gregf83 

Mechanical efficiency is the ratio of power output to power input (determined by measuring VO2 used). The tests were steady state at an aerobic level. If they were sprinting the clipless pedals would have been more beneficial.

Mithrandir

Recently got a road bike and then clipless pedals after a month. On my old bike I could maintain around 70-75 rpm cadence, and that went up to 75-80 on the road bike. I figure the road bike has a better geometry for spinning than a mountain bike. Then I got clipless two weeks ago and I can do around 85-90 now with no issues. I haven't had them long enough to say whether they have increased my speed however. They feel faster, but the winds and temperatures are so wild and varying at this time of year that it's impossible to compare speeds from summertime. There are days when I'm faster, and days when I'm not, but I think the wind is having a huge effect there.

doctor j

How much?

CraigB

You not only ran faster, you also jumped higher. At least that's what their ad campaign said.

BluesDawg

Riding with clipless pedals improves the quality of my rides. I don't know or care if there is a quantifiable difference.

I like the sense of connection to the bike through the pedals. I like that my feet don't come off the pedals when stomping up a hill or when bouncing across rough terrain on my mountain bike. It doesn't matter to me whether I can go faster with them than without them. Anytime I try to go fast on a bike, I am using clipless pedals.

Six jours

I can spin just fine without being attached to the pedals. You should try it. I think you'd be surprised.

dedhed

Grant Petersons diatribe on it.

https://www.rivbike.com/kb_results.asp?ID=45

I ride clipless on my road commuter and didn't notice much speed gain from clips. I do like the ease of entry/exit once you get used to it. I do miss the cleats riding right now in hiking boots cuz I'm too cheap to buy winter riding boots, but still find myself twisting my foot when I stop.

Condorita

Back to square one: how are they "clipless" when you "clip in" and "clip out"?

goldfinch

I spin very fast, about 100 rpm. Before I was attached to my pedals sometimes, though rarely, I would have an issue of losing footing on a pedal. But, my pedals were cheap pedals with no grid or anything like bmx type pedals have. I then went to powergrips and have been using them since. This fall I got a pair of customized speedplay pedals, with shortened shafts as I am small and my hips are narrow. I haven't put them on the bike yet, I've been too chicken. I did try them on a trainer at the LBS and found them easy to exit but hard to get into. Given how much money I spent on these pedals and shoes to go along with them, I suppose I should give them a try.

Six jours

Clipless (or toe clips and straps with cleats) is a very good idea for a number of reasons. I personally never ride without them. I think once you get used to your Speedplays, you'll never go back. I'm just arguing against the idea that attaching one's feet to one's bicycle makes pedaling much more effective.

Back when I was a track racer, I was one of those who felt that riding without some sort of attachment system was a waste of time. With greater experience, I have discovered some very experienced, very capable cyclists who use platform pedals alone and do extremely well with them. That led me to experiment on my own, which in turn showed me that toe clips and/or clipless is not nearly as crucial to proper pedaling as I had thought.

IMO: clipless/toe clips and straps locate your feet properly on the pedals, which means you don't have to give it conscious thought. Clipless/toe clips and straps allow you to accelerate faster and better climb very steep hills. Clipless/toe clips and straps may also encourage a rider to learn how to spin properly, BUT the lack of clipless/toe clips and straps does not mean that a properly trained cyclist cannot spin properly. And that's it, as far as I'm concerned: worthwhile, but not the difference between a great experience and a poor one.

JanMM

I don't clip in - I engage the foot retention mechanism built into my pedal.

For those of us who remember toe clips from long ago (), 'clipless' means 'pedals without toe clips'. To the rest of the world, 'clipless' is a puzzling word.

CACycling

Back to page one: "Clipless refers to the lack of clips (as in the clips and straps that used to be the norm)."

rubic

This is my serious take (I know, this is BF) on cycling shoes and improved average speed and it applies to running shoes as well. Each one of us has a maximum cruising speed, our potential. Shoes cannot improve this maximum. However, shoes can reduce maximum cruising speed if they are a bad fit that causes foot, knee or hip pain, not to mention hot spots on the bottom of your foot. So cycling shoes cannot improve average speed, but ill fitting shoes can reduce this speed.

jackb

True enough, but where is the explanation of how cycling shoes and cleats make one go faster?

MinnMan

Cycling shoes and cleats do not magically make one go substantially faster, but they help one get to that goal. The explanation is in post #20 in this thread, as well as in several other posts by other people. Try reading the whole thread.

Others on this thread have argued that they can apply good technique without a cleated pedal, and well, bully for them, but for many of us, so-called clipless pedals are a significant aid in development of good pedaling technique.

Wogster

So how much of it is the new equipment and how much is it psychological?

BluesDawg

Does it matter?

CACycling

I moved my wife from platform pedals to clips & straps to clipless over the course of a few months when we got back into cycling. She absolutely did not want any retention and was convinced it was of no benefit. I noticed an instant increase of couple of MPH in her average speed when I installed the clips & straps and another MPH or so when she went clipless. She didn't have a cyclocomputer on the bike at the time and I rode (and still ride) behind her as I tend to be faster. Could it have been psychological? Yes, but she was expecting them not to make a difference so I believe it was the equipment making the difference. Seems the biggest difference was just having some form of retention.

jackb

I have read the whole thread but remain unconvinced. As to your post, try being a little more civil.

gregf83 

They don't make you any faster for steady state pedaling but they are more comfortable and will make a significant difference under some conditions like sprinting or going up short steep hills at low cadence. Under these conditions you gain power by pulling up which you can't do with platforms.

