Bike Forums

Bike Forums (https://www.bikeforums.net/forum.php)
-   Commuting (https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/)
-   -   Scared to commute with clipless pedals (https://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/625101-scared-commute-clipless-pedals.html)

Sgt Skidmark 03-05-10 05:15 PM

Nope

Originally Posted by PaulRivers (Post 10467369)
Did you have studded tires?


chipcom 03-05-10 05:18 PM


Originally Posted by GriddleCakes (Post 10486204)
If you feel like you can't transfer power to your bike without clipless, then you've forgotten how to pedal.

Give the noob (to BF) a cigar. :beer:

GriddleCakes 03-05-10 07:02 PM


Originally Posted by chipcom (Post 10486612)
Give the noob (to BF) a cigar. :beer:

Thanks, but don't make it a fancy or expensive one. I'm just going to split it, empty it, and fill it with something else. :)

Man, the end of the semester cannot come soon enough.

slcbob 03-06-10 06:43 AM


Originally Posted by GriddleCakes (Post 10486204)
I tried skate style clipless shoes,

What are those?


Originally Posted by GriddleCakes (Post 10486204)
I picked up a pair of these this summer

Do they have a stiff sole, i.e. some kind of bike-friendly rigidity? The specs I saw only speak about their traction but they seem to suggest they're bike oriented.


Originally Posted by GriddleCakes (Post 10486204)
If you like your clipless setup, great! Ride what you want to ride. But don't try and convince others that they need clipless to ride.

I hope the only convincing going on is that there's no enduring reason to be scared of clipless, only a low but existent and (usually) finite hurdle for adoption. Shoe choice is one of the great reasons to use platforms. Particularly boots for deep winter, but many others as you point out.

I do think there's equal invective on both sides of the alleged convincing -- pro- and anti- clipless. To each his own, preferably fully informed.

noglider 03-06-10 06:49 AM

Google "spd sandals". My Nashbar spd sandals are the only shoes good for both walking and cycling. I hear the Shimano are better than the Nashbar. When mine wear out, I'll try the Shimanos. I've read that the Keen sandals run really narrow, which eliminates them for my duck feet.

GriddleCakes 03-06-10 11:43 AM


Originally Posted by slcbob (Post 10488497)
What are those?

"Skate style clipless shoes" are shoes that look like skate shoes but will take a cleat. They were better than straight up spd shoes for walking, but the cleats still dug into floors. And you can feel the cleat as a lump under your forefoot the whole time, so walking still sucked.


Originally Posted by slcbob (Post 10488497)
Do they have a stiff sole, i.e. some kind of bike-friendly rigidity? The specs I saw only speak about their traction but they seem to suggest they're bike oriented.

I'm pretty sure that you only need a stiff sole if you're pushing a tiny pedal. That's a clipless thing. For platforms you only need a shoe stiff enough to cushion your foot from the pedal.

noglider 03-06-10 02:15 PM

There's something funny with my spd sandals. They don't chew up my soft wood floors in my house. They don't grind on the ground outside when I walk on asphalt or stone, but they grind like crazy on concrete. Why is this?

noglider 03-08-10 12:46 PM

The Next Big Thing In Women's Cycling Shoes

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_atrK-jBKJK...ng%2Bshoes.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_atrK-jBKJK...Bshoes%2B2.jpg

CACycling 03-08-10 02:27 PM


Originally Posted by noglider (Post 10489555)
There's something funny with my spd sandals. They don't chew up my soft wood floors in my house. They don't grind on the ground outside when I walk on asphalt or stone, but they grind like crazy on concrete. Why is this?

I have a pair of skater-style SPD shoes like that. No idea why.

cooker 03-08-10 03:15 PM


Originally Posted by noglider (Post 10489555)
There's something funny with my spd sandals. They don't chew up my soft wood floors in my house. They don't grind on the ground outside when I walk on asphalt or stone, but they grind like crazy on concrete. Why is this?

My guess is that the tread around the cleat is worn down just enough that the cleat is lightly touching the surface. Wood and asphalt are slightly soft and slightly quiet, so the light contact the cleat makes with them is not doing obvious visible damage (yet) or making noise, but if you examine your floor closely, you may find very faint scratches from the cleat. On the other hand, concrete is very rigid and noisy, so the slight contact the cleat makes is creating a loud clack or scratchy noise.
I'm not sure why you haven't noticed an issue with stone. Perhaps the surface is bumpy and the cleat often falls in the gap and doesn't make contact.

