But, if you are riding the street (and hills) fix gear, those Shimanos have real value especially because of their toestraps . Point by point:

- For getting your foot out in a emergency it's worse than either clipless or flats - pedaling 200 rpm and having one foot come off the pedal and getting your ankle struck from behind by that pedal is an emergency that dwarfs the consequences of going down strapped in. I haven't done it yet but that remains one of my nightmares and keeps me on toeclips with quality straps.
- Getting in and out of the pedal every time your stop is a pain as you have to flip the pedal right side up. - yeah, but you get over it.
- For convenience you can't beat flats - see the 1st response, Theat lifelong injury wouldn't be "convenient".
- The "look"...well...it just sortalost it's "cool" appeal when they stopped using it in racing if you want the racer look it's clipless - they are still considered a good track pedal and still show up at velodromes.

I don't have those pedals for their looks. I put big steel tabs on them for quick pickup, then add heavy washers to the toeclip bolts to pull the toe down, offset the tab weight and add a touch of inertia to the pedal rotation. All this makes for an easy pickup.

Interesting. Maybe I've never actually had that GB stem out to see the bottom, or forgot that it was different. Probably people would call it 'quill' as a catchall. Wouldn't be the first time cycling terminology got messed up due to history (I'm looking at you "clipless"!). cyco brings up another good example. A 'threaded' stem is not threaded, but the headset that goes around the steerer tube that the stem is inserted into, is.

I'd literally be copying and pasting my previous post. Like I said, if your priority is convenience than they're far less convenient than flats. If you don't don't care about convenience and care about the above points (not a lot of people are pedalling at 200rpm) then clipless does it better, keeping your foot more firmly attached, while also letting you get out of the pedal faster and easier. Use whatever you want but one see why they stopped putting serious development effort into straps after clipless came out.

Don't track racers still use clips and straps? Or do they actually nowadays use clipless, reinforced with straps?

It's a mixed bag now. I plan to visit the Velodrome soon, so I'll take a look.

I have an image in my head of the track racers on their bikes being held up by their trainers as they crank down two straps per foot to get them ready to go

It sometimes happens even these days, depending on the type of the race. Most of the races, though, start at the rail. The riders line up in single file and hold the rail. Since this places them in a random order, they get a free lap before the race starts, and the race starts with the bikes in motion. There are, however, some races that start at the line.

Right, but before the riders get sent to the rail they need a helper to affix their feet to the pedals. Kind of like in Breaking Away where the cutters have to attach whatsisface's broken foot to a pedal with a bunch of wraps of tape.

Well, I raced at Kissena in 2014, and I don't remember that happening. The rail is on the right, and it's not hard to reach your left foot in that position. It's a little harder to reach your left foot, but you could cinch your right foot before getting moving. I don't remember what the toe strap folks did, but I'm pretty sure no one received help at the rail.

I couldn't (quickly) find a utub showing getting straps setup before a track race, but these guys pretty clearly have straps

Yes, some track racers still use straps.

Actually, these are just lowly PD-A550s (RX100). The rear plate is part of the pedal body instead of a bit of chromed steel bolted on, and the spindle is retained differently. I've modified the pair on the TCR by shaving the rear plate a few mm and removing the vertical part of the front plate (this setup is actually designed for a special cleat). It's much flatter and a fair bit more comfortable, but the main aim was to reduce rocking torque (Imagine pedaling with big blocks of wood under your feet). Although it's a bit slippy now, so I've been meaning to get around to applying some skateboard grip tape.


Normal:

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a898f8dcf4.jpg


Modified:

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7166182ebb.jpg


Here are the cleats:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...aec26b56a7.jpg


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3a9af39c1e.jpg


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ad526122e0.jpg

By the way, if anybody's keen on those cleats, https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/163118872271

Ah, I can see how shaving down the rear plate would help a lot. That was where I was getting all my discomfort when using them with casual shoes (no cleats). Maybe I will try that, but I sort of hate to experiment with a couple of nice examples.

With 105 and above, it wouldn't be too hard to make your own rear plates. Same with the front plates.

I own a ton of bikes, but not a single pair of clipless pedals. My road bikes all use toe clips and straps, or nylon platform straps. I guess I'll never be the guy that looks likes he's walking in dutch wooden clogs, whenever he gets off his bike. LOL

In truth, most of my decisions in life are made with a modicum of convenience in mind, and clipless just isn't convenient for me at all. Toeclips are convenient as all get-up, and are frankly easier to get into than my nylon platform straps. I can be wearing my Chuck Taylors and a pair of running shorts, and be riding in 30 seconds.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f46b45c569.jpg

MKS makes the "Ezy Superior" platform pedal, designed for street shoes, with a giant kick-up claw, designed for use with toeclips. They also make amazing (and spendy) toe clips made of stainless rod, so there are no sharp edges to mar your street shoes.

What were the "fixie peeps" doing that was worth deeply appreciating? Good riddance to that "craze."

This is what I use
 

MKS Half Cage on SR SP-11 pedals (the latter are original to my 1985 Trek 720).

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...97bb6602e7.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...696348ceaf.jpg

Original
 

My Long Distance touring pedals ate the Steel Campag Record, Iv.e had for 40 years..

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7M...=w1010-h758-no

I don't know if these are sexy. But they're much better for tennis shoes with flexible soles than are the kind with cages or quills or teeth. I'd maybe like them even a little wider for my Neanderthal feet.

For me, the problem with toe clips is the awful scraping sound they make for the first 10-20 pedal stokes as I kick at one of the pedals trying to get my foot into the clip.

I somehow missed the toe clip era the first time around. I grew up in that era, but my bikes were too cheap for fancy pedals like that. I used toe clips for the first time last year preparing for L'Eroica California. After a few weeks I got to the point where I could use them with only minimal embarrassment. The worst part is that I couldn't find clips that my regular street shoes fit into, so the toe clips don't even save me having to change shoes.

Those half clips that revcp showed might work for me, but do they actually provide any significant foot retention? The problem I have with bare platform pedals is that my foot is constantly sliding off the pedal because I've become so accustomed to clipless.

Suntour Superbe pedals....The "X Body" ones.

https://www.google.com/search?q=sunt...Xbp0CsQs2U010M

Honestly I love the look of toe clips and ride strapless ones on my bike. I don't know the brand of mine, got them at a local shop and they weren't branded so...https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...56437c1d40.jpg

Best image i have of them at the moment.