Kazer

I asked a week or so ago if clipless/clips/straps etc really affect the
power with which you can pedal that much. All of the responses I
got were pretty helpful and generally convinced me that I needed to
give something besides my platforms a shot.

As a result of the responses and some heavy research on my part I've
decided to get some eggbeaters and a pair of shoes that I can get
away with wearing anywhere (not sure on that part yet).

All of the posts this week about clipless pedals and the like got me
really impatient to try something out. (I am saving right now to get
the eggbeaters and shoes... spendy stuff). I have a roll of velcro
tape (IT guy network cable velcrotape type tape) that I busted out
tonight for me ride.

Ghetto I know.

I quickly realized that I would need to double strap and there was
just no way in hell that I was going to be able to strap both feet
in. I spent about 5 akward minutes strapping my dominant (right)
foot into my platform and went out for my ride.

My reaction can be summed up in two words: holy crap.

I can stop pretty damn quickly on my platforms without anything.
I was amazed that with just one foot strapped in my stopping
distance was cut by what must have been at least 1/3rd.

Pulling up on the pedals during my stroke was a revelation for me.
My acceleration can't even be compared. What excites me even
more is that this is with two inefficient foot straps on one side. I
can't even imagine how rad clipless is going to be.

Wow.

I did some trackstanding and that was a breeze. Then I attempted
some reverse 360s (which I suck at without straps) and managed
to execute my first nearly 0mph fallover right in front of nightclub
downtown. Haha. The bouncers gave me some quality looks, I do
not embarass easily, it was halarious.

Not being able to float around on the pedals was a bit strange. My
right knee didn't like the fixed foot position much but I'm sure I will
get used to it quickly.

I got home and removed the straps, went up and down the block
and realized that riding without it sucks. I'm going to have to get
some straps while I wait for the cash to buy a clipless system.

Wow.

Kaz

Jaminsky

Gearing?

Kazer

38x13 (1:2.92)

Kaz

LóFarkas

Don't worry about discomfort.Eggbeaters allow up to 15 or 20 degrees of free float (foot rotation) before they disengage, dependong on which cleat you put on which shoe. I use SPD, these allow 5° or so, and that's enough for me. (The only downsides to eggbeaters may be that 15° might be too much float for you and that you can't set the spring tension at all. That aside, I lust for them, too)
Plus clipless helps more when you get the pedaling technique right and even more on steep uphills, out of saddle. Enjoy.

queerpunk

two things:
1. props on the ghetto setup. three cheers for no money fixes (the ones that get the purists hopping mad)
2. nitpicking: yr use of the term "platform pedals" is incorrect, and a common mistake. basically, platforms are one-sided pedals made for clips and straps, as opposed to double-sided block pedals. (just nitpicking)

jim-bob

I know sheldon claims that the only true platform pedals are one-sided and designed for clips and straps, but out here in the real world we've been using that term for everything from beartraps to bmx pedals for quite some time now.

LóFarkas

Seconded. Anyone who knows a bit of linguistics knows that there is no such thing as a "common mistake". Whatever form is used by the large majority of peolpe becomes the norm, even if it started out as a mistake. Words like "thumb" used to have no "b" at the end, the b was attached in the middle ages 'cos some fools thought they were French like "tomb". And now we are stuck with these utterly foolish word forms... And monokini is monikini despite the fact that bikini is not bi-kini in any sense.So those are platforms, because that's what we call them.
Just nitpicking, no offence at all.

And the ghetto setup is way cool, esp. if you tie in your right foot, roll up to a wall, with the left crank up, lean the bars to it and then do your left foot as well. A good way to learn trackstanding... no option

emilymildew

You'd been riding fixed with flat pedals? I think that makes my head hurt.

wasabiboys

Ride Primo Tendrizers they are sickness on a SS. Just corners are tough!

stevo

"Anyone who knows a bit of linguistics knows that there is no such thing as a "common mistake". Whatever form is used by the large majority of peolpe becomes the norm, even if it started out as a mistake"

thirded. it amazes me how many people dont realize that the dictionary is not intended to mandate the 'official' use of a word, but merely to try to capture society's current use of the word'.

it also amazes me how many people take Sheldons thoughts as the end-all-and-be-all answer. (no disprespect to sheldon intended).

LóFarkas

Well, papa Sheldon seems to be right all the time. Such a wise guy who knows an awful lot about biking and is willing to share it all. The fact that he loves clipless like the rest of us shows he is not stuck in the past.
Actually, here in Hungary on our bike forum the ultimate answer to questions tends to be "Sheldon Brown says..." A couple of his articles have even been translated for those who don't speak English. Needless to say, he consented.
So cheers for Sheldon, even though he might be wrong once in every 10 years.