With good technique you can spin just as fast with platforms since there is generally some weight on the pedals throughout the pedal stroke. It is more likely that you foot will move though, which makes it less comfortable.

It's a little like the choice of most people to use integrated brake/shift levers rather than down tube shifters. If you're happy with down tube shifters you'll probably be fine sticking with platform pedals. Neither will make you faster but the ride should be more enjoyable.

Allegheny Jet

The OP states that he rides around 15 mph and wonders if shoes and clipless pedals would give him 1mph. I'm assuming that he rides a road bike and has some proficiency in his pedaling and can ride for a sustained time. From my experience I believe he would certainly pick up the 1 mph average by switching the pedal system. His 15 mph average could include slowing to stops then accelerating back up to speed, climbing hills, descending and riding flats other than a constant paved bike trail. The OP wants to go faster and didn't state that he has a perfect pedal stroke and can pedal @ 90 rpms with flat pedals. The OP might not get the results right away as there might be a learning curve and muscle adaptation needed but the improvement will come.

Clipping in allows the cyclist to pedal in a more efficient manner thus enabling the addition of more muscles groups to the pedal stroke. More watts generated at the same rpm means that he can drop a gear and possibly two and ride faster at the same cadence. One analogy is a runner who sprints with his hands at his side, yes he can sprint without swinging the arms, but if he swings his arms to balance his stride he can utilize more muscles and will sprint faster and even longer since additional muscles are sharing the work load.

Lately I have been riding a fixie bike for off-season pedal stroke development and can see a huge difference in how that bike would work with platform vs. clipless pedals. Since I'm limited to 1 gear while going up hills I'm forced to utilize the whole pedal stroke to generate enough power to keep the bike moving under reduced cadence, then once over the top the race is on to build up rpm's up to match the bike's increasing speed without touching the brakes. With platform pedals I would not be able to ride up the same hill at the force I could with clipless pedals and then on the other side keep contact with the pedals on the descent.

DX-MAN

Shimano has done a lot of study about pedaling dynamics, and their research indicates that even the pro's do NOT "pedal in circles", that there are dead spaces in our pedal circles. There IS no "360 degree" application of power.

Having said that, I prefer clipless, because I get more power applied through more of the stroke than with flats. I know that, because during a short period of time a few years ago, I had to switch back to flats; it took two days for my calves to turn into solid knots of cramp because I had to modify my pedaling -- my foot came off the pedal every stroke! I was slower, it hurt more, and I was no longer 'part of the bike', I was just 'on the bike'.

1mph increase with clipless and cleated shoes? Shouldn't be a problem, once you get used to it.

Mobile 155

The only things I have read on clipless pedals and shoes that describe the advantages are in triathlon sites. Most of them indicate it is "easier" to gain spin and many indicate that ease translates to longer timed efforts at that spin. In other words you might not be faster top speed wise but you should be able to maintain a better average speed over a longer period of time. So if someone is asking about faster in a sprint by 1 or 2 MPH that could be cloudy. But if the same person wanted a better speed over distance then less effort and smoother stroke should provide that extra speed. If we think of the down stroke as the power stroke even if we don't see the pulling action we have to realize that it at least takes place to some degree as we prepare to get ready for the second down stroke. I don't think any are saying it is impossible to spin with flats only that once you get tired it is harder to keep that spin going if you aren't assisting the down stroke a little over a longer distance. How many of us have not only witnessed beginning cyclists mashing the pedals so that we even hear the woosh, pause, woosh, pause, woosh as the sprint?

In reference. https://www.ontri.com/bikingform.html

The interesting part is in paragraph 4:

The third skill to practice is achieving a circular pedal stroke. While this seems obvious, it is normal for most beginning cyclists to spend the majority of their energy pushing down on the pedals, with very little energy spent pulling up through the back of the pedal stroke. If you have traditional “flat” pedals on your bike, you will have little choice but to exclusively push down. However, if you have toe cages or a clipless pedal system, you can practice pedaling with only one foot at a time, aiming to eliminate any dead spots in your pedal stroke. You will notice dead spots in your stroke when you feel a lack of tension on the chain and hear a loud sound. Aim to eliminate those spots as much as possible. Be sure to practice this skill in an empty parking lot or on a stationary trainer, rather than on a busy road.

The simple point is if you can assist or relieve the power stroke at all with a recovery stroke even if that recovery is only a small percentage of the stroke you should be able to apply the power you produce for a longer period of time.

jethro56 

I just got my first cycling shoes today(Shimano MO87 and SPD pedals). I can spin 110 on platforms. In my short 1/2 hour ride on the trainer this morning I found that I didn't have to concentrate on form to get my cadence up to that. Before I had to really be focused on spinning to do this. Unclipping was no big deal after adjusting the tension. What surprized me the most was how planted my butt felt in the saddle. This was a good feel. I also had to tighten the tension on the flywheel. It was very easy to spin the rear tire. Clipping in is going to take some practice though.

Allegheny Jet

I believe being clipped-in on a sprint is paramount for speed and is worth 8 - 10 mph. I think that I might get the bike up to 28-29 mph with platform pedals but not full on sprinting. At the end of races I'll be at a seated cadence of 90- 95 then jump out of the saddle and push and pull the pedals with all my might to get the cadence to 120 rpm then drop a gear, work up the cadence again, drop a gear, then continue to try to pull the bottom of my shoes off while pushing the other foot down as hard as possible all the while hoping the bars will not break or a cleat doesn't pull out. Of course you can't dwell on the negatives in the middle of a fight because you need to save a little brain space for adjustments.