Every time I read stuff like this, I thank my lucky stars that, for reasons completely beyond my understanding, because I'm really terrible at adjusting to change, I took to clipless like a duck to water. Like slcbob said, "we all like what we are comfortable with." Do what works best for you, bud.

Absolutely not. If you have a horrible stroke with either clipless or clips & (snug) straps, you can be as inefficient as platforms. But you can not get any real pull up on platforms. The smidgeon of "pull" back at the bottom of the stroke even with good "traction" is a pale shadow of a real round-the-clock stroke.

True. Efficiency may not be the objective.

I should add that "better" presumes a few things.

a) That you have or will have a shoe that will take a cleat. If you want to ride without a bike-specific shoe, stay away from clipless (and probably clips, too). Don't overlook that there are many bike-specific shoes that will take clips and don't have you clogging away funnily off the bike, but there are plenty of folks who want to ride with their street shoes all or at least some of the time. The two-sided pedals were invented for the latter, not for those mid-transition to clipless.

b) That you care enough about pedaling efficiency that you are willing to invest in teaching an old dog a new trick.

BTW, I don't claim to have a great pull on the stroke and be super efficient, although I notice plenty of difference. I like clipless now for the pedaling "security" as much as the efficiency -- I know my feet are solidly in there, they aren't going anywhere, I'm not going to hit a pothole and bump off and get a pedal in the shin or a cog in the calf, I can bunny hop things better, etc. And after some getting used to, I can get out whenever I want to.

You need to be sure your cleats are attached correctly, particularly wrt the rotation angle to release. On those pedals that have an adjustable release angle or tension, be sure to ratchet it way down. No need to make getting out any harder on you as a newbie.

Are different types of clipless pedals harder or easier to get out of? I'm asking because I use Time clipless MTB pedals on my MTB and my roadbike (Tricross Comp) and they seem very easy to exit -- but the design is much different that the road specific clipless pedals that I've seen. I never seemed to have much trouble getting out of these pedals, and actually think it's easier than getting out of a pedal with clips / straps.

Me too. I've never found a need for clipless pedals. I have toeclips on my everyday bike (I find them ideal for muddy, snowy, slick commutes like I do - you can slide the rear out and not worry about picking up a foot), and platforms on my everything-else bike. Well, and most of my other bikes...but the everything-else bike has a set of new, pretty knobbly BMX platforms that are deliciously wide.

BS. Studies have shown that even the pros don't pull up on the pedals. At the most, they just don't push down on the upstroke as much when clipped in. I read that on the Riv site, and decided to do my own investigation. 'Tis true, tis true. Everyone quotes this as a big thing but honestly, I can't remember a time in the past month that I've actually pulled up on the back stroke, unless it was to yank a foot out while sliding. If you are truly telling me that you pull up on every stroke while clipped or strapped in, I'd call you on it. Have you ever actually tried to do that? It's not very easy, it's rather tiring, your butt hurts, and you waste a whole lot of energy.

Just to be very clear, the Rivendell article to which you're referring actually says "During normal pedaling at normal cadences, nobody pulls UP on the backstroke." That is not the same as "nobody pulls up." Furthermore, the Rivendell apostles often ignore Grant's rather sweeping disclaimer:

As a commuter myself, there are plenty of us that like to ride fast and hard.

Plus, even Rivendell likes, or at least acknowledges some benefit from, foot retention; Grant just doesn't like clipless. From the description for Power Grips: "The most underrated bicycle accessory on this or any other planet." They also sell cages and straps. Personally, clipless is simply much more comfortable than cages and straps.

I agree that clipless isn't for everyone, but to claim foot retention offers no benefit whatsoever is just hyperbolic.

I rode SPDs for a year on a road bike and I never learned to pull, it just felt awkward and I saw no benefit. However, the combination of cleats and bike specific shoes seems to be more efficient at transferring pedaling energy, but since I was never a competitive rider it didn't matter to me much. I use knobbed BMX pedals and I get tons of grip, I never have problems with sliding off the pedals even in snow and rain. I understand though that most people would be unwilling to put BMX pedals on their road bikes :D I know I'll have a dilemma when I build up my Kona Sutra frame.

Adam

Personally I'd be a lot more afraid of me feet sticking in toe clips and straps than clipless pedals. I use SPD's on all my bikes and i adjust the tension of the pedals to suit the type of riding I'm doing. The pedals on my fixed gear are very tight because I want to stay connected. The pedals on my MTB are pretty loose for quickly putting a foot down if needed. My other bikes are all adjusted somewhere in between.

I look at clipless pedals like driving a manual transmission car. Once you get used to driving like that you don't have to think to push in the clutch even in an emergency braking situation. Clipless pedals are the same way, you eventually gain that muscle memory and you never even think about unclipping even in a panic situation, it just happens.

See, I'd s**t myself if you put me on a fixie with clipless pedals in traffic :D

Adam

Tell me that the pros pull up on the back stroke on every stroke. I'd be interested to see that information. Bet they rarely do it either. Truth be told, I use toe clips and do find a bit of an improvement using those over platforms, just because I can push forward and down, but I've never, ever pulled up.

