and having my foot come off the pedal. Never want that to happen again.

Take from someone who used to be one of you. I used to laugh at clipless, but that changed when I got some a decade ago. I'm no racer, I don't even wear lycra (except for black shorts now and then), but it's so much more convenient that there's no going back for me. I tried going back, as I said before, but there's just no way.

You see, I was never a racer or a racer pretender. I just rode... sometimes fast, but only for my own pleasure. I used toe clips from when I was 18 years old, but always with lose straps. I never needed to be tied down tightly for my kind of riding. Modern, mountain bike SPD-style pedals and shoes give you the same convenience as toe clips with the straps lose, but with the advantage of efficiency comparable to using toe clips with cleated shoes and the straps tightened.

I can't see anyone not being satisfied with that. I'm as retro as it gets, but I won't give up my SPD clipless pedals and Shimano sandals. And if you use the typical 2-sided Shimano or like mtn bike pedal, when you start from a stop in fast urban traffic, you just step down on the pedal and you're in, with no fumbling whatsoever. It's actually a safety factor, in my opinion. Once you're tried it, there's no going back. You can resist the change all you want, but this is one change that is good, not bad like most of the others that the bike industry tries to foster on otherwise reasonable people.

Every bike I ride has clipless pedals and I never ride without SPD shoes unless the ride is less than a mile.

Not trying to hijack but I used to ride solely offroad. Some people may get worried about technical trails if they can't clip out- but I can- instantly if required. Then there are the times when having my feet tied to the pedals will give me more control than suddenly having a foot slip off the pedal- and I have done that often enough- even with Clipless. Then the falls. If you are going over- you know about it. Now imagine a rutted or rocky downhill at 20 mph+. You know you are going over and you try to stop it. First thing you do is put a foot down. Doesn't work. With clipless- my feet say on the pedals till it is too late. And I even push the knees into the top tube and it is natural to keep the hands on the bars till you come to a stop. I might be bloodied- have a cracked helmet again- but I don't have any broken limbs.

No-- Sorry but for me clipless is the only way to go. And that includes my road riding where I do find my feet bouncing off the pedals if I am not clipped in.

Toe clips, with fairly loose straps on both bikes. I have to change my foot position fore and aft, side to side, and angularly, frequently. Clipless doesn't give me enough freedom of movement.

I have some variation of MKS platforms on all my bikes. I like being able to move my feet around the pedals depending on the need or demand. I `ve used clipless and I think for longer rides, say touring, for example, they`d have benefits. But for just commutin`, etc, the platforms are fine. I don`t notice any loss of efficieny.

If you're just cruising along, pedaling by pushing down rather than spinning, you're not going to see any benefit from clipless pedals, really. But the difference is very obvious when you're riding a road bike and going reasonably fast, pedaling (or rather spinning) circles, powering yourself up climbs. But if you're not doing that, then I would have to agree that there's no benefit.

If you're just cruising along, pedaling by pushing down rather than spinning, you're not going to see any benefit from clipless pedals, really. But the difference is very obvious when you're riding a road bike and going reasonably fast, pedaling (or rather spinning) circles, powering yourself up climbs. But if you're not doing that, then I would have to agree that there's no benefit.

Good point, Longfemur. I had the clipless on my Bianchi before I sold it to buy a LHT. When on the road and trying to keep a good cadence and speed, you`re right, clipless are better. But for some reason it`s a different deal on the Surly when commuting. I`m just kinda ridin` and lookin` around, takin` my time. Crap, I`m even singing to myself sometimes. Weird, no?

Toe Cilps- No Straps Needed
3142 miles ytd

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh187/10wheels/3056M2-23-09.jpg

With all the clipless pedal threads, was wondering who on here (besides myself) isn't using clipless. And if not, did you every try clipless? I am using what some refer to as BMX pedals on my mtn and road bike (platforms with traction pins). Yes, I did try clipless, but didn't really ever "feel good" in them. No matter how I adjusted the cleats, didn't seem to ever get a position that felt good to me. Still have the shoes, cleats and pedals in case I want to try again (and mostly because I was unable to sell them!). So, how many of us are NOT clipless converts?

I not clipless. I'm afraid that I would fall down and get hurt really bad!!! I tripped over our roommate's son's bicycle in our dining room nearly two months ago, and my left shoulder still hurts very bad!!! I can just barely lift 10 pounds with my left arm!!! Not good. All I need is to fall down trying to use clipless, and I could be out of work for awhile.

The accident resulting from tripping over the bike caused a terrible bruise on my left side that took about a month to heal. Also stubbed my big toe so bad, I ended up going to Emergency several days later (rode my bike at night about five miles each way!). Several people thought I might have gangerine!!! The doctor used a hot probe to burn some holes in my nail, and squeeze the blood out.

There's nothing wrong with a bare pedal, a toe clip straps or no straps, if it suits you. All I'm saying is that there is an advantage to having your foot held on the pedal. I could have been writing this 100 years ago and said the same thing (as some did). It's not a new concept.

