Are toe clips and straps interchangeable?
 

For instance, Dura-Ace AX pedals, can i buy metal toe clips and straps from another brand? The oem ones are very expensive on ebay so rather not spend about 200 for the 2 things. Thank you.

Shimano AX and other similar Shimano pedals use a unique mounting that is not interchangeable with other toe clips.

These are more reasonable:
Set 2 Vintage Shimano Dura Ace AX Toe Clips M Road Bicycle Japan for PD 7300 | eBay

I've bought several items from The Pro's Closet and been satisfied.

Now with MKS variant/copies of traditional road pedals then . you have a wider selection ,

and they are a fine pedal..

Most toestraps are interchangeable.

During the aero fantasy days of the early 80's most of the better quality pedal manufacturers came out with pedals that took proprietary toeclips. That included Shimano, MKS, SR Sakae Ringyo, Maillard, Campagnolo and others.

25+ years on, many of those proprietary aero style toeclips can be a challenge to find.

Standard style toe clips for quill and "rat trap" pedals are still easy to find.

verktyg :50:

Chas.

I found Dura Ace clips (not sure they're AX, for 7400?) and 105 clips all from the "aero platform era" will mount on my Shimano 6207 600EX pedals. I'm normally not a huge fan of Shimano even of this era, but those pedals are fantastic. I also use the Campy Strada C-record and Chorus in similar styling. I like the C-record best of all, but the proprietary toeclip, more rare because it's C-record, is hard to find.

Depending on the pedal, probably the best way to score replacements is to find a used complete pedal set that needs bearing cups or proprietary cones or new spindles. Likely they will have cosmetic issues, but you will have the vintage riding experience with the correct clip. Also keep in mind Shimano and Campy were selling clips in different lengths. I have no idea if the sizings were compatible across brands. You could end up with clips that do not position your foot as intended.

Another thing is, many people think it is required to use hard cleats and tight straps with such pedals. If you want the full competition experience, of course you can do this. But you do have to train yourself to the habit of extracting your foot early when stopping, which may require reaching down and loosening the straps.

You can ride these pedals in sneakers or street shoes with the straps just barely tight enough to feel. If you do that your feet will come out when you need them. Folks say they will come out just any old time, but that is not my experience.

I remember a number of spills back in the 1970's where one or both feet pulled out of tightly laced Adidas Eddie Merckx shoes that were still strapped into the pedals!

I never tightened the straps around town. Just had to remember to move my feet slightly to get the cleats out of the pedals when coming to a stop.

I had a total right hip replacement in 2003 so now I ride toe clips with loose straps and no cleats so that I can get my foot out in a hurry during an unexpected stop. Don't ride clipless for the same reason. Gave up off road ridding too.

verktyg :50:

Chas.

Medium toe clips for DA pedals won't fit anyone will a shoe size larger than a US 8.

"Just had to remember ... " is the problem for many of us pedaling codgers!

The Christophe/Maillard CXC, Campagnolo, Ofmega/Avocet Sintesi pedal clips might be interchangeable because they had the same bolt slot configuration. Of the three, I noticed that it's actually easier to find the Campagnolo aero clips than the other two these days, in NOS condition.

I always used to like the leather toe straps. They always seemed to work better than the nylon straps, although perhaps they would wear out quicker.

There was a band that made 2-layer reinforced leather straps... very nice, although perhaps not much more durable than the regular ones.

The buttons on the ends of the straps are nice :)
http://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/images/...~5G/s-l225.jpg

Actually the good multi layered reinforced strap like the ones from Alfredo Bind a and Christophe ' s "Plus" model lasted me easily twice the miles as regular, single ply, leather straps. They never get as stretchy and soft after even many miles.
But not all laminated, reinforced straps are good. Stay away from Silva lam8nated straps. Per my experience, the glue that they used to bond the leather and nylon layers dry out and fail causing the straps to delaminate after only a few miles..... I think Silva also sold them for Cinelli by re-branding them with the Cinelli name, so best to stay away from those too, even if they look to be in perfect NOS condition....

Vintage Shimano Dura Ace Silver Steel Toeclips Large Mint 4 Your Colnago | eBay

how about these? so am i looking for something with a 3 bolt system like the one above? ^seems reasonable, and ill buy some random straps.

Just to throw out there, the dyna drive cranks requires a special add-on if i want to use normal pedals. i believe the dynadrive cranks were larger in diameter.

Correct. The Dyna-Drive pedals and cranks used a 1" x 24tpi thread so the bearings could fit inside the crankarm, allowing a very low pedal platform.

Pedals, cranks, and adapters show up on Ebay often. Sometimes the prices are almost reasonable.

(I scored most of a Deore Dynadrive crankset yesterday for $15. Missing the left arm, though.)

Should be good!

I'm pretty sure the steel chromed ones were 600/6207 or maybe 6400, where the Dura Ace clips were aluminum. 105 were plastic, but can fit the steel or aluminum.

I prefer leather straps, too, but I can't say I've ever had any actually wear out. Get ugly, lose the finish, yes, but never unusable. One wonders where all my old ones went to, however!

They do wear out. The back side of the strap eventually gets so chewed up by the teeth on the retaining buckle so much that it could not get a good bite on it. You will then notice that you will have to pull on the strap end more often to keep the clips tight against your cycling shoes.....
At least, that's how Christophe straps (The non-laminated ones) always wore out on me, before I switched over to Look clipless pedals.
Maybe if I ought better quality straps, it won't be the same story....

But I'm the guy who never tightens his straps beyond, "yeah, I can just barely feel it!"

The old ones were used to the your spare sewups to the bottom of the seat :thumb:

I've worn out and broken quite a few. I think they would usually stretch and break just behind the buckle.

I finally took them off the bike about 2 years ago, and put SPD pedals on all my bikes... and they're nice.

When my Sintesi toeclips broke, I just took a pair of standard plastic toeclips, cut off the right-angle mounting tab and drilled a couple holes to attach the clip to the pedal:

http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/sintesi.jpg

Mmm a diy doesnt sound like a crazy idea either...given i dont spend so much on the clips right?