I think I'm going to stick with platforms for at least a few more years for a couple of reasons:

1) I'm a klutz
2) I'm too poor to buy new shoes and pedals!

I have toe clips on my randonneur bike (optimistically named, haven't gone further than 10 miles on that bike yet ), which I'm sort of getting used to, but I don't like them! I might look for Powergrips, they sound like a good compromise solution.

I just bought some new pedals after thinking hard about the issue. In the end platforms with strapless clips as shown far far above .. this is a good compromise I think. I had some knee issues as well which have been (somewhat?) reduced with the new pedals.

hi everyone

time for upgrading pedals...
anybody has an opinion on crankbros 5050?

After my crash in April of this year leaving me with a fractured elbow requiring 2 screws to fix & a severely separated shoulder I have since removed all my clip-less pedals. I now have MKS Sylvan Touring Pedals with Zefal Mini Toe Clips while wearing a pair of 661 Launch Taki Shoes. I LOVE that combination & will stick with it for the foreseeable future.

i have looks on the distance machine, times on the fg and mtb, and mks sylvans with powergrips on the bakfiets. i do like the flat pedals with the powergrips... tempting to switch them up to my rando machine... but riding each bike is different, and i like them all for different reasons. showing up on the cargo bike to shop in street clothes and street shoes is a real treat.

I have also removed my eggbeaters. I like the ability to wear any shoes I want for my commute (that's primarily what the bike gets used for). This has come in handy when I returned home one day with shoes that were dripping wet. They still had not dried by the morning - no biggie, wear a different pair and I'm on my way

Maybe one day I'll try SPD. Since that method only gives you I believe a maximum of 6° of float vs the crank brothers 15-20° it would be a lot quicker to clip out thus reducing my fear of not being able to unclip in time while battling the 5:00 going home crowd.

I have been riding my touring bike, a Trek 520, with MKS touring pedals and XL power grips for about 5 months now. I use it on my 5-mile commute to work every day and used it on a 600-mile tour earlier this summer. I loved it.

I just bought a new bianchi san jose (cyclocross frame set up flip flop) and transferred the pedals over. when i corner while riding fixed, i sometimes strike the ground and i'm afraid of falling. i also have trouble getting in the power grips when i start after the light changes as i need to get my foot "clipped in" while the pedals are spinning around.

Fixed gear fans, should i try those special mks touring lite/cyclocross pedalso that Rivendell sells that aren't as wide so as to avoid striking the ground?
https://www.rivbike.com/webalog/pedal...aps/14048.html

should i keep using the power grips and just get used to it, or is it easier to get into toe clips than power grips as the pedals are moving? If so, what toe clips and pedal do you recommend?

toe clips can give you the same issues... you might have to try em out.
i haven't tried my p-grips on my FG - but why do you need to get your foot in right away? you can pedal on the back side for a few revs to get up to speed and then get your foot in, no?

I prefer platforms to clips, haven't tried powergrips or clipless.

Have been meaning to try out a set of powergrips for a while now, I understand powergrips allow more freedom. What 'm on about is being able to move my feet back & forward freely, this was one of the things that frustrated me with clips.

EG: I like to get on my toes and saddle nose to rev harder, say ~120rpm, seems to be my optimal cadence for short sprints. I also like to put my feet further forward, sit back on the saddle and back straint when I have to grind up a steeper hill at a slow cadence, shifting between this and getting up in balerine position. 48:28 on 27" wheels up a 20% grade will have me crawling at 30-ish rpm's, mind you I'd prefer to be at 75+...



The worst platform pedals I can think of are plastic. They'll get dangerously slippery as soon as it's wet, sorta like steel rims. You'll also be using a noticeable amount of muscle power just to keep your foot on it, it's hard hard to rev up with them and it's easy to slip off, they don't really grip your shoes. I've hurt myself a few times while using plastic pedals, would advise against using them.





And here's an effective platform pedal, it's metal and has teeth like structures that dig into your shoe's soles so it won't slip even in the wet. They'll even dig marks in your shoe's soles in the long run, I can tell my right foot tends to stay further away from the bike then my left one. This old Wellgo has reflectors on it, this is a problem because mud and snow will pack up on top of it, sometimes things can get interesting when you put your foot on it. BMX pedals have this same flaw in my experience.