DKfix

I rode my fixed with flat pedals for a long time. It never made my head hurt.

alanbikehouston

In reading over Sheldon's website over the past several years, I've never found an error of "fact". If every kid on your block calls a BMX pedal a "cow", it is still a BMX pedal, not a cow. The fact that 51% of the American voters thought Shrub was the best qualified person for the office of President does not MAKE Shrub qualified for anything. It merely certifies the "official" number of gullible people in America.

In a world where ignorance and stupidity is the norm, having Sheldon around is very refreshing.

bostontrevor

Eh, that's the beauty of a vernacular. It's a slippery beast.

A word means what it means until it doesn't. See also, comprise.

At some point the official dictionarians shrug and give into peer pressure.

LóFarkas

OFF

If every kid on your block calls a BMX pedal a cow, they speak a different language/dialect/it's their slang. So it is a cow.


Actually, Sheldon might be wrong about radial lacing. He quotes somebody who says radial lacing does not make the wheels more "bumpy" (stiff vertically), because the spokes are only a couple per cent shorter than in 3x, so you'll never notice. The tyre dampens times more etc. I've never used radial so I have no idea, but they may well be stiffer than 3x because of the fact that the spokes are parallel to the forces of bumps and so the same amount of elongation or looseness will allow the hub to move in the wheel much less. Not sure, though. Not that it matters... Radial is for posers and time trialists, not me.

phidauex

In France, the dictionary does dictate the language. If it isn't in the dictionary, it isn't French!

English is one of the first languages to go the other direction with our dictionaries. Oxford university decided to put together a dictionary based on actual literary use of words, citing in every case a 'first published use' and a definition based on common usage. The research took many years, and was helped by submissions from around the world as independent researchers hunted through old books looking for first uses of words, and writing concise definitions.

The rest of the academic community thought Oxford was crazy for doing a dictionary this way, but they defended their actions by saying what we are saying now. Dictionaries should reflect the language of the people, not enforce it. It doesn't matter what words you use or how you define them, if they get accepted published use, they'll end up in the Oxford English Dictionary's full version. Speaking of which, the usage of the term, "the sh*t" to describe something that is very good is now in the Oxford.

A good book about the creation of the OED is "The Professor and the Madman" which is a true story about a man in insane asylum who ended up being an incredibly valuable contributor to the OED, mailing submissions from his cell. Very good book.

Wait a second, what forum are we in?

peace,
sam

emilymildew

Ha. It just seems like a really unbelievably dangerous thing to do. Tell me you had two brakes, at least.

Sheldon Brown

That's one way of looking at it, but the problem is that just "going with the flow" that way leads to the language becoming impoverished of meaning, because when the malapropism becomes accepted, the original meaning gets lost.

The traditional meaning for "platform pedal" as I describe it in my Bicycle Glossary is:

So, if the term "platform pedal" is to be recycled to mean "plain pedal" then there becomes no simple way to refer to a traditional platform pedal.

Probably the root of this problem is the confusion created by the introduction of the confusing term "clipless" pedal.

Sheldon "Prescriptivist" Brown

12XU

He hath spoken.

jrowe

But that is a picture of the MKS GR-9.

alanbikehouston

There is great value in having a shared language, especially in technical matters. If you are on the table, getting heart surgery, and the doctor asks his assistant for the "Whatsit", you better hope Doc is handed the "Whatsit" and not the "Whosthat".

My job involves counseling inner-city teen-agers. Most of them were born in Houston, as were their grandparents. But, many of them do not speak or understand any widely known form of English. The fourteen year-olds from the northwest side public housing projects speak a language that is fully understood only by people living in those projects. They can not fully communicate with a fourteen year-old who lives in a public housing project on the southeast side of Houston.

Why does that matter? Their books at school are written in "standard" English. Job applications are written in "standard" English. Their answer on a job application are expected to be in "standard" English. These kids are trapped in a one mile long and one mile wide neighborhood because they do not have the language skills to be successful in school or in a job outside of that small neighborhood.

In contrast, I meet teens in Houston who recently came to Houston from India, Taiwan, Viet-Nam, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic. They are fluent in "standard" English, as while as in Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Spanish. They are highly recruited by both colleges and employers.

So, let's allow Sheldon to come up with names for each part of a bike. If Sheldon calls something on a bike a "whatsit", we can ALL call it a "whatsit" and understand what each other is talking about. If someone calls that part a "whosthat", we need to crush him like a bug.

jrowe

But we cannot allow Sheldon to start calling the "MKS GR-9" the "French Lyotard Marcel Berthet model 23"...

*new*guy

The pic is from his website.... htt p://sheldonbrown.com/harris/images/mks-gr9-platform.jpeg
I'm quite certain he knows exactly what it is and was merely trying to show a good example of a platform pedal. get over it already.

jrowe

"get over it already"? Are you kidding? Get over what? No need for you to take offense at my comment. I'm not trying to show anyone up. I first pointed out what I thought was a mistake, and then I made light of the "whatsit" comment by a subsequent poster. You facking get over it.

s2sxiii

sheldon is the word for god on the lips and hearts of all cyclists...