So I have this vintage Motobecane. Came with Stronglight crank set, Atom pedals w/cages & straps.

I've been riding it this summer (after a not too tedious renovation on the moving parts) and just today received a new pair of Shimano bike shoes. There's these little steel inserts inna bottoms, threaded to take bolts for cleats? The Nikes I been using for twelve years still fit but are getting old (why I bought the Shimanos).

Are clips easier to ride with than the cages / straps of olde? Safer, less safe? Walking in shoes w/clips is a PITA? (I had a pair of bike shoes back decades ago, really thin soles & leather things riveted on that engage the back portion of a pedal's frame, to augment the frame/strap securement. Those were a PITA to walk in, let me tell you sometime.)

How hard izit to thread on new pedals I can use with clips (clue me into what's out there for road bikes please, with links and comments) on this bike?

Can one mount clips on 'olde style' pedals once cages & straps are removed?

The atoms are coded for left/right owing to the threading appropriate for each side. I'd like to keep 'em (for no other reasons than aesthetics and that they came with the bike) if possible unless finding clip-capable pedals that screw right in will be fairly easy.

As long as they're labeled L/R, not D/G, you're in good shape to make an easy swap. The L one is reverse threaded.

Yep, mine're D/G. That's French for R/L, right?

So French threading limits selection? I can re-tap my arms for more standard threading? I've used left-hand taps before, they're out there but not as expensive critters as I remember them being; Amazon has a set of proper taps for ~ US $20.

And pardon my use of 'clips' when I meant 'clipless' technology! REI's telling me 'clip' means cage & strap. Clipless is an interlocking tech that wasn't around when I bought this bike. I don't want simple flat pedals, I'm using those right now.

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pedals marked D&G are couture from Dolce & Gabbana


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There are specialty taps for converting French crank threads to 9/16." They have a long tapered starting reamer section which really helps to keep the hole from wandering away from a right angle. I believe Hozan may still make some relatively affordable ones. Otherwise find the oldest bike shop in your area and ask the oldest mechanic in that shop if they can do the job for you. This is not to say that you can't do the job with standard left and right 9/16" taps but proceed very carefully.
Brent

The ones marked R L are Ralph Lauren.

Opinions are a bit mixed on clipless pedals. I used them for years, and recently decided they weren't worth the trouble for my style of casual biking. I don't miss them
I'd try them on your Kona before I re-tapped the Motobecane if I were you. And I'd suggest getting a shop with the proper taps to do the work for your if you do decide to alter the Motobecane. It will probalbly be cheaper than buying the taps.

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real name Ralph Lifsh#tz


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Ditto. I have also retrenched back to using either flat pedals or toeclips/straps after many years of using so-called "clipless" pedals. I still have one bike that has SPDs on it but I don't ride it very often.

I have cups on many of my bikes, which are basically toe clips without the straps. Like John Nolan, my riding style is pretty casual. Cups give you a decent percentage of the efficiency of clips or clipless with much less constraint. Velo Orange normally carries an inexpensive cup that attaches like a clip, but they're out of stock right now. You can use a toe clip and just take the strap off, but they kind of look like you don't know what you're doing.

D/G should mean metric (aka "French") thread. Stronglight did explicitly mark the thread spec on the back of the arms:



AFAIK, nobody has made metric thread clipless pedals since the 1980s, and I don't think Shimano-compatible clipless pedals were ever made. Yes, your crank can be retapped to ISO/English thread. Before investing in tools for what might be a one-off job, you might check your local shops to see what they'd charge to do it.

Great replies! Thanks to all who've replied.

I'll keep the new shoes, likely take straps off my Atoms, leave the toe cages; they're a fairly late addition anyway, the original steel ones got kinda rusty after ~ 30 years so I bought new plastic kind.

JDT thanks for that pic! Seems my arms were made before Stronglight had need of stamping thread specs. There's naught like what's in that pic anywhere on either of 'em.

Simple test'll be try one of my Kona's pedals, or a 9/16x20 threaded bolt from the bin @ work. Easy enough either way.