You're a bit screwed with BMX pedals, but you can fix it easely on the sheetmetal type pedals, all you have to do is remove the reflectors and replace them with reflective tape to keep it visible. This way, when you put your muddy/snowy hoof on it the mush will squeeze through and your footwear's sole will rest on the grippy metal teeth.

Another platform fan here. No doubt it's partly that I don't know what I'm missing, I realize that. But if I'm not missing it, why bother? I like having as little specialized equipment and clothing as possible for my dinky 5-mile commute, and I like zipping out of an intersection and getting up to speed as quickly as possible without worrying about my feet.

But I have given those PowerGrips some thought...

I've been pedaling with $20 MKS platform pedals that are sort of a BMX style, with reflectors on the ends. I have them on four bikes now: townie-errand bike, mtn bike, commuter-tour bike and traditional road bike. I started with these pedals on just one bike, but they have taken over. I don't use powergrips or clips, don't think those would work too well with the larger platforms. These pedals have a nice big surface for my size 12 shoes.

I'm a guy over 50 who pedals about 150 to 180 miles a week, mostly commute rides that include a fair amount of hills. I usually average about 15 mph, and I've tried almost every pedal style and I don't think riding unattached pedals the last 3 years or so has slowed me down. My age might be slowing me down a bit, but not the pedals. Main thing is I don't have knee or foot pains, and I am comfy while riding.

It took experimentation with different shoes to develop friendship with unattached pedals. Got to find that certain kind of shoe with a flat bottom, somewhat soft grippy texture. Adidas Samba are pretty good, but they don't breath well enough for me, too hot for pedaling in southern cal. Most of the time, I wear Hurley denim canvas skate sneakers that are shaped somewhat like a Converse All Star. Vans authentic skate sneakers have a nice flat bottom and grippy surface, but they don't seem to fit my foot as well as Hurley. Teva sandals work OK for short pedaling around town, but I prefer shoes for longer rides. Those big thick sole running type shoes seem to get in the way of the crank arm, don't let me set up my foot on the pedal so well.

These sound like the pedals that Rivendell sells as the MKS "Sneaker" pedal. They are designed to provide a secure platform for any sort of shoes or sandals. Unlike the "racing" platform pedals, where two knife-like strips of medal cut into your foot, the "Sneaker" pedal supports a nine or ten square inch portion of your foot. That ensures you can ride for hours with no foot discomfort, even wearing tennis shoes or running shoes.

I own a pair of these bad-boys on my commuter



They are practically indestructible! Alas the paint has worn off over the months, revealing the aluminium underneath, and I've scratched myself more than a few times on the studs - but that's due to my fault rather than the pedal. The studs really grip into your feet, and the pedals are really wide; which may be a downside or a good point, depending on how you like to ride. Not a big fan of clipless pedals - when I get my road bike, I'm still going to be using flats, they are more versatile, and IMHO, better.

That'll make a difference, for sure!

What kind of clipless do you have, incidentally? I've got regular old Shimano SPDs, but I backed off on the tension a fair amount, and I can yank out of those things FAST - faster than the bike can tip over. Believe me, when I was learning to use them, I had lots of practice tipping over while stopped!

As for commuting with clipless, I thought I'd hate it but I tried it and I'll never go back. I keep one foot clipped in at stoplights, and the clipless help me maneuver the bike yet still keep my clipped-in foot up and ready to crank. Helps accelerate at lights.

Just my take, of course, not prosyletizing or anything.

What are the advantages of a wide pedal? Would they be ok if i don't have wide feet? By the way, what is the name of those pedals?

Having wide feet really.. I have fairly normal sized feet. Wide pedals might hinder your progress through traffic if you ride close to vehicles.

The pedals in the picture are DMR V12's. The ones I have are DMR V8, much cheaper and not a lot of difference between the two (I think the V12's are made of magnesium, the V8's, alumin or steel).

Actually, this is one area where I found clipless pedals extremely useful. I can accelerate from a stop MUCH faster now that I've got my Time Aliums.