Surfindixon 03-08-10 03:28 PM

Nice heels noglider (Tom) although, if I may be so bold, can I recommend using a turnup in your denim instead of utilising the 'ankle split' style. You'll find that utilising the denim turnup can widen your utilisiation of these denims when alternating between differing footwear e.g. between heels and sandles

tjspiel 03-08-10 04:03 PM


Originally Posted by cooker (Post 10497447)
My guess is that the tread around the cleat is worn down just enough that the cleat is lightly touching the surface. Wood and asphalt are slightly soft and slightly quiet, so the light contact the cleat makes with them is not doing obvious visible damage (yet) or making noise, but if you examine your floor closely, you may find very faint scratches from the cleat. On the other hand, concrete is very rigid and noisy, so the slight contact the cleat makes is creating a loud clack or scratchy noise.
I'm not sure why you haven't noticed an issue with stone. Perhaps the surface is bumpy and the cleat often falls in the gap and doesn't make contact.

My shoes are only noisy on outdoor concrete that's not all that smooth. There's a lot of grit on a typical sidewalk and my guess is what you're hearing is the grit being squished between the cleat and the concrete.

GriddleCakes 03-08-10 04:47 PM


Originally Posted by noglider (Post 10496768)

This is a joke, yes? What would be the point of attaching a shoe in which the foot can easily be pulled out of to a pedal system whose sole advantage is is the ability to apply upwards pressure during the backstroke? Those heels need an ankle strap to be in any way credible as clipless footwear.

Not that I know anything about how to wear heels. :o

chipcom 03-08-10 05:04 PM


Originally Posted by GriddleCakes (Post 10497854)
This is a joke, yes? What would be the point of attaching a shoe in which the foot can easily be pulled out of to a pedal system whose sole advantage is is the ability to apply upwards pressure during the backstroke? Those heels need an ankle strap to be in any way credible as clipless footwear.

Not that I know anything about how to wear heels. :o

We have a hawt BF member who rides in her heels...and is proud to admit it.

GriddleCakes 03-08-10 05:52 PM

Do a Google image search for "high heels bicycle" and you get loads of hits. I thought that might be a convincing pro-platform argument: ride platforms and wear whatever sexy shoes you like. But apparently the clipless crowd had already thought of that.

noglider 03-08-10 06:36 PM

With Look cleats, a normal cycling shoe is treacherous for walking. I felt as if my cleats were teflon-coated. I HAVE worn heels, when I was at a costume party and my wife and I cross-dressed. It was majorly painful without cleats. I can't imagine what it's like. I assume it's a joke, but who knows?

z90 03-08-10 06:37 PM


Originally Posted by j_deLaBay (Post 10463617)
They probably look tacky to some people but I ended up getting these...you have to twist your foot in to 'engage' the strap kinda like a clipless. They work pretty good actually.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA280_.jpg

I have no problems using clipless pedals, but I still prefer powergrips on my commuter. In the winter, I can wear my hiking boots to keep my feet warm. In the summer I wear my cycling shoes for the stiff soles. I feel I lose very little effeciency over my clipless set up on my other bike.

noglider 03-08-10 06:41 PM

Yeah, Power Grips are pretty good. Too bad they're patented and thus expensive for what they are. Also, I'd like it if they were adjustable. Maybe I could replace the bolt with a wingnut-ended bolt.

electrik 03-08-10 06:44 PM

Road cleats are far too bulky.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3096/...66779aff31.jpg

noglider 03-08-10 06:46 PM

electrik, is that your shoe? Actually, it looks like a cowboy boot.

I built up the sole of my sandals a bit with Shoe Goo, hoping to eliminate the grinding. No luck yet, so I'll pile on some more. I wonder if you could do that with boots like that. It looks like the cleat mount was just screwed into the boot's sole.

electrik 03-08-10 06:55 PM


Originally Posted by noglider (Post 10498364)
electrik, is that your shoe? Actually, it looks like a cowboy boot.

I built up the sole of my sandals a bit with Shoe Goo, hoping to eliminate the grinding. No luck yet, so I'll pile on some more. I wonder if you could do that with boots like that. It looks like the cleat mount was just screwed into the boot's sole.

Not my shoe. I hear one needs to install a tapped plate on the interior of the shoe, then find a screw that fits and is long enough to reach said plate. If you put the screws straight into cowboy boot sole which is quite hard they would last a while, but eventually strip.

PaulRivers 03-08-10 07:06 PM


Originally Posted by noglider (Post 10498364)
electrik, is that your shoe? Actually, it looks like a cowboy boot.

I built up the sole of my sandals a bit with Shoe Goo, hoping to eliminate the grinding. No luck yet, so I'll pile on some more. I wonder if you could do that with boots like that. It looks like the cleat mount was just screwed into the boot's sole.

I don't even know if this applies, if it doesn't feel free to ignore me.

With spds, they would always grind on concrete, but usually not on wood floors or such. I tried a couple of different shoes, always the same result.

I switched to Crank Brothers (I've heard of the same results with "Look" mountain cleats), and now my shoes never click on wood floors (I have wood floors where I live) and rarely (though sometimes) grind on concrete. I did have to use the shims to make the cleat stick out a little more to get them to work with the Acid pedals, so if you didn't have to do that they might never hit. Just an fyi.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:15 AM.


Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.