Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - FG SPD or straps?

it seems that most FG bike have straps.is there any reason beside the shoe factor that more people dont SPD pedals...

fear...

get SPD or whatever flavor of Clipless you want. You won't regret it.

i just recently went clipless for the first time and have spd pedals/cleats

i love it, the only thing that i prefer with clips and straps are the aesthetics, i think they look much nicer than clipless pedals. But for functionality and putting the power to the pedals, clipless is so far beyond clips and straps.

fear...

I know this was it for me. Although I was MUCH more afraid of spending $200+ on something that I might hate than I was afraid of being clipped-in.

I <3 clipless.

they would be used for around town....

Sheldon (as always) has something interesting to say about that. With clips and straps you can place your foot at many different points. You can push with your toes or your mid-foot or anything between. This basically changes your seat height on the fly. When you can't change gears or stop pedaling this can be sort of handy.
I tend to push my feet in as I go up hills and drag them out a bit when I spin down hills.

Sheldon (as always) has something interesting to say about that. With clips and straps you can place your foot at many different points. You can push with your toes or your mid-foot or anything between. This basically changes your seat height on the fly. When you can't change gears or stop pedaling this can be sort of handy.
I tend to push my feet in as I go up hills and drag them out a bit when I spin down hills.

...and it should be noted, then, that sheldon brown rode clipless on his fixed gear.

Sheldon (as always) has something interesting to say about that. With clips and straps you can place your foot at many different points. You can push with your toes or your mid-foot or anything between. This basically changes your seat height on the fly. When you can't change gears or stop pedaling this can be sort of handy.
I tend to push my feet in as I go up hills and drag them out a bit when I spin down hills.

As I recall, Sheldon was specifically referring to pedals without straps. "Platform pedals," as we call them (though Sheldon hated the term). For a fixed gear, Sheldon advocated (rightly) that your feet be directly connected to the pedals with tightly-affixed straps or else with clipless pedals, especially when one or no mechanical brakes are used.

so i will "clip in"in a few days...:D

they would be used for around town....

Then get mtn shoes if you intend on walking a bit.

Sheldon (as always) has something interesting to say about that. With clips and straps you can place your foot at many different points. You can push with your toes or your mid-foot or anything between. This basically changes your seat height on the fly. When you can't change gears or stop pedaling this can be sort of handy.
I tend to push my feet in as I go up hills and drag them out a bit when I spin down hills.

You should really be shifting yourself on your saddle instead of your pedals. The further behind your bb the more endurance oriented the position is, while the further forward or above the bb the more aggressive position allowing you to spin faster, that's why you always see track guys super far forward on their seat.

it seems that most FG bike have straps.is there any reason beside the shoe factor that more people dont SPD pedals...

why are so many people with straps?almost every bike has straps...

why are so many people with straps?almost every bike has straps...

why why why why why why why "so many people aren't with spd?".... Mmmm... Would you walk within specified soccer shoes/ or baseball shoes in mall around??

I ride SPD's and love them.

Straps are (generally) cheaper than buying shoes/pedals.

I went SPD and have never looked back. Cycling is so much better with them.

why why why why why why why "so many people aren't with spd?".... Mmmm... Would you walk within specified soccer shoes/ or baseball shoes in mall around??

haha Engrish.

SPD for the win, and you can still buy the worst shoes and pedals for 60 bucks and they will still have better retention than toshis or whatever doubles you prefer.

for hipsters, like myself, it would be impossible to do those "cool" over the bar skids:D

No, its not impossible with clipless pedals...

The only reason I rock cages on my fixed is for my shoe selection. I commute almost everywhere on my bike, so wearing those shoes is a NO-GO. Also, I can't just toss my other pair of shoes in my bag, due to holding camera gear, my laptop, and all kinds of other ****.

If you can pull it off, go clipless.

^ what he said. If you use your bike for commuting/everything you don't want to be walking around with spd cleats everywhere.

My bike is my only means of transportation (that is, the only one I use) and I just wear my SPD shoes everywhere. Wore them all winter in the snow, too, never bothered bringing a change of shoes with me. When I used straps I found that only specific shoes worked even remotely well anyway, the other ones would get hung up on the pedals or be too tall for the clips or get stuck in the straps, so I didn't see any reason NOT to buy special shoes just for cycling. Easier to get back into at stoplights, too, or if you clip out (for whatever reason) at high cadence on a fixed gear. Oh, and the cornering clearance and toe overlap are better and you don't have toe cages bouncing off everything when you wheel the bike around.

In short, clipless is F***in' sweet. Worst thing about the shoes is that they're hard to get into when caked with road salt.

^ what he said. If you use your bike for commuting/everything you don't want to be walking around with spd cleats everywhere.

Absolute hogwash. Any decent MTB shoe plus a thin profile cleat (Eggbeaters worn down for a bit) = no clacking. Plenty comfortable for 8 hours or 4-5 hours walking around.

^ what he said. If you use your bike for commuting/everything you don't want to be walking around with spd cleats everywhere.

it's really not that bad.

Well, if you are into bicycle themed fashion, then sure, go ahead and wear you spd's all the time.

As for me, when I'm going to the class/store/movies/girlfriend's place/work/etc (I use my bike for everything), I don't want to be wearing biking specific shoes. In my opinion, they don't look too hot.

When I need to ride for real, as in non-just around town biking, I switch pedals (ie, long weekend rides, training).

