brandon98

Look "Delta" Cleat pedals on my road bikes as I needn't swap shoes/cleats to deal with the fleet. I have various models of LOOK, Shimano 6400, Campy branded Look MP90s, and Mavic 646 pedals that all use the same cleat. 25 years of experience have made the clip in/out as unthinkingly reflexive as tying shoes. You just do it without fail while a hundred other things are on your mind.

I use Crank Brothers Mallet pedals on my mountain and beer bikes as they're "walkable" and the Mallets are still quite useable with regular shoes.

I swore off SPDs after one failed to let my foot go despite my best by-the-numbers efforts at a stoplight, resulting in a trip to the ER for a separated shoulder after crashing to earth in that tragi-comic slow-mo "noooooooooo" moment where there's not a damn thing you can do to escape 9.8m/s^2. Damn cobblestone decorative crosswalks...

B

gioscinelli 

I prefer clipless over toe clips with staps. Proper use with toe clips with straps is to tighten the straps to the point of causing poor circulation and numbness to your toes and difficult to exit when avoiding the cell people and cabbies in streets of Chicago.

Pedals that I like to use(subjective)
1. Look Keo
2.Dura Ace
3.Campy Pro-Fit
4.Croce D'aune

ThermionicScott 

You ain't gotta lie to kick it.

Clips/straps for my bikes, except for the 3-speed.

- Scott

Doohickie

Platforms, toe clips, no straps, on all my bikes (except for my DL-1 which cannot be fitted with clips).

southpawboston

I agree. I'm willing to compromise "period-sensitive" for the convenience and comfort of clipless:

ilikebikes

If you want the complete vintage look you go vintage pedals, if you want to go for a long ride on your vintage bike use clips, and just like saddles the choice is up to you, what fits you best. ;0)

Miyata110

Great thread! I still have the stock "cage" peddals on my bike and have been debating whether to go with clipless or not. Interesting read on everyone's varying opinions.

I think for my upcoming triathlons/duathlons I'll keep the cages to avoid having to change shoes in transition, but for my longer rec rides I think having clipless would probably be pretty nice.

Fletch521

Clip for display, Clipless for riding

Puget Pounder

Clipless all the way. The only bike I don't use clipless on is my errand/bar bike. When you go bar hopping, you can't waste time changing shoes

For any ride longer than 20 miles, there will probably never be a time when I wouldn't prefer clipless.

I like Look Keos and Crank Brothers. Have yet to try Speedplay, but I heard they are the beez kneez.

ScottRyder 

All clips and straps ..

Favorite pedal is the MKS Sylvan Touring, usually combined with MKS clips. I just bought some of these VO straps and they're really nice.

https://store.velo-orange.com/index.p...toe-staps.html

Scott

jr59

I use clipless Crank Brothers egg beater with a small platform. I forget what they are called.

I also use a set of DA clipless on my go fast bike. (thats go fast for me).

Platforms with my townie.

SvenMN 

After decades of riding with clips finally went to clipless a year ago. Semi-period correct Time pedals with vintage Time carbon-soled shoes. Perfect for my '86 Peugeot Triathlon.

I now ride Speedplay Zeros on my du and TT bike with modern shoes.

No tuning back now, but have put the original pedals, clips and straps back on my PX-10.

Sixty Fiver

I have Adidas mtb shoes and LG touring shoes (spd) which are as comfortable off the bike as they are on it... the touring shoes function as my daily footwear as they are not quite as stiff as the mtb shoes and then I have Adidas road shoes which are only good for riding.

If I need to carry some off the bike shoes I carry some Vibram 5 finger shoes which weigh very little and are ridiculously comfortable.

Flying Merkel

My Varsity based cruiser and the Schwinn Mirada barhopper bike are the only 2 in my collection that don't have clipless, for the same reason mentioned above. I'm using Crank Bros Candy C pedals on the Univega Gran Turismo, Super Strada, and the Nashbar MTB. Only have a pair of mountain bikes shoes- heavy, but one can walk about like a human.

Chombi

All have to remember that having clipless pedals does not automatically mean you end up having difficulty walking around off the bike. That can be easily solved by getting MTB style clipless pedals and shoes with cleats that dont protrude below the soles and are generally have less stiff footbeds for walking comfort. On the other hand, Road racing style clipless shoes can also be "walked" for shorter distances/periods if you get rubberized cleat covers for them. Everything also depends on how much walking you typically do during your rides. I tend to stay on my bike 99% of the time I do rides, so it's never a problem for me having stiff cleated shoes on the whole time, but if you are hoping on and off the bike constantly and would rather wear your regular or "gym" shoes, then straps and clips make more sense.......

Chombi

due ruote 

Ditto, except I use Look Delta or some variant for the road bikes. My errand bike has Deore mtb pedals, no clips.

bikingshearer 

I am slowly building up an old (c.1961) Bianchi to be kinda-sorta period appropriate that will have clips and straps, mainly because (1) I inherited some shoes from a friend and (2) with the gearing on it (46x24 - stupid 151bcd cranks), I won't be riding it very far at a time or up any hills anyway.

Otherwise, SPD on everything, now and for the foreseeable future. I picked SPD almost 20 years ago now because I could walk in them and, with careful selection of shoes, still get plenty of sole stiffness for pedaling. I have no plans to change. Of course, I am of the ilk that thinks vintage lugged steel married to Campy 10-speed drivetrains is about as good as life can get.

