Clipless Pedals???
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Clipless Pedals???
This is my first post here so if I'm doing anything wrong I apologize.
I currently ride a Leader 725, and I like to go fast. At my shop I notice a lot of those hardcore fixed dudes with the clip in shoes and pedals. Are they worth it? What is better about them than Velcro straps? I also ride a pretty big ratio, 52-14 if that makes a difference in the question.
I currently ride a Leader 725, and I like to go fast. At my shop I notice a lot of those hardcore fixed dudes with the clip in shoes and pedals. Are they worth it? What is better about them than Velcro straps? I also ride a pretty big ratio, 52-14 if that makes a difference in the question.
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It's basically personal preferance like bar or saddle choice
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This is my first post here so if I'm doing anything wrong I apologize.
I currently ride a Leader 725, and I like to go fast. At my shop I notice a lot of those hardcore fixed dudes with the clip in shoes and pedals. Are they worth it? What is better about them than Velcro straps? I also ride a pretty big ratio, 52-14 if that makes a difference in the question.
I currently ride a Leader 725, and I like to go fast. At my shop I notice a lot of those hardcore fixed dudes with the clip in shoes and pedals. Are they worth it? What is better about them than Velcro straps? I also ride a pretty big ratio, 52-14 if that makes a difference in the question.
#4
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Yes they're worth it.
What's better with them? Everything.
52-14? Do you care about your knees? You must never climb anything ever.
What's better with them? Everything.
52-14? Do you care about your knees? You must never climb anything ever.
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He does my kind of climbing. Downhill climbing.
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Your gearing is not related to the decision to get clipless or not, but what the others are suggesting is that you will be faster with a different ratio - a lot faster. Also, that tall a gear on hills puts a lot of strain on your knees so if you like riding fixed you might want to change it up so you can continue to ride fixed into the future. With a shorter ratio you will accelerate faster too.
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Anyone I know pushing over 48/15 can't do more than 10mi without blowing out.
I'd almost be wary of a 52/14 as a flying 200 gear.
I'd almost be wary of a 52/14 as a flying 200 gear.
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This.
Plenty of threads discussing the advantages/disadvantages of various types of clipless pedals vs. straps and so on... To answer your question, a combination of clipless road pedals and proper road shoes provides a significantly better power transfer than MTB pedals and shoes, let alone platforms and straps. Needless to say there might be other issues to consider, but well worth if you're merely looking for speed, particularly if you're mashing a high gear ratio.
NB
Please note that the forum convention advocates spinning over mashing, and divergence from forum conventions simply isn't accepted, hence the notorious attempt to get the old crowd trolling going. That said, running a 52/14 gear ratio in a hilly urban environment does seem rather extreme, but that's an entirely different discussion.
Plenty of threads discussing the advantages/disadvantages of various types of clipless pedals vs. straps and so on... To answer your question, a combination of clipless road pedals and proper road shoes provides a significantly better power transfer than MTB pedals and shoes, let alone platforms and straps. Needless to say there might be other issues to consider, but well worth if you're merely looking for speed, particularly if you're mashing a high gear ratio.
NB
Please note that the forum convention advocates spinning over mashing, and divergence from forum conventions simply isn't accepted, hence the notorious attempt to get the old crowd trolling going. That said, running a 52/14 gear ratio in a hilly urban environment does seem rather extreme, but that's an entirely different discussion.
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Personally...
platforms/no straps < clips/straps < clipless pedals/dedicated shoes
I've never done mtb pedals/shoes. The spd pedals/shoes common with mtb seem to be better for city riding where frequent stops are common. Plus you can go with several of the chrome shoes and still look relatively normal.
For me, clips/straps as well as spd-sl pedals/shoes became second nature after a few rides.
There was a guy selling some mtb shoes and spd pedals in the For Sale section, think he only wanted $90 for the pair. Not sure what your foot size is, but that might be an economical way to try things out.
platforms/no straps < clips/straps < clipless pedals/dedicated shoes
I've never done mtb pedals/shoes. The spd pedals/shoes common with mtb seem to be better for city riding where frequent stops are common. Plus you can go with several of the chrome shoes and still look relatively normal.
For me, clips/straps as well as spd-sl pedals/shoes became second nature after a few rides.
There was a guy selling some mtb shoes and spd pedals in the For Sale section, think he only wanted $90 for the pair. Not sure what your foot size is, but that might be an economical way to try things out.
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Uh I never said I couldn't do it. I find it a lot easier to clip into my SPD pedals on the first try where as with clips and straps I couldn't always nail it on the first rotation.
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Just started riding clipless recently after many years of using clips and straps or Holdfasts and platforms.
If you're doing urban riding, stop and start alot and want to wear regular shoes go with Holdfasts and platforms. To me these are by far the best solution.
If you are doing more dedicated rides where you're out for 20 miles+ at a time, then go clipless.
Really depends on how you use your bike. I've been doing more dedicated rides lately and clipless is great. But when I think about using my bike to do something else, a quick trip to the store or something, having to put on my clipless shoes is a disincentive.
If you're doing urban riding, stop and start alot and want to wear regular shoes go with Holdfasts and platforms. To me these are by far the best solution.
If you are doing more dedicated rides where you're out for 20 miles+ at a time, then go clipless.
Really depends on how you use your bike. I've been doing more dedicated rides lately and clipless is great. But when I think about using my bike to do something else, a quick trip to the store or something, having to put on my clipless shoes is a disincentive.
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OP: what size wheels?
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I ride a 44/15 setup, with clipless, on a 26 mile commute everyday. I hit some pretty decent hills, but it's not the size that really matters, it's the grade/steepness the matters to me. I find the clips definitely help on the climbs whether they are fairly steep or slow and steady. Besides my fixed gear bike, I also have an 81 Motobecane Jubilee Sport that still has the original 80's era toe clips on it, I don't think those pedals offer the same efficiency when it comes to climbing the steeper sections.
Mainly though, I wear clipless, because they're comfortable to me when I ride.
I feel this way sometimes, there are alternativatives, some of the newer shoes are more comfortable off of the bike, and they do make pedal platforms that snap on the pedal. Never used them, but for short/quick rides on a relatively flat surface, they seem ok.
Mainly though, I wear clipless, because they're comfortable to me when I ride.
I feel this way sometimes, there are alternativatives, some of the newer shoes are more comfortable off of the bike, and they do make pedal platforms that snap on the pedal. Never used them, but for short/quick rides on a relatively flat surface, they seem ok.
Last edited by OneGoodLeg; 04-15-13 at 10:29 AM.