Looking for nice platform pedals
 

The more I ride the Roubaix, the more I'm leaning away from the idea of eventually going clipless. This is 99.9999999999% due to the implant in my left wrist. On the City of Angels ride in May, I saw a cyclist ahead of me collide with another and fall to the right. She was up and riding again faster than I could count to 3, but as she rode off I noticed her flexing her wrist as if she had injured it. I thought of my wrist with the implant and I know it would not take a hard fall; I'd most likely lose the implant -- which is no longer available -- and require surgery to fill the space or fuse the adjoining bones. So, it just seems sensible to stay on the safe side and make a choice in favor of my wrist rather than going clipless just to go clipless since that's what "everyone" does.;)

However..... I'd like some nice platforms for this bike to replace the big clunky black rubber ones w/reflectors that the LBS put on the bike when I bought it.

Anyone have any recommendations that:

• Will keep my feet in place but not lock them on the pedals
• are good quality but reasonably priced
• are light weight
• look good :)

Speedplay Drillium. bk

See the other thread by Tom about platform pedals........Lots of good advice from many people there about several different kinds of pedals. I have had very good luck over the years with the Wellgo MG-1 but they were hard to get for the last couple of years. They seem to be making a comeback through QBP (most LBS) and on line. They are not "cheap" however at anywhere from 45 to $60. There is a Hong Kong shop that sells them on Ebay for less and since I got mine in the mail, they seem to be reputable. Shipping was about 10 days. I am in the process of removing some of the traction on mine by selectively taking out some of the set screw pins.

There are some very good basic disigns available. Many can be had for a song on Ebay when their owners change roadbikes over to clipless. These basic pedals are also among the lightest available (around 350 grams)

Yen, a simple and sturdy platform is the MKS Touring Pedal. Somewhere around $ 25 - 30.00.

No need for toe clips and straps either.

With a little practice you can learn to fall on your elbows and shoulders, just like I do. Won't hurt the wrists any.

Get spuds.

+1 MKS Touring Pedals. I can ride in wet shoes without toe clips and my foot has never slipped.

[QUOTE=The Weak Link;6887324]With a little practice you can learn to fall on your elbows and shoulders, just like I do. Won't hurt the wrists any.

Yeah, that's exactly how I tore the rotator cuff in my shoulder last year. 6 months off the bike :injured:

TJ
:trainwreck:

The option that will really keep your feet in place without locking you to the bike are the pinned BMX or downhill MTB style platforms. With softer flat soled shoes your feet will stick to the pinned pedals almost as well as if you were clipped in. But lift your weight off the pedals and you're free. A couple of examples of this style are B065 and B030.

The only catch is that the pinned downhill/jumping style pedals fail miserably at your other critera for not looking clunky and to be light in weight. But really nothing short of clipless or toe clips holds anywhere near as well and pins into soft soled riding shoes.

In looking at the Wellgo site they've got some that may work out almost as good and don't look like they would be out of place on a casual road bike. They are the C006, R074 and WR1.

Platform pedals won't keep you from ever falling. The incident in the OP that spurred the idea to avoid clipless was a collision. The best way to avoid injuring your wrist in a fall is to learn to fall without using your hands to break your fall. That might also save you from a broken collar bone some day. There are many good reasons to choose between the many types of pedals. Fear isn't one of them.

I have Sun Ringle Zu-Zu platforms on my road bike, and they are my favorite platform pedal (they have the pins which keep your foot from slipping). On our mtn bikes, we have The Wellgo magnesium platforms (the lightest of the bunch-also the highest pins!), and Nashbar platforms. If any were to need replacement, I'd go with the Zu-Zu's.

That is my main thought as I have got into the habit of keeping the feet firmly clipped in and hold the bars for grim death when I am going over. Saves me putting a limb out and breaking it. And the other point is that my reactions are so slow- I don't have time to think about saving myself. I just find myself upside down still clipped in and 6" of mud down my neck.

Hey everyone, sorry to ignore all your replies for this long. I've been buried in other things.

What do you think of this MKS GR9 pedal?

I also like these simple MKS Touring Pedals that Tthomas suggested...

I also like this TA Specialites which seem suitable for my "little black dress" of a bike, but the price is way beyond what I am willing to pay for pedals.

