Originally Posted by
Retro Grouch
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Back in the olden days we all used flat pedals. Serious riders added toe clips to the front of the pedals to help retain their feet and really serious cyclists nailed a metal cleat to their shoes that locked into the flat pedal. Dignified stopping, if you were using cleats, required either planning ahead or having good track standing skills.
Around the early 90's pedals were introduced by Look and others that used ski binding technology. They used a metal or plastic clip bolted to the bottom of the shoe that locked into a spring loaded retention device on the pedal. They were called clipless because they eliminated the shoe retention clip on the front of flat pedals.
History of the clipless pedal, Part 2:
When the advantages of clipless pedals were recognized, moutainbikers wanted to get in on it but existing pedal and cleat designs were unworkable for mountain biking, where you frequently had to clip in and out, pedal without being clipped in, walk or portage the bike, and the pedals had to function reliably with mud and dirt caked shoes. Designers went back to the drawing board and developed mtb cleat/pedal systems that were up to the challenge.