Originally Posted by
LesterOfPuppets
I wouldn't necessarily say that clipless pedals have clips. They're really more like a latch, some sort of slam latch, perhaps.
People say clip in and clip out all the time but you could also call it clicking in and clicking out.
Not sure how the toe clip got its name but it is vaguely like a money clip in some ways.
People used to attach skis to their boots with leather bindings. At some point, a metal "toe clip" was introduced to help hold the front of the boot in place. Leather straps were still used to fasten the boot down. Many innovations led up to the mechanical bindings that are used today but the term "binding" is used to describe all of them.
Modern "clipless" pedals were introduced by Look, - a ski binding manufacturer.
I propose we start using the term "mechanical bindings" for clipless pedals rather than naming them for what they are not. Your basic platform pedal is also "clipless".
It's good to understand the history of clipless pedals and where the technology came from. It is through that positive attachment to the pedal that a bike becomes more an extension of you rather than something you are riding "on".
Though that might be a distinction that's meaningless to a lot of people, it can clearly lead to an experience that's quite different. It explains why some people like clipless pedals even for short trips.