Today I was at EMS to pick up a pair of gloves, and while I found a set of nylon toe clips with braided nylon straps for $7. You may or may not remember that I just got my Mark V last week. I figured I might as well get the (vegan-friendly) cheapies to learn on.

Well I threw them on at my cousins house in Cambridge, MA and opted to go up Comm Ave to my place in Brighton to see how I liked them, since it's pretty dynamic on a Friday night, it has an assortment of hills, a strong likelyhood of a couple of quick stops, and places I can tear ass.

I'm completely sold on toe clips. I'll admit it was a little clumsy kicking in, but it's easier than I expected it to be. It didn't really occur to me how much energy I was using to just to keep my feet on platforms. I feel like I'm better able to accelerate/decelerate and keep a good cadence. Plus I really like having the muscles on the front of my thigh help out the muscles in the back.

The only thing that I wish I had was a narrower stiffer, smooth soled sneaker.

So yeah, if you're new to fixed and on the fence about going clipped, I can't reccommend them enough.