Originally Posted by
Papa Tom
This wasn't meant to be a debate about toe clips vs. clipless -- or toe clips vs. no clips, for that matter. I'm just sharing a minor revelation that has made cycling feel fresh to me again.
Actually, it just hit me that I feel like I'm riding naked, pooping at will like a baby, or having sexual relations without protection for the first time. How freeing not to be locked into the bike in any way. I wouldn't have considered this in my early or mid-40's, as I was still impressed with how cool toe clips looked and how good I was at getting in and out of them. Now, at 49 and 11/12ths, I finally don't care a whole lot about what "they" say about how I should ride my bike.
This is awesome!
I don't get why you felt locked in with toeclips. I agree about the hassle of tipping into them at every traffic light and the attendant anxiety of scraping them. But I've never felt locked in even when I did tighten the straps, which was only rarely to see if it did me any good (didn't, BTW).
If we're not in a race, there's no benefit to being attached to the pedals versus correctly positioned. And if Grant is correct, nearly no benefit even if you are in a race.