MrCjolsen

Every day, I ride to work on with clipless pedals. I keep a few pairs of shoes at work and change into them upon arrival.

At lunchtime, if I need to go anywhere, I change back into my SPD shoes.

The last few day, instead of changing shoes, I've changed pedals, swapping out my shimano clipless for some plastic platforms taken off of a dumpster bike and riding to lunch in whatever shoes I happen to be wearing and then putting the clipless pedals back on before I ride home.

Now, I think yesterday was the first day ever that I rode a bicycle without some kind of pedal retention and also had a computer to see how fast I was going.

It seemed that the speed difference between clipped in and not clipped in was not significant. This is interesting to me because I remember that when I first went clipless during my pre-fixed gear days, I noticed a signficant speed difference.

Here's my question (finally). Does a fixed gear bike make riding with no pedal retention (clipless or clips) easier because the turning of the pedals somehow eliminates a dead spot in the cyclists stroke?

Also, why the warning about riding fixed without some kind of pedal retention is dangerous? I had no problems.

666pack

i love riding with just bare platforms... provided i'm running my brake.

see how riding brakeless with no clips is not advised and try to skid.
or bomb a hill, have your foot slip off the pedal and get your ankle destroyed.

other than that i love tooling around on bare platforms.

jerrymcdougal

I didn't either when I ran platforms. Eventually I heard its dangerous here so much that I got scared and went clips/straps. I love my clips/straps now, and prefer them, but I didn't have any problems with platforms. I can sure stop faster now. Thats for sure.

MrCjolsen

I have front and rear brakes on both of my fixed gear bikes. I use them too.

Wotan

That's why you had no problems..



.

wroomwroomoops

God bless you for that.

el twe

The trouble arises when a foot slips off. Front and rear brakes makes this a little less important, but it'd still suck.

Metricoclock

on your thoughts on dead spots, I never realized my dead spots until i went to fixed, and i've gained a much better stroke since going fixed, i think that riding fixed is probebly the best at gaining proper technique

MrCjolsen

But when I was little, it happened on my tricycle all the time. Never a real bit deal unless I was going down the driveway and there was traffic.

Straws

If you have brakes it's less dangerous for you but still just as dangerous for your shins. You may be able to stop alright but that's not a guarantee you wont get a pedal or two in your shin before you can panic stop.

Aeroplane

My thoughts exactly. I've done it before. Fine for short jaunts, definitely wouldn't do it regularly.

Maybe consider clips and straps?

TheBrick

It is not just the shin thing.

Do you have as much control over your bike (fixed or free wheel) when you are sat on the saddle with your feet dangling compared to having your feet on the pedals. I know for sure that my control is better with my feet on the pedals. So if my feet sliped off of my pedals and then I was put in an awkward situation I would want my feet back on the pedals quickly. With a freewheel it is easier and quicker to get back in control i.e get your feet on the pedals.

jmberg

You should get these: Shimano PD-M324 or Forté Campus Pedal

Both have SPD on one side, platform on the other. I have the Campus and love it.

dirtyphotons

if a pedal gets away from you it's gonna hit your calf, not your shin.

with brakes it's pretty easy to keep the pedals under your feet. if you do lose one, just kick your leg out to the side and get back on, it's not really a big deal.

i'd say that throughout history the vast majority of fixed riders have had no pedal retention.

that being said i personally wouldn't switch pedals every day. too easy to damage the crank threads, and cranks suck to replace. if you find you want to swing both ways, i'd suggest either some campus type pedals that have spd on one side and a platform on the other, or some candy/smarty/atac z/whatever clipless pedals with a platform around them.

InternetDisease

...

mihlbach

This is not suprising for a casual ride. Your normal (casual) pedal stroke should be essentially the same with clipless or platforms.

The main benefits of clipless will not necessarily become apparent unless you are riding long distances, sprinting, climbing big hills, racing, or any combination of these where clipless pedals will benefit you by (1) passively holding your feet in an optimal position, thus preventing slips and maximizing effeciency, and (2) allowing you to generate short bursts of additional power by utilizing your hamstrings and (more importantly) the iliopsoas to apply a back and up force to your pedal stroke, particularly when hammering out of the saddle. To understand how clipless makes you faster, go climb a hill as hard as you can and visualize slamming your knees into the stem with every pedal stroke. Then try it with platforms.

On the other hand, platforms clearly are optimal for short casual rides if you factor the time it takes to swap shoes into your average speed and not having to bother with clipping in or inserting your foot into a strap.

oceanfx

You're preaching to the choir, as far as I'm concerned. I never rode clips off road, and I never road clips on my fixed bike. I learned to skid, commuted 30 km up and downtown hundreds of times, and have had my feet slip off maybe twice. Ooh, I put them back on--I had to be really scared for a few moments!

I just put clips on, though. It's a million times more awesome being able to pedal on the upstroke. Sooo much easier for uphills. The point is, you don't -need- clips to ride fixed. In fact, I recommend it if you're just using your fixed bike for ****ing around/errands/commuting. But if you need to go fast or if you find yourself getting really tired, and especially if you courier, you might wanna get some clips. Not cause its safer, it just lets you put more power into the bike.

Aeroplane

Instantly discredited.

operator

-1

It's the complete opposite. The cranks turn whether or not you're pedalling a circle. Fixed gear allows you to be lazy where a geared bike does not.

Fixed gear does not give you a better stroke, it may force you to pedal at a higher cadence than you are used to going downhills but the main advantage is preventing you from doing zero pedalling when coasting.

operator

duh?

You produce the same power whether or not your feet are clipped in. Riding fixed with NO BRAKES and platforms is dangerous.

Do not agree. MTB shoes with recessed cleats will be just as effective without any of the disadvantages you mention, especially if you are trackstanding everywhere anyways.

mihlbach

Clipless pedals and shoes truly truly suck when riding 2.5 mph on the sidewalk behind your completely unpredictable 4 year old kid on his 16" wheel bike with training wheels. There is no debating this.

c0urt

So i was riding clips and straps a couple of days ago with no brakes. And I had a seizure and plowed into a police car, I really want to know what that looked like from a pedestrian point of view.

unfortunately my memory is blank from a few minutes before the whole deal. It had to be akin to a lawn dart

https://stupidhurts.org/

StephenH

I guess what amounts to the first bicycle wreck in the USA involved fixie+platforms. This was one of the early boneshakers, with pedals attached directly to the front wheel. The guy started down a hill, "lost the pedals", dodged a horse or wagon and did a header.

wroomwroomoops

Pics or it didn't happen.

curiousincident

OOPS.