Originally Posted by
DinoShepherd
O.K. Seriously. Raise your hands if you came from actual clips and straps and then transitioned to clipless.
I mean, real clips and straps, double Binda leather straps, real cleats and campy clips. Real old skool. I mean late eighties, early nineties old school.
I had one of the early sets of Ultegra clipless pedal. Clean white, look style. Zero float. I bolted them on to my SL tubed Rossin with a bad mix of DA, 105, Ultegra and Sante' and away I went. Down tube shifters set for friction, because we couldn't trust index. Besides didn't want anyone to hear you shift...
[Raises hand] Except I wouldn't call late '80s / early '90s "old school". Through the early and mid '80s, I ran on a pair of Detto Pietros with slotted cleats, and 600EX (before that "level" was called Ultegra) pedals with the rear plate that the cleat locked into when you strapped down. The earliest Shimano clipless pedals were actually made by Look (as I recently learned here on BF), and sold at the Dura Ace level. I bought a pair in about '87. The float was (as it is today,
AFAIK) actually a function of the cleats, not the pedals. First "black" cleats had zero float, but I got a pair of 15 degree (?) float "red" cleats shortly after. Never fell with either cleats. Oh, and when I built that bike, it was JUST as 6-speed 600EX SIS was coming out, so I tried it. Never went back to friction; I didn't care if anyone heard it click.
I'm on all SPDs now, even on my daily work commuter and rail-trail rambler. I still haven't fallen on account of them. My only bike that doesn't have SPDs is my '69 Robin Hood.
I just dug out the old PDs, and found the cleats; now I'm wondering if I should fit my newest road shoes with SPDs, or go with those old PD cleats and recommission the pedals. The current "road" pedals/cleats look remarkably similar to the original Look/PD design; funny how "everything old is new again".