stlcowboyfan

LOL...that's hilarious!!!

Stucky

I forgot to clip out of my accelerator once, and I fell out of my truck!

Appearances to the contrary not withstanding, neither I nor the OP are pro racers.

StanSeven

My first guess was Grant Peterson

link0

I prefer clipless for rides over 10miles. Otherwise platform pedals all the way.

bmcer

I've ridden plain old platforms, good old fashioned toe clips/straps/cleats, and clipless, the first two for many, many years. I, personally, prefer to be locked down to the pedal one way or another, and although I have some nostalgia for the old rat traps, there's no denying it's a lot easier to get quickly into and out of modern clipless pedals. That said, the one thing that makes the greatest difference for my comfort is properly fit shoes with a good stiff sole Remember Detto Pietros? To me, the only thing that made platforms even vaguely tolerable were good old Batas or Avalons, and those, sadly, are long gone.

02Giant 

I have spiked platforms on my hybrid, clipless on my road bike. The majority of my riding time the last couple of years has been on the road bike, when I ride the hybrid I find I have a lot of shoe/pedal disconnect moments that I didn't have before. I believe my pedaling form/style has changed (for the better) because of the clipless pedals.

Jakedatc

that doesn't mean you can't take advantage of the benefits.

i'll race you up any hill over 10%.. see how your platforms do then. GCN did a test on a treadmill comparing power output/ exertion whatever between the two and they were fairly similar at a steady power. once you get steeper incline, acceleration, quick changes in speed then the clipless will be much better.

i have scars up and down both shins from slipping off platforms on my mtn bike growing up. going to clipless changed things forever. and having SPD-SL on road bike makes my mtn bike SPD's feel less connected (but i'm ok with that on dirt)

bakes1

And they would be what exactly?

bakes1

It seems like every thread about clipless references everybody dropping their bike once or twice when they first make the change.
If this is indeed the case with most riders I think it's pretty damn funny considering the amount of damage you can do to your bike or your body even just slowly toppling over at a stop sign.
Pay $100 - $500 extra just to get the extra gear to go clipless and than damage your bike because of it?
For what exactly?
In this thread one advocate for clipless even states that they only add a tenth of one mph?
Gotta have all the official gear I guess lol.
Keep drinking the KoolAid

kbarch

I like hearing how noobs discover the same things I discovered. I remember the first time I was happy to be clipped in; it was great, and I still love it. But regarding some of the reactions this has brought....

A distinction should be made clear. There's more than one alternative to clipless; platforms may be used with or without toeclips, and they are as different from each other as they are from clipless. It's immediately evident to anyone with the least kinaesthetic sense, who's tried it for more than a mile, that having ones foot attached to the pedal - either with toeclips or some modern automatic clipless system - brings distinct and meaningful advantages over loose shoes on platforms.

But that "Shoes Ruse" piece is not altogether misguided. If you don't want or appreciate the advantage that being attached to your pedals brings, then by all means, "ride free." But if you can't appreciate that advantage, then you can't very well appreciate the other advantages that better bikes can offer either, so just do it on your walmart bike.

As for toe clips vs automatic, I find the latter far more secure and simple, and if one is more style than substance, it's definitely the toe clips - by a mile.

Jakedatc

I'd say they add much more than .1mph especially when it gets hilly or you are in a group that you are changing speeds or matching accelerations.

some people fall over when they start out, i've done it. zero damage to me or the bike. you could just as easily slip off a pedal trying to stand up on a steep hill with platforms and have much worse happen. add rain to that mix and it goes up even more.

you can do what you want but if you haven't used them then you are kidding yourself that they aren't helpful.

bakes1

Whatever.
But trying to compare the confirmed amount of falls specific to clipless to the possibility of falling over when standing up on a hill is reedonkulous imo

ShortLegCyclist

I use studded platforms but not loose shoes, I use stiff soled treaded hiking shoes (Merrell Shiver) to engage the studs as securely as possible.

