Originally Posted by
slcbob
Absolutely not. If you have a horrible stroke with either clipless or clips & (snug) straps, you can be as inefficient as platforms. But you can not get any real pull up on platforms. The smidgeon of "pull" back at the bottom of the stroke even with good "traction" is a pale shadow of a real round-the-clock stroke.
BS. Studies have shown that even the pros don't pull up on the pedals. At the most, they just don't push down on the upstroke as much when clipped in. I read that on the Riv site, and decided to do my own investigation. 'Tis true, tis true. Everyone quotes this as a big thing but honestly, I can't remember a time in the past month that I've actually pulled up on the back stroke, unless it was to yank a foot out while sliding. If you are truly telling me that you pull up on every stroke while clipped or strapped in, I'd call you on it. Have you ever actually tried to do that? It's not very easy, it's rather tiring, your butt hurts, and you waste a whole lot of energy.