Jim from Boston

Congratulations Miss Kenton. I recall the communal anguish on the Fifty Plus Forum when your bike was stolen, so let us now rejoice in your good fortune. I looked at the photos, and both you and the bike look quite...um…er…roadworthy. Are you wearing the clipless shoes and have you tried them yet?

BTW, I noted the enlarged black and white photo behind you with bicycles in the foreground. Is your home decorated in a bicycling motif, like your fellow librarian’s, tsl?

miss kenton

Thank you, Jim....I think.....I have been called many things, good and bad, but never "road worthy." After some consideration, I've decided it is better to be thought of as "road worthy" than "road weary." I took the new bike out on Friday and loved it! It may be the fitting, the saddle is much higher than my other bike, but it felt great.

Sometime ago I bought shoes that will accommodate cleats, and I have the clipless pedals, but as of yet, have not had them installed.

Good eye on the framed poster. The picture was taken in my family room, which I have decorated in what I like to think of as a tribute to the Tour de France. It is a portrait from the 1921 Swiss Tour de France team taking a break at a French cafe. Apparently in those days, tipping a few brewskis during the race was not considered "doping."
Funny you should mention tsl's decor as I was thinking, now that I have two TREKs I could, in fact, replicate his window treatment, although that might best be left to bachelor pads.

CraigB

Take the plunge, Miss K. What are you waiting for? Take it and don't look back.

miss kenton

I just haven't had the time to take the bike in. I meant to make an appointment on Women's Specific Night, but then I won the bike and was so excited, I forgot all about making the appointment!

seenoweevil

Congrats Miss K! That's a sweet lookin' "+1" you have there! The errand bike sounds like a great idea too!

miss kenton

Thanks, seeno! The fitting was done so well on this new bike, I might have to ride that until I can get my "primary" bike in for a refitting! Some stem adjustments and the raised saddle make this bike really fun to ride.

By the way, Carl, I just love your goals!

wobblyoldgeezer

Good evening, Ms K

You've been kind on my various threads on clipless caused injury.

But, a personal point of view to the advice quoted

Tommy Simpson rode London to Holyhead, 260 miles, at an average of 24 mph in 1964, clips and straps and downtube shifters. There are other factors at play than kit. (ok, discount the PED cheap shots)

Merckx, Coppi, Hinnault, most of Fignon - no fancy cleats and clips

Me - national finalist in youth racing, clips and straps, time trial, cyclocross, road racing, loads of touring holidays

Me - little social outing, clipped in, 2 mph fall, life changing spiral fracture of the biggest bone in my body.

Me - still using the kit. Feel like one of those fellows who put a cigarette into their breathing tube

Oh, it clicks so good.

Don't do it

Sorry if this is a bit too earnest, in a thread about your good bike fortune

Garilia

See Rule 12

https://www.velominati.com/blog/the-rules/

to wit: The minimum number of bikes one should own is three. The correct number is n+1, where n is the number of bikes currently owned. This equation may also be re-written as s-1, where s is the number of bikes owned that would result in separation from your partner.

Or as someone else commented (when you click on the three, and disappear down another rabbit hole):
Well, the weather looked like it might get a bit dodgey so I hedged my bet and took the steel out. It’s hard to predict weather around here, though, and it stayed nice for most of the day. I’m sure I don’t have to explain the Fundamental Principle of Bicycle Ownership. You need a minimum of three road bikes:
Rain Bike. This one’s for rainy weather and wet roads. Hopefully it’s aluminum or titanium. Hopefully for the you, it has fenders. Hopefully for the guy behind you, it has mudflaps.
Inclement Weather Bike. This ones for mostly dry roads but for those days when you don’t know what the weather might do. It might rain, but hopefully it will stay dry.
Nice Weather Bike. This one’s the one you try to keep clean and dry. Lets face it, a good race bike is made to handle all weather and love it. But it’s hell on your drive train, so those of us who don’t do this for a living and don’t get our gear for free need to look after our s#$%. If I can help it, my R3 only goes out on good, dry roads.
Of course, this represents the minimum. You also definitely need a bike in every material, and ones for good road surface, bad road surface, good road surface in bad weather, inclement weather, good weather; bad road surface in good, inclement, bad weathers, combination of road surfaces. And all those in all frame types and materials. You could justify something like 117 bikes per person in your household without breaking a sweat.

miss kenton

WOB,
That's an interesting take on it, if I understand you. You're suggesting I don't go clipless as a way of avoiding injury? I do feel a bit of peer pressure to go clipless.

Louis

Um...there's a bike in that picture?

Congratulations on your good fortune, Miss K.

miss kenton

Why, Louis, you scoundrel, you make me blush!

Thank you for the Congrats!

wobblyoldgeezer

Yes.

Without the extraneous detail of my previous post -

I still ride clipless, and find it pleasurable
I really can't say I am faster
I really wish I had not been clipped in when I took an otherwise inconsequential low speed tumble
The 'clippage' turned a side force into a twist force

Your choice and no-one elses, of course.

miss kenton

I've read a number of posts on this forum from cyclists who prefer toe clips. I have been riding with platforms and Shimano Mountain shoes for some time now; I don't use toe clips. ( I got the shoes because I was having severe cramping in my feet and the hard soles alleviated that.) Isn't there a real danger of getting your feet caught up in toe clips, as well? I have never tried them, but I get a little panicky even thinking of having my foot caught in a toeclip. Does that happen?

