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Old 06-07-19 | 04:11 PM
  #29  
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davester
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From: Berkeley CA

Bikes: 1981 Ron Cooper, 1974 Cinelli Speciale Corsa, 1975 Alex Singer, 2000 Gary Fisher Sugar 1, 1986 Miyata 710, 1982 Raleigh "International", 1985 Trek 720

Originally Posted by Pilot321
However, after reading some reviews, it seems clipless pedals really do help your efficiency, and obviously that helps a lot, especially as you get older. If I got to ride longer with less fatigue that would be very welcome.
If this is why you're moving to SPDs, then I think you'll be sorely disappointed. Both my own personal experience (some of my bikes have SPDs, some toe clips, some flats) and various published studies show that there is little to no measurable efficiency gain to be had from clipless pedals and somewhat surprisingly, pulling up on the backstroke (whether with clips/straps or with clipless) actually decreases power output. The main gain from SPDs is ease of entry and reduced foot pain due to tight straps (which I don't care about since I no longer tighten my straps).
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