Using a good pair of toe clips and some stiff leather straps should be sufficient for riding around the city, even enough for moderate skidding and whatnot (but you should have a brake for that either way). For the kind of riding I do, lots of stopping, going into places, etc, I don't need/want spd's. I could see a messenger using cleats all day, since they are mostly on their bike, but not me (and I would venture to say, most people).

I use both clips and clipless. I like clips just to get to my classes. I don't want to be that ****** with mountain shoes clacking around walking down the halls. My Adidas Hammers with crank brothers cleats sound obnoxious walking down an echo-y hallway, and any decent mtn shoe will too. :P

But clipless is the way to go. If you can fit a pair of shoes in your bag with all your other stuff, then it's completely understandable.

My expierience for SS and not FG (Though I did run FG for 1 season and it was not to my liking).... SPD's (and the variants of the SPD cleat made by Ritchey, Welgo,etc) don't have a ton of clamping force. I semi-regularly un-clip from stop-lights when applying full downward and lifting force. Its always my lifting foot that unclips uninentionally, never the downward foot.

Just want to make the distinction, SPD-SL (LOOK style cleats) never happens.

Not sure what kind of forces are invovled in skipping/skidding, but be aware of SPD's limitations.

Rear racks definitely come into their own once you start carrying a change of shoes around. Come to think of it, they come into their own once you start carrying anything at all. This is why braze-ons should not be removed as if they were unsightly boils (but wouldn't it be nice if they grew back again?) And, personally, when I go to my girlfriend's place I take my shoes off.

I ride my bicycle everywhere on a daily basis -- that is why I ride clipless these days.

I have different bikes for different applications. If I'm commuting around town I'm on a SS with platforms, if I'm heading out for a ride I'm on my FG with SPD's. Next upgrade for me is some new shoes and this years 105 pedals.

I have different bikes for different applications. If I'm commuting around town I'm on a SS with platforms, if I'm heading out for a ride I'm on my FG with SPD's. Next upgrade for me is some new shoes and this years 105 pedals.

Just a heads up, probikekit.com has 2008 105 SPD-SL pedals for $56 shipped. Most online shops want ~$90-100 for 105. For some reason Ultegra pedals price has jumped from ~$65 from mid fall to $115 now.

If it were me, I would pick up the 105's now. I just picked up a set.

this years has a major improvement and those are last years model. They used to have the plate in the middle of the pedal made from plastic and they cracked so this year they made them aluminum. Thanks for the heads up tho!

50 bucks for a piece of aluminum, crazy but probably worth it

this years has a major improvement and those are last years model. They used to have the plate in the middle of the pedal made from plastic and they cracked so this year they made them aluminum. Thanks for the heads up tho!

You are talking about the 2007. The ones for sale have the stainless plate which are the same as the 2009.

They are selling these for $56. Great price IMHO
http://www.bicycling.com/images/reviewfinder/0804shimano_105spdsl.jpg

i should have replied ...i am riding spd ,and man i would not want it any other way!!!!!

Yeah I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go back to clipless this summer and just wear sandals when I'm not riding.

I rock Crank Brothers Candy SLs. I like them a lot. Just make sure you replace the cleats before the get too worn out. I like clips and straps too, but the power transfer of clipless is hard to beat.

I asked this same question a few weeks ago and I was glad to get the advice to stick with clipless (I have run clipless on all my bikes for the last 4 years or so).

You can get SPD's that don't look out of place on a road bike (I'm happy with my PD-A520's), and wear MTB shoes with a recessed cleat that are fine for a few miles of walking around downtown.

Clipless + fixed is a match made in heaven - you have this visceral direct sense of connection to the bike and the road, plus it's very nice to be able to enage different muscles when doing a long climb without the option of gearing down or coasting to rest for a second.

Does anyone have an opinion on these (http://incycle.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=6488)? They look like they may be a winner for me.

I switched to clipless this weekend and thus far I'm in love. I can see wanting to use clips and straps for someone who skids alot and is worried about rolling their ankle and popping out of their pedal, but otherwise for actual riding clipless is wildly superior.

That said, alot of people find skidding with clipless to be no problem at all, and with practice I would think you can do it without ever popping out unintentionally.

Does anyone have an opinion on these (http://incycle.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=6488)? They look like they may be a winner for me.
Wow. Pretty.

I got these from a new bike shop here in town
http://kozy.com/itemdetails.cfm?LibId=21944
and I have to say these are comfy as just shoes alone, once I put my spd cleats on them they don't even make noise when I walk with them. They have very grippy soles since they're considered a bit of a cycling/hiking shoe but I'm digging them especially since I got them for $35

^^ Specialized makes some damn good shoes.

Yep, I'm selling my 2wk old pedal setup for my 6+yr old SPD pedals.

I think that bike shoes that try to not look like bike shoes look really dorky. At least bike shoes make you look like you're a bad-ass, fast-going dude even when you aren't on the bike. Sidi Dominators are the greatest. I wear them all day, every day, except when I walk to work.

I think that bike shoes that try to not look like bike shoes look really dorky. At least bike shoes make you look like you're a bad-ass, fast-going dude even when you aren't on the bike. Sidi Dominators are the greatest. I wear them all day, every day, except when I walk to work.

I'm not crazy about the hiking boot looking shoes simply because I'm not crazy about hiking boots. If you're really self conscious though there are shoes like Nike SPD dunks...

I liked the look of bike shoes, particularly Sidis so I picked up a set of Bullets. It's all personal taste but I consider them a whole ton cooler looking than some of the other shoes on the market. To each their own though, ride whatever makes you happy