Bahnzo

And holy cow, I can't ride with them. I thought it would be nice to put the original flats back on my Schwinn, so I wouldn't have to walk around the grocery store in my touring shoes. But I kept coming off the pedals. Especially on the back stroke. I mean, really? Have I come this far with clips and cleats that I can't comfortably ride a bicycle now with normal shoes?

Giacomo 1 

That's actually pretty funny.

I can't remember the last time I rode flat pedals, so I'm guessing I would have some trouble myself. I'm sure with time it would become second nature again, but yeah, initially it would probably be awkward. Maybe you can try half-clips. They hold the feet down but you can pretty much wear any shoe and they are really easy to slip in and out of.

jon c. 

I had no idea there was a learning curve for flats. Thought that only happened the other way.

dabac

Haven't had it that bad. But getting going from standstill with flatties takes some consideration since I can't simply pull a pedal into the power position.

cinco

If we're talking basic platform pedals I actually did something similar a couple weeks ago. I'd just finished a '73 Nishiki Professional but didn't want to take the hour necessary to clean, polish, and install a set of toeclips (plus I was losing the light) so I took it for a ride with unadorned classic road pedals. The first time a foot came off it surprised me, but the second time surprised me even more because by then I was being pretty careful. Apparently without the self-imposed limitation that toeclips afford my feet will do whatever they please. So you're not alone and, since we're semi-local to each other, if you ever see anyone doing the QWOP on a freshly-built old roadbike that'll be me.

prathmann

Got to try it out just last week when I realized that I'd put on my tennis shoes instead of my SPD sandals when I arrived at the start of our group ride. There was one bumpy road section where my feet came off a few times but otherwise the ride went fine despite the shoe v. pedal mismatch.

T-Mar

I've done it, several times, on the commuter bicycle that I have set up for running errands.

Fahrenheit531 

And somewhere Grant Pederson is crying.

Hilarious.

Spaghetti Legs 

djm323

I had the same experience when I switched my commuter/transportation bike to platforms. I eventually switched to pedals with strapless MKS half clips and found they are wonderfully secure, and you can lift a pedal before starting out. And muscle memory for flipping the pedal on entry survived many years of riding clipless.

ryansu

I went flat and I never went back... I use the MKS sneaker its a nice big platform with a "grippy" surface, never had an issue slipping off. I do not find traditional "rat traps" as inspiring and could see slipping off those. YMMV

gugie 

Which flat pedals and what shoes?

I ride these with no problems on my commuter, they do slip a bit when wet. The solution on this is to drill and tap some of the round protrubrences and add some set screws. I haven't gotten around to doing that yet.


A maybe better solution are the Thin Gripsters which are pretty sticky. I've used these on my gravel grinder, they work very well.





The main feature of both of these pedals vs most others is the significantly larger surface area. This allows you to wear a "soft" shoe and not hurt your foot from force concentration on just the ball of your foot.

DiegoFrogs

I still like my MKS GR-9 pedals with chromed clips and leather strap that I've been using since I bought the pedals new 14 years ago, but ride most of my miles these days on cheap Wellgo BMX platforms. I rode only about 200 miles this summer on the 'clip' side of my cheapo dual-sided clipless pedals with Shimano sandals.

Severe plantar fasciitis makes my foot health a mystery to me these days. Cycling with the ball of my foot extended and taking pressure seems to help, overall, so cycling is good for it, and things seem to be better when I can flex my foot in all directions.

John E

I refuse to ride any bicycle without toeclips and straps.

Bahnzo

Funny you should say that. This bike actually came with some plastic "cages" I called them, maybe what you are talking about. But the problem was they ruined my sneakers. All the sliding in and out of the cages eventually just tore the shoes apart.

Bahnzo

Ha! My problem wasn't just so much slipping off the pedals but on the backstroke they just kept coming up and then off. I'm so used to having that extra pull there that I just couldn't do it. Like you, I probably looked a little strange to anyone watching carefully.

Giacomo 1 

No, these are steel and they won't ruin your shoes.

Look up MKS half clips (can't link it on my phone) and you will see how easy, convenient and cheap they are. They aren't really cages at all, just a piece of smooth steel bent over the top of the pedal that covers the top front of your foot. They will hold your foot in place and let you lift up on the pedals to. Almost any shoe works.

Bahnzo

Hmm, interesting. Thanks, I'll have a look.

The Golden Boy 

It was very confusing to read your post- talking about "clips and cleats" and not being able to wear normal shoes...

Clips are the "cages" you're talking about.



Clipless pedals do not have the "clips." Hence "clipless."

Flat pedals with clips allow you to use regular shoes and still have foot retention.

I haven't torn up any shoes using clips. Maybe I'm doing it wrong...

Bahnzo

I guess toe clips is probably the term I should've used. Something similar to THESE. I have SPD's on my Schwinn normally. But I definitely tore up a pair of canvas sneakers riding with the toe clips for a summer, which is what prompted me to move to a touring shoe with SPD.

Cougrrcj

I learned about 'serious' riding in college when I learned and acquired a very smooth pedal stroke by training on old-school rollers without any sort of support. Mash too hard and you'd fly off the front. try to throw the bike side-to-side like you'll see riders do in a sprint and you'll fall off the side. It actually helped when I practiced taking one hand off the bars to shift (downtube shifter) or grab my water bottle -- and not wobble. I even rode rollers using NO hands. That smoothness and balance have stayed with my in the 42+ years since! That same smoothness and balance result in less wasted effort, making for longer- and more enjoyable rides!

I tried cleats back in the day and hated them. Never tried spring-loaded SPD or any such retention system since I'd require shoes for same. Forget that!!

Yes, I wear touring shoes when I ride. Never do my feet 'fall off' a pedal if riding my bikes equipped with platform pedals. The rest of my bikes have either toe cages and loose straps or just half cages.

-holiday76

these will ruin your c&v street cred with the other esoteric 55 year olds in your hood/internet group but they are excellent for non clipped in non slippage. I have three pair if you include the ones that never get used on my wife's bike.

Xpedo Spry BMX/MTB Pedal

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Xpedo-Spry-...0AAOSwesVbMp94

Slightspeed

Funny, I refuse to ride any bike WITH toe clips and straps, except at Eroica, where its a rule. 😩
Discovered SPDs, never looked back ... until Eroica.
Plain flat pedals are even worse than toe clips and straps.

smoothness 

https://www.bikejames.com/strength/w...-stroke-power/

https://www.bikeradar.com/us/gear/ar...-pedals-45868/

https://roadcyclinguk.com/how-to/bik...-the-upstroke/

those articles are the first ones i saw in three seconds of googling. i've read it on multiple sources, and i believe it to be true; pulling up is nonsense, and pedal stroke is paramount. the only real benefit i see is if you don't want to worry about your foot slipping off. i understand that some people might think that platform pedals are bad in this respect, but you probably aren't riding on nice ones. try good BMX pedals or downhill/freeride platforms, and your foot will never come off (assuming your stroke is good). I'm partial to the Odyssey twisted PC because they're cheap, colorful, and stick to all of my shoes. best of all, they allow you to move your foot around when you get a hot spot.

3speed