qcpmsame 

After riding with the C&V toe clips and straps for years I figured the learning curve for the clipless pedals and shoes would be steep and probably painful. It was the exact opposite for me, having the cleats properly installed and tightened up so as to not allow them to move about, or not disengage, when I was ready to release. Shimano has 3 different float cleats available so getting things sorted isn't hard, and the SPD-SL have a tension adjustment screw on them. My cleats are the 6°,or yellow, float, and I keep the tension at a fairly loose setting. I have no experience with Speedplay or the other systems out so I cannot speak about them.

Also, I never had a clipped pedal accident, but I saw many over the years. Not sure why that happened to those riders with the strap's adjustment available, and most of these didn't have the old style cleat nailed to their shoes. One particular friend was constantly having a clipless style Tombay fall with the toe clips and straps. Truly strange as he was experienced a a cyclist, very coordinated and a collegiate gymnast.

I didn't/don't find either system to be difficult for me. With the problems I now have, from Parkinson's Disease, in my legs, the SPD-SL helps me keep things stable when the twitching starts up mid-ride. An unexpected plus for me.

Bill (Ol' Twitchy)

OldsCOOL

Excellent report, Bill. I will do my practicing before riding through town. I've seen others do a Tombay and I will be most vigilant to not follow their example.

Jim from Boston

Having gone down four times while learning, my advice is if you even just think about slowing or stopping, unclip at least one foot (right, for me).

OldsCOOL

Exactly.

One day driving away from my church office I saw a man in his 70's or so, full kit that a TdF rider would be envious of was riding up his driveway and came to a stop at the highway. He promptly tipped over like the Laugh-In tricycle rider and I......well, I promptly laughed.

My riding partner who is 11yrs my junior is nutso intense about the sport even as a newbie. I refurbed his bike and lent him my pedals with straps. Oh no. He wouldnt have that. He went and got himself rigged up with shoes and SPD's. His first ride? He Tombayed at the mailbox. Didnt even get out of his drive.

no sweat

Let me toss out a pointer as a long time toe clip/strap user & recent spd cleat convert: the tendency may be to set the spd grip clamps tight, so they feel a bit more like straps and don't "float" (allow free left/right rotation) so much. Don't do this. Float is good, not bad. It just feels odd at first. If new pedals & cleats, set tension to minimum. You won't be coming out of the pedals inadvertently, even at minimum.

Shhhh, don't rat me out, but I like my spds and Sidi mtb shoes so much I use them on my road bike too (as far as I'm concerned, the Sidi mtb shoe is essentially a road shoe with an easier to walk on sole, it's not a hike-a-bike shoe).

Gerryattrick

Still cliplessless and using toe-clips, but if I were ever to go cliplesslessless it would also have to be spd cleats and mtb shoes.

I often go for bike rides that that are more than just a bike ride, so road shoes are just not versatile enough - plus riders look silly clip-clopping in them any further than ten yards to the coffee shop, in the company of other, similarly attired riders.

jimmuller 

Exactly. (Read my signature.)
I've been wearing the inexpensive Shimano spd mtb shoe but without the spd insert, the old shoe with laces instead of Velcro straps. I wish I could find another pair in my size (plain ol' boring 44). I'd worry that Velcro straps would get hung up on the toe clip end.

no sweat

Anyone remember these?



They were a part of the reason I left cycling for 25 years (I crashed and - of course -- stayed firmly attached to the bike).

I have a soft spot for vintage ****, but not old school cleats and clips.

jimmuller 

Remember what? I see nothing to remember.

Why is it when we have toe clips we call it clipless and when we don't have toe clips but some other newfangled thingy instead we call it being clipped in?

OldsCOOL

Being an oldschool toe strap guy, first time hearing clipless had me dizzy with confusion.

no sweat

Fixed (see above). 1979 vintage Puma Cycling shoes. I may even still have the things some where.

As far as terminology... well, it's no less misleading than (for instance) "Democratic Party" and "Republican Party".

North Coast Joe

Two fixed gear bikes with toe clips and straps. Still works after all these decades. Hated the thing on the bottom of the shoe when cliplesslessless.

One MTB/Commuter type with sort of a Powerstrap setup. Very versatile for varied footwear. When wearing the Vibram soled boots my foot is "locked-in"....comfy and secure!

camelopardalis

I thought only old people use straps, toeclips, and platforms.

jimmuller 

I don't wear platforms because I'm still tall, even though my doctor says I'm a inch or more shorter than I used to be. I don't believe her.

CliffordK

My toeclips made it all the way to spring of 2014 before being tossed aside. And, yes, I have a pair of those leather shoes, plastic cleats, and no heels... somewhere. What a pain to walk up stairs with them!!!

Learning clipless was quick after decades of using toeclips. SPDs allow me to walk in the shoes, although not optimal.

On another forum, there is a group of people that claim that nobody "pulls up", but I will say that I pull up hard from time to time, especially on hills. I think I get significantly more power with the clipless. Plus, the shoes don't go crooked or get crimped in the middle.