I love going up hills. The way I pedal, even with unstrapped toe clips, my feet pull out of the pedals on the upstroke when I'm trying to spin uphill. Since I love going up hills, even though I'm not very strong at it, I prefer my clipless pedals... so much that my otherwise all-Columbus steel, all-Campy custom road bike wears simple, Shimano mountain bike SPD.

If you're just cruising along, pedaling by pushing down rather than spinning, you're not going to see any benefit from clipless pedals, really. But the difference is very obvious when you're riding a road bike and going reasonably fast, pedaling (or rather spinning) circles, powering yourself up climbs. But if you're not doing that, then I would have to agree that there's no benefit.

Completely disagree (with the highlighted bit) mate. You have a point in hard sprinting where you may actually gain something from being solidly fixed to the pedals but that's rare. Were you aware that climbing is more efficient with a more rearward pedal position than sprinting? This is where clipless really lets you down, it removes the ability the choose, you have to set the cleats for one or the other and some fitters such as Steve Hogg, now opt for the rearward cleat position.

The real downside to being rigidly fixed to a pedal is that it encourages laziness, NOT good technique. It makes it easier to approximate/learn good technique but it does not encourage good technique. It also hides poor technique, especially the myth about pulling up on the pedals.

The other side to the argument is that loose toe straps or no straps at all, requires more thought about your technique and thus encourages merely pushing down on the pedal.

Both systems encourage laziness. Clipless or tight toe straps and cleats (the rough equivalent) feel as though they are more efficient because they hide the inefficiencies in your pedalling action and to be honest, I think this is what most people experience when they talk about 'greater efficiency'.

Although I can't say this of my riding at the moment (because I've let myself fall into bad habits dammit), I have in the past been able to smoothly pull cadences of 140 on my fixed gear bike, both with clipless and toe clips. I currently regularly pull cadences in excess of 120 on my fixed gear bike with toe clips and have done so with straight platforms (and yes, it's fricken scary with platforms ... which is why I've got toe clips). I've done so with turbine like smoothness which indicates to me that my action was working well. I know my action has deteriorated because once above 120 these days, I need to think very carefully about what I'm doing at those cadences or I start that 'bounce' that indicates you're doing it badly.

One thing I have found is that I need a slightly lower seat height with toe clips than I used with clipless. However, that might also be because I had the seat too high before and my body has finally begged me to get it right. Also, the way my body works has changed over the last 12 months with a change in my pedalling action that now involves a more heel down attitude than before (I used to ride with my toes pointed) ... though this has only happened on one leg for some reason - anyone else got an asymmetric pedalling action? However, with a slightly heel down attitude, the 'scrape across the bottom' action that clipless afficianados talk about is as effective with loose toe clips as it is with clipless. Considering that the up stroke is little more than getting your foot out of the way of the rising pedal, if you can't pedal in circles with toe clips, lower seat a tad - your back and knees will probably appreciate it anyway.

Clipless is more convenient on the bike ... provided you're happy to be locked into one position (which I am not any more). It becomes less convenient as you step off the bike and this can be ignored up to a point, compensated for with spd shoes up to a larger point, until you reach a point where it's a pain in the arse. At that point, you need to consider whether the compromises involved in clipless outweigh the benefits.

I've passed that point and so my bikes universally wear toe clips ... but that's just a feature of the weird world I inhabit, if all I was doing was going for a fitness ride in the morning, I'd consider refitting the clipless.

The big problem we have is that the bicycle industry has decided that everyone should use clipless and so if you want decent shoes and decent pedals, you don't have much choice. That isn't a feature of any virtues of clipless, it's just industry laziness, a bit like this insane belief that everyone needs a bike with with bars a mile below the saddle, or forcing everyone to wear padded pants because modern saddles can't be used without them ... which is why Brooks saddles have become popular, you don't need specialist clothing. You literally can not buy shoes that support your foot fully or non-cleated pedals that take a wide shoe and support your foot - it's no wonder that clipless is so popular.

None of this is taking at shot at clipless either. Racers gain real benefits from the system - some track sprinters still use straps. High powered sports riders gain real benefits. The industry (in Australia) would like you to believe that that's all that cycling is. Beyond that, the benefits lie in good shoes and good pedals but at the moment, you can only get them if you buy a clipless system - the benefit isn't in clipless, that's just forced on us.

Clipless for me and many others stops at SPDs set loose for easy escapes - performance benefits? Get real, there aren't any. I was married to clipless for two years and then my circumstances changed to where I needed to wear my shoes off the bike ... and I started to notice the compromises.

You can buy shoes that have a screw on cover for the clipless area so you don't have to use the cleats ... except that there's no depth in the tread so in no time at all, you'd be walking on the heads of the screws that hold the cover in place which is one reason I don't like walking around with spd cleats fitted - the sole of the shoe wears a little and you're walking on the cleat, not the sole of the shoe. MTB and BMX shoes now come with flat soles, but they aren't the really stiff soles because their pedals are broad with plenty of support. I use BMX shoes but don't like the modern mtb pedal with all those wee studs, so they're mated to older style pedals. If only someone would make a broad platform pedal that takes toe clips ... and wide feet (the MKS GR9 is good, but only for narrow feet).

Richard
I'm now going to go find something else to be grumpy about :D