Originally Posted by 531Aussie
So, I guess "nothing" means "nothing" -- no straps, no clips, no cleats....nothin'.
If you're feet are properly connected to the pedals with any sort of cleat or straps, your power is almost doubled!! Well, maybe not doubled, but improved by a factor of at least (an educated guess) 1.6
Pushing down on the pedals gives you the most power, but using any clip-in/on system that allows you to pull up and/or back, significantly increases your efficiency. So, to answer your question, I'd guess a 60% improvement over nothing at all.
This seems crazy to me, no offense 531Aussie... I have clipless pedals with associated shoes, but have been forced to use a pair of $5 dollar "regular" pedals and running shoes because of achilles tendon problems. Based on my experience using both, there is NO WAY there is anywhere near 60% improvement using clipless pedals. Is there some improvement - yes, but not 60%!!! Maybe 10% and I doubt that.
60% is HUGE. Say you can pedal for an hour at 200 watts - simply change pedals / shoes and now you are capable of pedalling at 320 watts for an hour (plug in whatever numbers are appropriate, but keep the 1.6 multiplier)- I call BS - that's crazy. Granted, techniqe may have something to do with it, but aerobic capacity is pretty much fixed. Maybe by efficiently pedalling in circles you are able to use more muscles than those who simply mash the pedals without clipless pedals, but your aerobic engine is the same either way.