BikeWNC

I can't think of one reason why anyone would use toe clips today other than they don't or won't take the time to make the adjustment to clipless. The advantages of clipless are so great IMO, safety included. It will take a few rides, perhaps a topple to adapt but once that is done clipless pedals become so very natural.

Go ahead, flame away but on this issue there isn't much to support using clips. Go ask this question in the Road Forum and see what response you get.

BluesDawg

I would say there is much greater chance of getting your foot trapped in clips and straps than with clipless pedals. In either case - https://alcoman.railfan.net/fear.html

Phil_gretz

I rode toe clips for about 20 years, and clipless for about 16 years now. Either is fine. I've also recently ridden platforms with my hiking sandals (because I forgot my cycling shoes) in a 25 mile fast ride on my touring bike. With no foot retention, it was a chore and required much more concentration than I'd rather give to my feet.

Clipless riding becomes natural, so un-clipping is almost never, well... rarely, even a concern. Maybe in an emergency stop in traffic, in tight spaces, ... it happens once or twice a year with no consequence.

Toe clips (cinched down) are more difficult to get out of. You must reach down to pull up on release buckle. When I was 17 years old, this wasn't a problem. At nearly 52, I can't be bothered.

FWIW, my wife still uses toe clips and prefers them. We don't argue about her inefficiency at starts or her occasional LOOKING DOWN at her pedals. Wut?

Phil G.

Louis

I use and like both.

As I've said before, I like the way clips and straps look.

hytam

Miss Kenton,

Please do not get into something because of peer pressure. I'm 53 this year and have been riding bikes for as long as I can remember so had enough experience then to handle clipless in 1991 when MTB biking was the rage here in Singapore. Mind you that was 20 years ago and I was 33 and had faster reaction times and recovered from spills better. 2 years ago a very good friend of mine who is 56 now started riding road bikes seriously. Being a commercial dive supervisor in mixed gasses diving, he was also very fit. He too felt some peer pressure to go clipless and decided to take the plunge sometime last year. He took one or two tumbles getting used to clipping in and out but I had noticed that he tended to clip out very much earlier than I would, due to his fear of being unable to clip out quickly if required. Well about 4 months ago, he hit a hole in the road ( we were riding at night due to the heat here in Singapore ) and found that he could not clip out quickly enough and took a very bad fall and ended breaking his left collar bone and pinky. He has decided ( pressure from his wife ) to stop riding.

If you are enjoying how you are riding now and not in any need to feel like you need to be in a race, I will stand with WOB and suggest that you reconsider going clipless. The worst decisions are made when under peer pressure. I wish you all the best and again congrats on your win of the new bike.

God bless,
Anthony.

BikeWNC

For every story there will be an equal but opposite side (corollary to Newton's 3rd law). A guy in town rode clips and ran into a dog. His body twisted but his ankle couldn't since he was locked into the clips. He shattered his ankle, had it fused and can't ride effectively anymore. Had he been in clipless he would have come out as his body turned. This debate is similar to steel vs carbon, dt shifters vs brifters, etc. All this gear does work, but the advancements in bikes are made at many levels. Brifters are safer than dt shifters, clipless safer than clipped, both are more efficient. The choice what to use is of course individual but as my daughter would say, "Dad, don't be a geezer, not all change is bad".

Yes I know AJ, you have a fused ankle, but not everyone is as maniacal as you!

miss kenton

Head........spinning....... So.....many........opinions...fused bones....reaching down to unclip.....broken pinkies... twitchy:

(Actually I appreciate the advice and I have a set of Candy Twos in my bike room. )

CraigB

And I'm sure they make lovely decorations.

Jim from Boston

Wow Miss Kenton, I'm surprised any of your acquaintances would not know better than to apply peer pressure to you, without being mercilessly rejoined.

I'm sorry to have deflected your joyful post so off topic. FWIW I used toeclips for decades and I too avoided clipless until about five years ago and then took the plunge a few days before a century ride. Despite a few topples in the first year, I have never looked back. I have still kept toeclips on my beater mountain bike for icy days, when even with studded tires the chances of slipping are greater. However now when disengaging from the mountain bike, I start to use the rotating motion as if I was clipless, it's become so habitual.

The sound of a group of cyclists all clicking along as they walk and then clippping in almost in unison is to me like, "Gentlemen [sic], start your engines." (Now that could be unspoken peer pressure I guess. .)

miss kenton

They are still in the box on a shelf in my bike room...staring at me in contempt.

miss kenton

You are correct, Jim, I normally don't succumb to peer pressure. For example, you might note my absence in the "what do you wear under your spandex?" "skin lubes" and "what is your height & weight?" threads. However, the clipless thing--it's what all the cool kids are doing.

NOS88

Hey, Jeannie Longo, age 52, also rides clipless. OK, I guess she also qualifies as a "cool kid" too.