which Germans?

had a slight spill today (freezing rain under a bridge left a sheet of ice) and I'm glad that I wasn't in clipless

This whole discussion on proper attire has me laughing. Maybe it's because we're very relaxed in Colorado, but even working for a law firm, I wear blue jeans and 'trainers.'

If the tenth Doctor can wear them, so can I.

Have you ever ridden clipless?

When I'm riding with my SPDs, I have no problem getting my feet out in a panic. It just comes naturally. It's when I'm over thinking about it that I fumble with them.

No, I don't believe that a fixed gear crank can inflict more injury...in most cases. You guys are making this sound like the crank arms are spinning at a 1000 rpm but they aren't. Fixed gear bicycles are still a reduced gear system just like freewheel bikes and, as such, the pedals don't spin all that fast. Most fixed gears are going to be set up so that the pedals spin between 60 rpm and 120 rpm which is the same range as freewheel bikes. I've taken my foot off the pedals (on purpose) while riding and it's not all that difficult to get your foot back on the pedal even while spinning with the other foot. You don't have to stop pedaling.

But you are all missing the point here. It's not that I'm suggesting people ride without foot retention on a fixed gear. I wouldn't even remotely suggest that. Wolfchild said that he would never consider riding fixed without clips but "Platform pedals are most practical and easiest to use for urban/city commuting". I disagree. If you are worried about your foot slipping off when sprinting and riding aggressively on a fixed gear, the mechanics are just the same when riding a freewheel bike. If you slip off the pedal during a sprint on either bike, the results are exactly the same as well.

I have tried fixed gear. It's not some mysterious religious experience. It's just like riding any other bike with the small difference that you can't coast. I never found that the pedals would lift me up with enough force to throw me off the bike if I stopped pedaling. You'd actually have to be pretty dumb to do that in the first place. The advice I got...which I ignored...when I started fixed gear was to never attach your feet to the pedals because it was "dangerous". I did and it's not.

I also knew how to trackstand before I started riding a fixed gear so a fixed gear isn't necessary to learn how to trackstand.

I'm only going to add one tidbit to this detailed post here.. as long as you run brakes you can always slow a fixed gears pedals down.

He's riding in rainy old England. I wonder how they feel about the soggy cat look at the high end places that won't let you in with bicycling shoes on?

I too have never had a problem with them and I use them off-road on some pretty nasty trails. Platforms also encourage sticking your foot out to "catch" you in a fall which has many of the same consequences as sticking your arm out to "catch" you. You end up with worse injuries than if you rode the bike down. I've crashed many, many, many times on frizzle (freezing drizzle) with clipless as well as just regular ice. The one time I put my foot down to "catch" me, I popped a hamstring. I've also seen the long term consequences of someone who "caught" themselves with a foot while sliding on ice. After he folded his leg under himself and his bike in February, he was able to go back to riding by the end of July.

Riding fixed without brakes out in the world is a different bucket of stupid.

...better than riding a freewheeling bike without brakes which is a trend of some of the dumb kids at my local co-op but still stupid.

It seems almost cultural the groups that ride FG or FW brakeless.. do the kids by your co-op use their shoes as brakes?

If it's raining, most people bring a change of clothes into the bathroom from a backpack and dry off with the hand dryer.

I usually ride with these:



because the laces don't get caught in the chainline.

I've had good results with this shaped studded pedal designed by Rivendell:


Slippage is rare, and the round pedal shape helps minimize shin embossing in that event.

This is when I'm most glad for foot retention. Even with toe clips I've almost been bucked from the bike trying to coast through a fast turn.

Yup. My mother would have killed me if I wore out shoes by using them as brakes.

So you are worried about carrying a second set of shoes to a restaurant that won't let you in with bike shoes but you are willing to carry a complete change of clothing and they will let you in looking like a drowned cat to change in their bathroom if you are wearing "regular" clothes? Somefon's not right here.

ya think?

Enough, you guys. All you seem concerned with is winning.

Mission Workshop has a few 2-bolt shoes that I think would be acceptable in many fancypants restaurants.







I like these new Giro boots, too. Just put some black laces in 'em.

the only reason to say that is because you dont want us to win

Spiffy!

With reservations. Everyone knows me as the prof on the multicoloured bike, so they're lenient, but don't want crap in the dinning area, they're more relaxed with the outside area (but it is England after all.) They are Michelin-starred after all

I don't know, exactly. I would hypothesize that that the benefit comes from shortening the lever arm between the ankle and the pedal, but that's just a hypothesis.

I'm generally a "ball over spindle" pedaler. It doesn't usually take long for the nubs (they'd be "spikes" on higher end pedals) on my BMX pedals to wear corresponding pits into my shoes. On tour, after a few days worth of climbing steep hills, instead of pits, I had grooves, because I had moved my foot fore and aft on the pedal to maintain maximum pedaling ease. I'm certainly not the first person to notice this phenomenon.

please provide some type of link or reference so we can look it up

Those still look like sneakers.

Here is but one such source.

I know, but you need to remember your frame of reference.

Also, gotta take the good with the bad I guess ...