[MENTION=400344]willydstyle[/MENTION] started a thread showing his bike with MKS pedals and half toe clips. It's shiny and I didn't want to derail his thread, but there's something I don't understand, I guess. I thought the point of the toe clip cage was just to weight the pedal nose-down, and hold the strap open to receive your foot. What's the point when you delete the strap?

No based on any personal experience, but I'd imagine the benefits are that half cages keep the foot in a consistent position and reduce the chances your feet will inadvertently slip off the pedal.

I'd imagine the half clip still holds your toes to the pedals.

The foot retention doesn't need to be immovable. I never tighten my straps.

My wife is deathly afraid of clipping or strapping her feet on to a pedal, even as a stoker on a tandem. She was willing to try to clips and now likes them. The reason is that here feet don't slide around as much and they are always in the same relative position.


I, for one, would not use them unless it they were on someone else's bike that I needed to use.

This. ^^^^^


I used half clips for a while and they held my foot to the pedal better than not having anything to push or pull against with you foot. A bit easier to get in an out of depending on the shoe you were wearin (winter riding for example). I switched to SPD's a while back and prefer them to platforms/toe clips, half clips and Power Straps

Even without the strap, you get a lot of the benefit you would from standard toe clips. They can usually accommodate any shoes, sneakers or even boots, including ones that might be a little too bulky for regular toe clips. If you're wearing shoes with a really aggressive tread pattern, sliding them back and forth, to get in and out of standard toe clips, can be challenging. With half clips you can just lift them off the pedal without any problem. I have a pair of Zefal half clips on my local schlepper bike. They work great and are very rigid.

And if your riding is sporty at all, it seems like your foot is most likely to slip off the front of the pedal, so the half-clip protects against that.

For my personal riding habits and style I enjoy keeping my foot in a stable position, but I also want to be able to wear any shoe and take my foot off the pedal instantly when necessary, so basically what everyone else has mentioned in the thread!

Right on. Perfect for the tandem stoker. Gives them a bit of security. Note: On the occasional times I ride it solo, the rear pedals have to be retained to prevent toe clip scraping. I simply use a twist wire. As for myself, I don't use half clips. On this bike front pedals are platform one side and SPD obverse.

[IMG]DSC_0455 by carrera247, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]DSC_0471 by carrera247, on Flickr[/IMG]

I have a set of those on a grocery-getter - they are fantastic. You'd never believe such a minimal setup would add so much "connectivity" to the pedals.

Now I'm derailing my own thread, but why are there two rings on the timing side?

We had a riser kit for the kids. Consist of a bolt-on crank assembly above the rear crank group and mounted on the stoker seat tube.

I change my foot position on the pedals frequently, just like hand positions, to reduce fatigue. I also use different positions for cornering vs climbing efficiency. I guess I'm a freak. I've always hated foot retention. I've never felt more connected, stable, or efficient with it. Just trapped and inconvenienced.

Half clips allow you maintain the feeling of pedaling circles, you can still pull, a bit, on the upstroke. I liked them for awhile, especially the leather tipped MKS ones.

Very useful for bikes ridden in street shoes--almost all toe straps are on the short side for many shoes. Also a good halfway between clip and strap and a bare platform pedal. I don't use them but I sell them from time to time.

A lot of good points... but now for the rest of the story...

Half toe clips became popular during the bike boom era. They were originally marketed to commuters for use with street and dress shoes.

MKS makes leather wrapped for better shoe protection. I think that Christophe made some that way too.

Whatever else people did with them besides that was a matter of personal choice.


verktyg

Chas.

i should have guessed that since I've been shopping those.

I borrowed an early MTB in Colorado once that had these - worked well if you were wearing snow boots - boots that would never fit in regular clips.

I like the plastic mtb clips, which I cut down to the first cross piece. They are long enough to keep the foot in place, but not long enough to scrape the pavement if you need to pull away quickly from a stop with them facing down (when you don't want to take a second or two to be sure you are in the clip).

+1

I had some of those on my first bike, they're great. Helps keep your foot in and in place when wearing non-cycling shoes.
I'm gradually working my wife the same way to clip in. She started with plain pedals now has toe clips minus the straps. Eventually clip in I hope.