I taught my 8 yr old nephew to ride a bike this summer (yes, I know it was late). He saw my cleats, and liked them. I think he called them "clickers". It was hard to convince him that he needed to learn to ride a bike without cleats before getting the cleats as locking the feet in the pedals would just make the crashes worse.

Anyway, I have a 24" road bike for his Christmas gift. I'm going to give him a set of toeclips. If he can master the toeclips, then he can get cleats later.

Gyrine

Similar, but I want my feet attached to my bike in a crash because then it goes to the hospital with me. Nobody takes my bike.

Gerryattrick

Six months ago I woke up in an ambulance on my way to hospital after a bike crash. The bike was in the ambulance with me and a nurse moved it from the casualty dept. to the X-Ray dept. with me. A friend then collected it and took it home for me.

Two years ago I tore the ligaments in my knee in a crash after putting out the left leg to try and stop the fall. But I still don't like clipless.

Jinkster

While I have nowhere near the experience of qcpmsame?...what little experience I do have echoes his to a large degree with one exception...(and this is most likely a "riding conditions" preference)...as I love my "Dual-Interface" Exustar...pedals.

Reason being?...I always have the option...whether that option be cleats or Nike or?...to clip in or not...I have many local area's where I encounter crossing many lit intersections...lots of stops and starts in a short distance and is where I use the platform side despite footwear....but then one back on the long stretches of open road?...

Click/Click...

cplager

I believe (and have anecdotal but don't have scientific evidence to back it up) that clipping in means you are less likely to hurt knees and ankles in a fall for exactly this reason.

Falling over at a stoplight (or behind a stopped school bus with its flashing lights that took a little bit longer than you thought it would to start up again *cough cough*) because you're clipped in is embarrassing but rarely results in serious injury.

Having your feet fly off of the pedals when riding can be very bad. If you like toe clips instead of clipping in, then use toe clips instead. Just use something (even half clips are much better than nothing).

cafzali

Sadly (but not surprisingly if you ride long enough) I've had a chance to actually test this out and Charles is right. I was in a relatively minor accident with a car over the summer, who turned into my path. I was going fast enough that I didn't have time to brake, clipped the rear of the car, skidded on my side before coming to rest a short time later. My feet disengaged from the pedals the moment I hit the ground and using clipless pedals in no way contributed to my injuries, which was mostly nasty road rash and a gash on my forehead that wasn't covered by my helmet.

Of all the systems out there, clipless pedals offer the safest, most secure riding.

K100Fran 

I switched to clipless in 1986 when I put Looks on my Lotus Classique and won't go back to toe clips. When I used to clips I wore a pair of Detto Pietro's with a deep cleat that slipped into the back of the pedal. When I sinced those straps down there was no getting out, my trackstanding skills developed quickly on my commute to college.
Now many years later all my bikes have SPDs which, for me is a nice compromise between walking comfort and pedaling efficiency. Nothing against clips, I just like clipless better.

John_V 

Clipless on the road bike and standard platform pedals on the hybrid. Every time I ride the hybrid, I keep trying to unclip when coming to a stop or slowing down. Sometimes my shoes just slide off the pedal when I do it. I'm thinking of putting an old set of M520 pedals on it. It just doesn't feel right riding a bike without clipless pedals.

Jinkster

If it's of any consolation?...that sounds like a good problem to have VS the other way around...yet still there is a preemptive risk factor being created there that could result in injury...which to me?...solidifies my choice of going with dual-interface pedals because as a result?...it seems I always have a mental memo/note (sort of a "mind sticky" LOL) of "which side I chose last" (pending present riding conditions)...which has this magical way of keeping me very aware of whether or not I'm clipped in because every time I put my feet on the pedals?...it involves a conscious decision of "Which Side To Use"...which for some strange reason stays put in the memory banks of my old overloaded, over-worked hard-drive of a mind...and as a result?...seems I'm always very much aware of whether or not I'm clipped in...if that makes any sense. LOL!

Too date?...the worst thing that's happened is I pedaled a few strokes with my Nikes on the clip-side...and I have these DI pedals on two bikes...my RB and my Hybrid....but I guess I shouldn't brag because I wouldn't want to tempt fate either because with my luck?...it seems there's a first time for everything but knock on wood and praise God?...nothing bad has happened yet...and I have exactly 2 months worth of experience with anything "clip-less".

jimmuller 

A year and a half ago my sweetie and I were pedaling our '82 tandem on a serious uphill on Acadia Natl Park's Park Loop Road when another cyclist came up beside us and complimented the tandem. Then he commented on our shoe selection. He saw my sweetie wearing sneaker-like shoes in toe clips and straps and questioned our efficiency. Then in mid-sentence he saw that I was wearing Shimano spd mtb shoes and said "oh, I see, you're doing all the work" or something like that. Ha! Tandem-smirk aside , he never even noticed that my spd shoes were working with toe clips and straps just like my sweetie's.

We do just fine, thank you.

OldsCOOL

That was the dumbest question ever. It really is a matter of preference. I bust some pretty good times/speeds when cranking out a TT course (pretty much my style of riding) with my toe-strapped Cannondale Criterium.