Originally Posted by moxfyre
I agree with all that
It's just that... what's the downside to the clipless/combo pedals? The only downside I can think of is the learning curve for clipping into single-sided pedals. And there are major upsides, such as the fact that you can comfortably ride much longer distances in street shoes. Maybe not an issue for me, but I often want to do that.
Its all persona preference, so there is nothing to debate, just to discuss.
Anyway, the downside for
me goes beyond the learning curve. I can flip and clip a double sided pedal no problem (used clips/straps for years) But I can't do it as quickly as double sided entry and with the platform/clipless one must look down to know if it needs flipping or have a 50% fail rate.
I almost always clip my 2nd foot in on the very first rotation of the crank, foot on the pedal at 3-12'oc when the pedal gets to the 9'oc I am clipped in, 95% of the time, ready to pull up on the first upstroke possible. I can't see doing that with double sided and don't want to take eyes off road to look at pedal either.
I also found in trying platfrom/clipless pedals that if ones foot was missplaced slightly a slight wiggle adjustment did not let the cleat slide into the pedal easily as the metal cage around the clipless grabbed the shoe and didn't allow lateral sliding in, so it actually made clipping in a bit harder.
Al