Originally Posted by
thirdin77
... If you are seated throughout all or most of your ride then you may as well use platforms.
+1! Add to this, that if you ride a folding bike, you have to use platforms because nobody makes folding SPD's or other clipless pedals. I believe there is a folding pedal that will take clips, but I'm not interested.
Originally Posted by
thirdin77
I use road shoes and road pedals and when I stand on the pedals, the bike accelerates. I like. If I didn't sprint so much, though, I would probably just stick to some stiff touring cycling shoes- without cleats installed- and use platform pedals.
I wouldn't say I sprint, exactly, but I tend to go as fast as I can at any given moment. But I never stand up on the pedals. But I find when I lean forward into an aerodynamic position, bend my elbows and take all the weight off the bars, the bike accelerates. I like that too, but it's tiring! I sit the whole time, spin in lower gears than I ever thought possible back when I used clips, cleats, etc; and have no trouble keeping my feet on the pedals. Well, that's not quite true; I have a pair of Goretex shoes that I like to wear in the rain, but their soles tend to slip on the wet aluminum of the pedal. But I can deal with it.
By the way, since I last posted to this thread, I have changed my cranks to even shorter ones. In December or so I had switched from 170's to 152's; in February or so I changed to 140's. Took a couple days to get used to that; now I'm looking for short cranks for all my bikes. Short crank arms changes things, that's for sure. I already mentioned that it's easier to keep your feet on the pedals if the crank arms are short, so there is no need for clips &c. Also, since seat height tends to be determined by leg length when fully extended, then if you shorten your crank arm by an inch, you will want to move your seat up by an inch. This reduces the need ever to stand on the pedals and, again, reduces the need for clips &c.