I'm not a clipless zealot, but riding bare platforms with no foot retention system doesn't make me too happy. I've got platforms on my beater/commuter, but I use toeclips with that. At the very least I know my toes aren't going to be minced by the front spokes when I hit a big bump...

I think with everyone it's pretty much down to personal preference - I've never tried clipless but I don't really fancy wearing clown shoes to and from work .

One thing I will say though - those plastic platform pedals are really crap!

And i think it's time for me to get rid of those. Any suggestions for decent not too wide pedals are welcome. I've been seeing MKS Touring recommended a few times, how are they?

I just checked side-by-side with my DMR pedals against my brothers cheapo chainstore type bike and my pedals are actually less wide than his! They might not be as wide as I thought. I prefer flat pedals that have studs in them, personally I find them to grip better than the pedals with "teeth" style grips, but that is my opinion, and may be wrong!

Wellgo sell studded flat pedals for about £10 over here, which is roughly $20, but it'll probably be cheaper stateside. They perform similarly to the DMR V8's.

Cheers,

Adam.

Again, not trying to preach clipless, but they don't have to be "clown shoes".



Yep. Although they're ok with toe clips....

You can't go wrong with the MKS touring pedals on a bike that has good clearance. I have long skinny feet and find them excellent on my touring bike. But i hit the ground when i ride my fixie/singlespeed, so i think i need less wide pedals.

If you're that close to cars in traffic you have other things to worry about. Your handlebars hitting mirrors, your head hitting mirrors (bus/suv) and cars are generally biggest at your knee level and taper down slightly towards the ground so I think that two extra inches in width is the least of your problems if you pick your way between cars that close.

Lately I've been commuting on a Raleigh Twenty, and haven't replaced the original platform pedals yet. My commute is just over 6 miles RT, so the platforms have been fine, and there are indeed some advantages to just hopping on the bike
and riding. For any distance beyond my commute though I want to use clipless (spds) so I'm going to put a set of "campus pedals" on this weekend so I'll have either option (clipless or using my work shoes).

Just a little update on my love-affair with platforms, and some snags I've run into along the way.

While I became really fond of unrestrained platforms, I also have the desire to try different types of toe-clip setups and powergrips. It's rather hilly around here and it's nice to have some sort of retention device on the pedal to keep your foot secure when pounding or spinning up hills. My major problem came in finding a setup that would work with my sized feet/shoes.

I wear a size 12, which isn't arguably super big, but it's on the top end of the scale (I feel really sorry for you blokes with 13+ sized feet!). I tried many combinations of platforms (mks quill-type, track, GR-9) with metal toe clip/strap setups (all XL) only to find that my everyday casual shoes were too large, or the tread to wide to fit in and out of these easily. I have an older pair of black plastic toe clips and pedals that did good duty riding in narrower tennis shoes, but one drop was all it took to knock the pressed in dust cap out of them, so I'm trying to avoid these cheap/disposable options.

Powergrips are probably one of the coolest things since sliced bread... or the creation of the xtracycle (you choose). I first put Powergrips with MKS touring pedals on the franken-breezer, and instantly fell in love. The MKS touring pedals are wide enough to accommodate my casual shoes (even those with wide tread like Keen sandals, ect). The Powergrips straps are long enough to span my shoes and situated on the pedal just right to retain my feet. My ultimate goal was to eventually try this pedal setup on my fixed gear commuter.

Well, the fixed gear is now wearing the touring pedals with powergrips and I couldn't be happier. I was concerned about pedal strike, given the wide platform pedal, but it hasn't been an issue so far. It took a little getting used to slipping into the grips while the pedal was moving, but it's not impossible and gets easier every day. The Powergrips have just enough retention that my feet feel secure on the pedals, even spinning very high RPMs going downhill.

The only major differnce I've been able to notice on the fixed gear with powergrips is a slight decrease in power moving uphill compared to clipless. I know this is only temporary as my body and muscles will adjust to the challenge and get stronger to compensate.

For those that know, you know... not being beholden to one type of shoe to ride your bike is pretty liberating. Not that I'm spewing hate for clipless (I enjoy it immensely), but for city riders who are on and off their bikes often, the freedom to wear casual shoes awesome.