Doohickie

I see toe clips (no straps) as an ideal compromise. My feet are retained but not locked in. Sorry, but I don't ever want to go through the rite of passage of falling over for failing to unclip.

tjspiel

This is where personal preference comes in.

I hate toe clips.

Steely Dan

that's totally fine if that's your preference, but toe clips aren't good enough for me, i like the safety and assurance of having a physical attachment to bike, of literally being locked on to it. it just makes me much more comfortable on a bike when i know that my feet are locked on to the pedals.

being able to trackstand also helps one become more at ease riding clipless in urban commuting situations.





not everyone goes through that rite of passage; i've never had a fall from failing to unclip.

Doohickie

Trust me: I would.

EKW in DC

Knock on wood but I'm about a month into riding clipless and I, too, have been able to avoid said rite of passage. I used toe clips for a couple years before making the switch, but prefer clipless so far. I think my time in clips helped to ready me for the transition to clipless, though. That and a fear of falling that's got me constantly reminding me to unclip.

Mercian Rider

On my commute, when the weather is nice (not like now) a group of a dozen or so commuters sometimes forms at a particular stop light. When the light turns green, everyone, cyclists and cars, have only a very short time to traverse the intersection.

Usually at least half to two thirds of the riders are clipless, and about half of them completely suck at clipping in. So I sometimes get stuck behind 2 or 3 of these folks, who push forward and move at a slow crawl while they fumble and stumble with their clipless pedals. There have been times the light has changed before I was able to get through the intersection because these cyclists are so unskilled with clipless. So if you ride clipless in these kinds of conditions, please learn to clip in reasonably quickly.

I use clipless or toe clips for fast, long or hilly rides--no strong preference. "Platform" for everything else, including commuting. Haven't slipped off a pedal yet. Haven't ever fallen over with clipless or toe clips.

Learned to do track stands back in the 1970s--and did it in track races in addition to red lights--still do it at stops sometimes--it helps give you a quick start. Used to be able to do it no hands with fixed gear.

Worknomore

I have bad knees. I am limited to how hard I can push down before my knees loudly complain. I can pull up as hard I can with no issues. When I need additional power for say, a hill, it comes from the up stroke. Kinda hard to do without being clipped in.

Andy_K 

Wel,, I did go through that particular right of passage but now that I'm comfortable with clip-ins I feel like my feet are much more trapped in toe clips that they are when clipped in -- at least if the toe clips are tight enough to have any effect.

Doohickie

Without straps, they are not tight at all. But they won't slip off the front of the pedal so I can really lean into them.

unterhausen

I use bmx platforms on my commuter. I haven't had any problems with slipping. The old fashioned cage type pedal will slip much more easily than the newer platforms

I had used toe clips and cleats for 30 years before switching to clipless. I made it for over a month before I fell the first time. Managed to fall 3 times before I got used to it

rat fink

How did someone get away with a username like this?

Prestonxvx

I hate the feeling of wearing cycling shorts, a jersey, and tennis shoes. To me that'd be like playing soccer on the pitch without cleats.
I like the feeling of being clipped in, especially when I'm climbing. When I'm clipped in I can spin up a hill. If I'm on platforms I would have to mash all the way up.
When I first got my new clipless pedals and shoes I felt like I was re-learning to ride all over again for the better, and it is.

Also when I used to do long rides (anything 50+) in tennis shoes I balled up my toes a lot and at the end of the ride they were killing me because of how flexible my shoes were.

rat fink

...I wonder if I could change my username to Boo Khaki.

ultimattfrisbee

I have toe clips on my MTB winter commuter (accommodates my duck boots) and clipless on my touring bike. Haven't fallen with either of them, but did have a couple close calls with the clipless in the first couple of weeks I used them.

I prefer clipless, but not by much. As long as there's something to pull up on and keep my feet on the pedals, either is fine. As for getting started at intersections, I have less trouble with the clipless than the toe clips, particularly with certain shoes.

As for the theory that they don't help much, I don't know. Maybe it's true. It doesn't feel that way.

frpax

I commute on some generic "mountain bike" style pedals, but would really like to convert to toe clips & straps. The problem I have is that the shoes I wear to work in have very thick & wide soles and "strapping in" is cumbersome.

I don't really have a place at work where I can stash the shoes that would allow me to wear cycling specific shoes & then change in/out of.

I don't think that those "half clips" would work for me, and those new-ish wide straps look like they're more of a pain than anything.

So, I ride without any retention system on the commuter.

JanMM

Wrong. This is a classic platform pedal. I had a pair of these 25-30 years ago.


Have since used a more modern-looking set of platforms and also a pair of bmx-style platforms.

Many people now refer to cage or rat-trap pedals as platforms but it's just not right.

There is no platform on a cage pedal so it makes no sense to refer to them by that term.

And get off my lawn!

Doohickie

I acknowledged I was wrong, but refuse to call those and only those platform pedals, because EVERYONE calls these platform pedals, pedantics be damned.



And get off MY lawn. But clean up after your dog first!

JanMM

Used to be that Bikes were Bikes and Platform Pedals were Platform Pedals.

Mercian Rider

You are correct, but language evolves.

I have a set of Lyotard platforms that I bought in the 70s--still spin fine. The "lip" that fits into the slot in traditional cleats makes them uncomfortable with thin flexible soled shoes.

JanMM

Spend enough time on BF and you will see evidence that 'brake' is evolving towards 'break'.

Mercian Rider

I like lugged steal, for example.

fietsbob

Double sided Lyotard 460D was what the Cyclocross racers used ,
[before someone decided to try the then Look, clipless pedals..]
with a toe clip, 2 riveted together , so they sprang back if you stepped on them.

flip them both at once in a single crank rotation.. now go practice that..