I've never slipped OFF the pedals while standing to climb, but I have tried to engage the pedal from a stoplight at the start of a steep ascent without looking down, missed the pedal and ripped the back of my ankle on the studs. Now, if I know I have to push hard, I always look down first.

Once engaged, studded pedals are really secure, even in rain and snow in my experience, and engaging the pedal, while what I just described can happen, is considerably quicker than any clipless system I've tried so far.

kbarch

What's reedonkulous is choosing a pedal based on what it's like to loose ones balance with them. It's hard to imagine learning to ride a bike in the first place with that perspective.
Imagine skiing without bindings. It might be possible, too, and fun in its way, but it would be a VERY different experience.
Speaking of skiing; I'll never forget my first group lesson. There was this one woman who seemed to be having more trouble than most. The instructor approached her and asked her what was wrong. Evidently, her skis were 'all slippery,' and she didn't care for that.

RetroDork

PLUS - the metal cleats on clipless shoes throw out a Biotching shower of sparks when you drag them on the street at night.

bmcer

No point in getting into an argument over something that is simply a matter of preference. If you don't like 'em, don't use 'em and vice versa. There is, to my knowledge, insufficient data to support the idea that one way is right and the other wrong.

'Course if you have nothing better to do than start a pissing match, this is the venue for it. Innit?

Ricanfred

Road: 100% clipless
Mountain: technical: flat pedals; fast/flowy: clipless (new to MTBing)

IMO clipless makes your body 'forget' how to use flat pedals. It's weird; I've had to 'relearn' to use flat pedals after years of riding clipless.

f4rrest

Haven't fallen over yet. 7 years on clipless.

Just sayin'...

Stucky

Or be like me: I poo-poo all the so-called science....but I still ride clipless. Like you said, it just comes down to personal preference- nothing more.

bmcer

As for myself, I put a lot of faith in good science (as opposed to what passes for it on the internet) when it's available. In this instance, there is none, so personal preference rules.

kbarch

Maybe none that addresses whatever it is you prefer to concern yourself about, but it seems there's quite a bit of research available on the difference between being attached and not, and certainly its easy enough to conduct ones own experiments.

bmcer

I'm nothing if not open minded. Would you be kind enough to provide access to the research you mention. Seriously, I'd be interested.

FWIW, self-conducted "experiments" is what most folks call "experience", and that's the basis for personal preferences. But it hardly qualifies as science.

Carkar7

This is very interesting, and it supports the findings GCN concluded on their youtube channel. At this point, I would suspect that any differences perceived are marginal at best. However, given the qualitative feedback of those extolling the benefits of riding clipless, I would find it interesting to investigate whether there are any latent variables that may account for an increase in actual efficiency that are unrelated to the measures used in this study. For instance, is there a psychological variable at play that affects a riders confidence on the road as a result of being attached to the bike? I don't have access to the full text, but if this study is being done in a controlled environment then the next step would be to investigate the "clipless phenomenon" in a real world setting. If anyone has access to a random sample of 64 riders and can randomly assign them to 1 of 2 conditions (platforms vs clipless) and have them perform on the same trail with the same bike setup, you should be able to assess differences in speed easily

RIP Chainrings

I used to ride 70 and 80 miles in platforms and sandles and didn't see the real difference until I got a PMeter you do way more watts clipless..on the other hand from a physics standpoint the most efficient power phase in the pedal stroke is obv the down pedal which is 90 degrees to the chain line of force. So platforms are good for training downpedal strength

The reason they race with clipless is because you can spin with em. Main advantage too is you can rotate the wattage load to different muscle groups. Let's say you want to hold 300 watts for 10 minutes you can alternate loads..Glutes, down. Hams, heel dragback. Flexors, up. Quads, forward. In the saddle high cadence spinning, out the saddle pulling up with high gears uphill feels awesome. I use spd cleats with sh t092s they are pretty good for walking too

thump55

This is when you realize how much better clipless is...when you go back to platforms and can't put the power down...when you can only use downforce with no help from the other leg.

When this happens you can't help but think - "this sucks", and that's when you know you are a better rider when clipped in.