I'm still wearing the Specialized Taho shoes that hurt my right foot something awful after about 20 miles. At that point, my right foot begins to feel like a tight wire is wrapped around my instep and being tightened more and more until I almost want to scream. One relief is to curl my toes inside the shoe (as I'm riding) which relieves it for a little while. I finally need to stop, remove the shoe, and stretch and massage my foot. They have a stiff sole. No matter how loosely I lace them (within reason), this happens on every ride of at least 20 miles. I saw a pair for sale at Ebay that is being sold for this very reason, but there are also lots of great reviews for this shoe out there in internet land.

I ride with a pair of Shimano MX-30 platform pedals,
they run smooth,
have high or low pins (or a mix- your choice)
not especially heavy,
fairly large surface to prevent "hot spots",
are durable,
look pretty good on just about any bike,
Great pedal--not the lowest priced,

So, don't go clipless. You're the one who won't benefit from them, but for ordinary riding, clipless aren't really necessary anyway. It's your decision, and it doesn't need validating from anyone else. You can pedal your bike to where you want to go either way. I frankly don't see what your wrist problem has to do with clipless vs not clipless though. I mean, if you're so concerned about what a fall would do to your wrist, maybe you shouldn't be riding a bicycle at all. There are way more potential falls from cycling than those that might be associated with using clipless pedals, and so I don't see that as a reason not to use clipless. I've never fallen due to clipless myself, but then, I was already used to using toe clips when I switched to clipless. Don't remove your foot from the cage when you stop with toe clips and you'll fall just as easily as you will with clipless pedals.

If you want ordinary pedals, sure, you can buy nicer ones, but just the ordinary ones they usually have in bike shops will do just fine.

Don't know what sites you're looking at, but here is one with a good selection of platforms:
http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...1&category=114

Yen

I picked up a book on medical issues and cycling and there is quite a bit of information on "Hot Spots". The conventional wisdom that "clipless" provides tremendous benefits vs. platform for power and efficiency seems to be unfounded, which I have believed all along. It also states that by moving the foot forward or the cleat back that it will help eliminate the hot spots because the foot is such a dynamic structure. This places the pressure more towards the arch and away from the metatarsals.

It additionally noted that the calves do not play a significant role in producing power in the pedal stroke that had been touted at one time by pointing the toes down as if running on the track with track cleats. That was proven out medically / scientifically with studies of electrical charges to the muscles.

It additionally stated that an arch support may also provide some relief. I will get the name of the book and the author and post it here. Some really good info.

The name of this book is? Not to be argumentative, (?) but how can using a full circle of pedal power be the same or less than using somewhere between 5/8 and 3/4. First hand experience tells me that when I am concentrating on "circling" my feet, that my speed goes up. I ride both platforms and clipless and it appears to me that there is no contest for pure power and speed. For casual riding however the difference does not always make up for the convenience of platforms.

Hmmm - putting out my arm on a fall last November resulted in 1) preventing a broken collarbone, and 2) a serious case of rotator cuff inflamation. No tears or dislocation, just tendinitis, but I've lost a lot of muscle tone in it. One PT exercise is to lift and hold a 1/2 kg weight in an odd PT particular way. This results in serious shaking after 5 reps or so - I am amazed!

Physical therapists, my angels of pain! It really is helping me quite a bit.

I always thought I could pull my foot out of the pedal and handily catch my fall with my toeclip pedals loosely strapped but I guess I'm just not as quick as in my 20s -- duuhhh!

Stapfam, stop by for a beer someday!

Road Fan

I'd like to know the book, too, but honestly, I ahve been looking for a while for data (measurements, not anecdotes) that support the claim of added efficiency, and not found it. I use toeclip pedals with a touring shoe that has a mild slot in the sole, and I can pedal complete circles with a benefit in smoothness. Clipless are not required to accomplish this feat (teehee). I do think it is not as easy with platforms and no clips or clips and no cleat features on the shoes. But if the main opportunity is not to actually pull the pedel up, but to lift the ascending foot so it ceases to load the descentiing foot, and to scrape back at stroke bottom, why can't those be accomplished with clipless, toeclip, and free platform pedals, assuming some foot tilt at the bottom?

Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMonde (in an amazing confluence of opinion considering their rivalry) said they do not recommend pulling up, but scraping back the foot at bottom. And that was in the day of hard slotted aluminum pedal cleats with tight strapping of the foot to the pedal.

Road Fan

I just put the MKS Touring pedals on my MTB and I love them.

Look on Nashbar.