Originally Posted by
Frankenbike77
While the upstroke doesn't appear to create any real power, it does feel as though it assists in reducing force required on the downstroke
"unweighting the pedal" is the phrase I've seen used to describe that, and what the last study I browsed through said was the only thing that actually happened on the upstroke.
Originally Posted by
Frankenbike77
Not sure the mechanics, but it does appear to make a marked difference going uphill (my uphill stamina is garbage)
One of the arguments for clipless is that there are a few niche situations where you actually pull up - sprinting, climbing uphill, though normally there is no actual pulling up.
It's also difficult to test going uphill or sprinting all out indoors on a trainer. One could debate whether that's "proof" that clipless is better, or a convenient excuse to try to justify it having no benefit...well who knows.
Originally Posted by
Frankenbike77
So if the upstroke isn't adding in any real work, is it really just allowing you to return to the downstroke faster than with platforms?
At least with my poor technique, on platforms, there is always a dead spot where my legs appear to being no work at all, as they wait for the cranks to return to the top of the downstroke (even if only for a fraction of a second)
Or, is the benefit that it reduces that positive work on the downstroke, and that's why I only really notice it in situations that require more work (acceleration, going uphill, maintaining speed in the highest gears)
If so, still seems like a more tangible benefit than many other things cyclists worry about (weight obsession)
Or possibly this:
I personally agree mostly with the "psychological" thing. It feels faster, but measure it and it's not (at least riding on a trainer simulating riding on the flats where it can easily be measured).
There's also something like which are faster - black bike shorts of red bike shorts? where in reality the red shorts fit better and are stretchier, so someone comes to the conclusion that red is a "faster" color because they are faster in red shorts. One could get faster with clipless because it happens to use the leg a certain way that your leg is more used to, or it positions your foot differently, whereas people who get slower with clipless for similar reason just don't spend a lot of time talking about it.
At a certain point it gets kind of pendantic to argue about it because the only real conclusion (regarding speed) is whether your numbers get faster with clipless or not. One can speculate for a long time, those tend to turn into arguments that go on forever though. :-/
A completely smooth pedal stroke has also not shown itself to be what pro's use either. But for people with really uneven pedal strokes smoothing it out might help.
If I was sprinting all out in races or casual races (A level group rides) mashing the pedals as fast as I could wildly like they do in races - then I'm sure I would prefer clipless. That's what it is good at, solidly keeping your feet connected to your pedals in extreme situations.
But for the kind of riding I do - commuting to work, riding casually for exercise, riding across town, etc, flats with pins does a good job of keeping my feet solidly enough attached to the pedals. I'm not racing anyone in a crazy nearly-out-of-control sprint. And any slight efficiency gains I might or might not be missing out on are more than made up for by the time I'm saving by not changing in out and of bike-specific shoes.
If your speedometer is saying you're going uphill much better with clipless, it's possible. Your problem might also be fixed if you went to a physical therapist and worked on getting your glutes to active. But it might be a lot easier and cheaper to just use clipless.