Yes. I rode nothing but clipless for about five years: eggbeaters on my singlespeed, Keo Sprints on my wannabe racer. Like others who've posted here, I'd thought I'd "mastered" the art of riding clipless. One of my riding buddies even commented on the speed with which I could unclip both feet simultaneously.
And then one day about three years ago, as I was climbing up the "dead man's curve" on the Manhattan side of the GW Bridge, I confronted a cyclist bearing down on me; I lost my cool, and frantically tried to unclip (and failed); I instinctively threw out my arm to break my fall; down I went, and "snap" went my arm. (Fortunately, the orthopedic surgeon installed steel plates and screws, not titanium -- "steel is real!")
Now, this didn't scare me away from clipless pedals. I still have the Keos on my fast road bike. And I had the eggbeaters on my SS when I started using it to commute last fall. But my route is short: 5 miles each way. And I got curious. What would I lose if I swapped out the eggbeaters for some decent platforms? Would it feel less "efficient?" Like Mickey85, I'd read GP's notes on pedals. So I tried the platforms. At first I was unnerved by the feeling of being unhooked from the pedals. But it took only a couple of rides to overcome that. I figured out which shoes perform best. Trust me: it makes a difference. (My favorites are Adidas Samba indoor soccer shoes for dry weather, cheap knock-off Crocs for wet.) My feeling now is that if I'm "losing" anything by having made the switch, it isn't clear what.
Let me be clear that I'm not endorsing platforms over clipless. What a tedious, endless debate! The point of my story is to illustrate what happened when I let go of some heavily marketed assumptions about what "serious" cycling involves.

I can see the use of clipless pedals in long duration pedaling, but due to my stop and go combat urban commute, I feel that platforms more efficient and safer in that type of commute. As I've posted many times on BF, there were several times that if I had been clipped in, it would have ended with a very bad result.

I do not own those pedals, but they should not be like that. I bought a pair of Crank Brothers Acid pedals and had trouble clipping in and out, but the shop I bought them from knew to install an additional shim on my shoes and now they're great/fine.

If you were wearing road shoes I'd suggest the Speedplay light actions. In mountain bike shoes nothing should be that tight, but my only specific suggestion is to go ask at the shop - sometimes there's a setting or adjustment that they can make.

Or, obviously, you could just buy a different system, though for expense reasons I would ask about it first.

Use what works for you. </thread>

Paul - they aren't loose to the point where I come out when I don't want to. I was just stating that I have no trouble getting out of them when I need to - and wondered if some pedals are harder than others to exit.

Wow. Apparently I somehow completely misread your post...sorry!

+1 [/thread]

The LBS and the pedal manufacturers share in the "learning curve" issues of clipless pedals for commuters. Ive bought two pedal sets through two different LBS and either the manufacturer or LBS had both of them set up for road race level tensions. Nearly immediately reducing the tension (reducing the difficulty of removing the shoe from the pedal) turn insecurity and fear into revelation and success for commuting. (I have spd's)

That plus you always buy a mtb style shoe so you dont rip up the hardwood floor (or worse, get blamed but not be responsible)

Other notes -- its also a matter of the commute length -- at 5 miles or less, whats the point of spending the xtra money for the pedals and the shoes.

Locking your feet in one place will affect any knee issues so be willing to adjust your cleat angles.

ok just to clarify, the reason I wanted to go clipless is efficiency not for the trend. Maybe it's placebo but during the uphill ride I really do pull up the pedal and I find that it makes me less tired to cycle this way. I hear some people say that noone really pulls up but I have seen me do it :).

Also others are mentioning how the unclip procedure becomes second nature. And it has for me as well, BUT only if I am riding on an even surface. I have a very hard time unclipping whike i am riding uphill, the foot just doesn't come out and I have to try many times. It's just the angle that makes it difficult. Also the power applied to pedal to move forward seems to be directly interfereing with trying to twist the ankle , sometimes I feel I am bout the fly off the bike doing so. And I don't want to make the cleats more loose because I understand that htere is some danger when the foot comes off too easily.

So is there a special trick to disengage when in an uphill angle?

The trick, as I believe was mentioned earlier, is to get into the proper gear earlier. Supposedly this is a hill that you know, so wtf would you be in such a high gear that you would have to shift under load? Lower gear, shift earlier, problem minimized.

Duuuuuuuuuude...chill out.

Use what makes your commute enjoyable.

Did you read my earlier post when I said that it is not a uniform hill? The slope keeps changing gradually so I can't always forsee the gear I am under. I believe that's what so many gears are there for to begin with. So that you are in one gear and if it's starting to get heavy you get into a lighter gear and vice versa.

Amen. I keep getting the same knee-jerk response from my LBS when I complain about downshifting problems. the fact is, at the bottom of the hill you are less tired, and the slope isn't as great, so you want to stay in a higher gear and then downshift as the slope increases and you become more tired.

Amen. I keep getting the same knee-jerk response from my LBS when I complain about downshifting problems. the fact is, at the bottom of the hill you are less tired, and the slope isn't as great, so you want to stay in a higher gear and then downshift as the slope increases and you become more tired.