I rode from California to Washington DC in clips-and-straps, and they worked just fine. Of course, that was the state of the art then. I do not miss having the straps cause my feet to fall asleep/tingle. I do not miss forgetting to loosen a strap when coming to a town after 25 miles of idyllic country riding, thereby turning a routine traffic stop into a Major Terror Event (for me) and Comedy Performance Art (for everyone else). I don't miss trying to walk with my toes pointed in the air and skating on anything more slick than chipseal. I don't miss those @&#^$%! things that Europeans think pass for shoelaces (I was a Philistine - I trashed those and replaced them with good ol' A-muhr-i-can sneaker laces).

I like that old-style shoes, like Model Ts, came in any color you wanted as long as it was black. I am curmudgeonly enough to think that shoes and shorts should be black, period, the only exception allowed being white writing or a small log on the sides of the shorts (not across the butt) or along the hem.

I like the streamlined look of old shoes - new ones are kind of clunky. But for function and riding comfort, I want clipless. Every time.

LesterOfPuppets

Clips and straps primarily. Have Look-style Dura-Ace clipless which will go back on in the summer, currently BMX platforms for winter use with toasty boots.

Also like my Shimano PD1050 with the enclosed outer bearing. Plenty of lean clearance, relatively light, cheap, easy to repack bearings. Only scary part is when will the 3-hole clips become unavaible.

I love the old SR Lowfats with track style cages that came on the 1991-ish Bridgestone MB3 for MTB stuff. Tempted by the Greaseguard pedals wven tho some bad reviews...

Big fan of BMX platforms on MTBs also

RobbieTunes

You just said what most of us have thought or experienced. I fall over once a spring. Ask Stan.

Everything I have uses Look "Delta" cleats.
I have too many bikes to be spending much on pedals.

Look PP296-yellow
Look AE3.1-red
Look Carbon-red (2)
Look Carbon Pro-red (2)
Mavic-yellow and black (odd birds but Look compatible)
Shimano PD-1056-pewter
Shimano PD-6401-grey
Shimano PD-7401-white (2)

They're paintable, and can be powder-coated with a minium of fuss for about $5 by my guy.
(something to think about when having a bike powder-coated)

Lately, I've found myself with too many red Looks and not enough black.
For white, I use the 7401's.
If I can match the bike color(s), I do.
If I can match the bike's group, I do unless the colors clash.

I've used Campy road pedals with clips, but they sell for the price of 3 good pairs of used Looks.
Best toe clip pedals I've ever had: Ofmega Sintesi. Worst: 105, but they were still pretty good.

Biggest drawback is trying to walk. I'm thinking of getting one set of SPD's and MTB shoes for touring.

In this neck of the woods, the carbon cowboys and cowgirls are all about Speedplay.

When I rode clips and straps, I used Tiger/Asics track shoes with no spikes, back when the soles were smooth.
I think the older cycling shoes made for clips and straps are some of the best looking gear you can have.
Also, low-top Chuck Taylors and some of the skater shoes I see at some bike shops look perfect for touring.
My touring bike will generally use clipless, but I'm going to get a pair of shoes and clip/strap pedals for it, also.

Where/when you ride can make a difference. For example, I rode about 15 miles yesterday to help a friend break in her new tri bike. We didn't unclip or stop at all. However, at NAHBS in Richmond, I rode with some locals on a little tour (thanks, sykerocker). Amani576 and I provided the amusement by falling over in the repeated stop/go urban traffic. If I rode in an urban environment, I'd probably use the double-sided SPDs with one flat side, one clip side.

55 Traveler

My buddies have been nagging me to try clipless. So far I have resisted because I don't want to convert all my bikes over or have one orphan bike. I also like biking in casual clothes rather than "suiting up" to go for a ride, so using the same shoes I play tennis has its appeal.

Somebody mentioned doing up the straps real tight with toe clips. I leave mine really loose. While commuting there is no danger of me getting stuck in the pedals if I need to stop short. At the same time I feel the clips, even though loose, add a lot of security. I can't slip out forward or off to the side.

Works for me, YMMV.

David

jan nikolajsen 

I used to commute for all my saddle time, but now I live too close. Back then flats with or without clips made for one less item to lug back and forth: shoes.

Now all my riding is for workout or events. On my vintage frames I use Delta-based pedals and shoes, and Speedplay on the carbon. MTB pedals, like SPD's, have too little contact surface for long rides if used with softer MTB shoes.

due ruote 

Does this mean you have found a way to remove the back plate on Looks? I've been circumspect about driving out the pins that fasten them, and I've always assumed that putting plastic through the PC bake was a no-no. I'm talking old Looks, like the ones you gave me (thanks again).

jbkirby

Campagnolo Record clips for display or riding to and from destinations requiring conventional shoes and Shimano 105 SPD/SL pedals for the vast majority of my riding.

oberthecat

I have platforms on bikes I'll let others ride but have three styles of Cranks Brothers on bikes I mostly ride. Thats only because most of my friends that i lend bikes to don't have the right kind of shoes. I like the plain egg beaters best but have one set of candy and one set of acid too. I bought what was on sale.

Scooper

I use SPD compatible pedals on everything.

For my vintage bikes, I use Shimano PD-M324 "campus" type pedals with platform on one side and SPD on the other side.