People are clueless on a whole lot of things, I think is the safe assumption! Seems to be quite a bit of "knowledge" that gets out there, that folks take as the gospel truth once it has been heard.

Even in your situation, what sense would it make to ask if you have knee pain? The logical person would assume if you did, you would change the situation causing it, not just suffer through because you loved platforms so likely there was no issue.

Maybe I just ride with the sweetest, most generous and helpful members of the biking community. Or maybe you ride with some dicks.

I have Shimano Saint pedals on my Specialized road bike. Obviously, I didn't read the memo.

I think the assumption was (on the few occasions where people brought it up) was that I was running the 'platforms' because I had knee issues because it is a little odd looking I guess. It's not like they were being dicks, they just seemed genuinely curious about it. The reality is that I just like being able to ride to the supermarket or work on whatever bike I feel like without changing shoes. That and hopping up on park benches etc. is a little less sketchy when you're not clipped in.

Well, I've never done that, so I'll defer judgement to those more knowledgeable :thumb:

I generally ride alone, or with the fiancee. The lady Friday just happened to be someone parked next to me. Not as if they are being dicks about it, more that they have been conditioned to KNOW that road bikes NEED clipless, and I must have not gotten the memo.

Here's the video for those too lazy to look for it:


@Kapusta, they also mentioned at the 11 minutes mark that ridding clipless is more... wait for it... efficient :p Don't want to bring back this whole discussion, it just gave me a chuckle went I heard it, that's all :lol:

I have flat pedals on my mountain bikes... the rest of my bikes have Speedplay Frogs on them. I still wonder why the hell I didn't use clipless when I first started riding a road bike. For the first year, I used the lame toe-clip, strap pedals that were standard on my Trek 1.1.

Thanks for bringing another Clipless vs Flats thread to my attention, I would certainly not want to miss another re-hash:)

I use frogs on my mountain bike. Love them. I used to use them all the time on my road bike, but I am actually starting to go with flats a lot of the time on that now.

I could easily use Frogs on my hardtail 29er... but most of my rides with that bike are leisurely rail trail rides with my wife. On those rides, we hop on and off our bikes quite a bit, so clipless would be a hassle. I love Speedplay Frogs on my Gravel Bike. I don't think there could be a more perfect pedal for a gravel bike than a Speedplay Frog.

Luckily, I have wide feet, and never got dragged into the option of toe clips and straps. Tried them once (also because they came on a used bike I bought), and immediately quit using them.

I still have my toe clip/strap pedals in storage. I've tried to give them away to several people and nobody would take them. :D

Even worse, mine came on those stupid MKS Quill pedals, I can't even use them without the clip for platforms because they dig into the bottom of my feet!

That whole pedal setup is in my goodwill bin, to giveaway freely if I ever encounter anyone that wants them.

You're welcome :D

For me, it is mtb riding that I REALLY want the clipless. Sort of the opposite of the conventional wisdom, I know. But in the case of Frogs, I find them so fast and easy to get in and out of, that flats don't really give me any extra flexibility or confidence. I can drop an inside foot on a botched corner and be clipped back in by the end of the next pedal stroke. I do ride flats a few times a year, mostly for the extra skills they keep sharp.

Truth be known, if I am going on a long challenging road ride ("road" for me is anything from pavement to gravel/dirt roads), I still tend towards the frogs over flats. I use flats on my workout rides and other shortish rides more out of convenience, since I am often shooting around town on the same bike, and flats are way more practical for that.

I'm the opposite... my feet look like rulers. Narrow B width. I didn't have any issues with toe clips/strap pedals....I'd use jogging shoes with them and never had any trouble. If I had to choose between toe clip/straps and flats... I'd definitely go with flats.

Yeah, I've never noticed the "pulling up" to be much of a thing. Maybe that's one of the things that makes spinning smoother, but I don't ever feel myself *trying* to generate power by pulling up. Probably there is a certain amount of "pulling up" that automatically happens biomechanically because you're securely attached to the pedal, And likely that does add something to the power of your pedal stroke, however minuscule, but for me it's the least of clipless's benefits.

I never really moved past the "let me try and jump this" stage...

I too took my first ride with clipless pedals yesterday. It was a very interesting experience. One of the reasons that I switched is that over a period of time, my foot would hang off the side of the pedal. The clipless pedals feel like they hold my feet in place for what feels like proper form. I did notice that in high gear, I could pull back at the end of the down stroke which was not possible without clipless pedals.

I ride clipless because it feels so much better on my knees. Even a few laps around the bike shop parking lot unclipped on a test ride reminded me how much I prefer to be clicked in. It initially took a couple of weeks of minor tweaking, but after I got it just right it was like everything fell into alignment. Maybe I'm not "pulling up" but I do make a point to activate my hamstrings sometimes to relax my quads and relieve some knee pressure. Probably wrong, but works for me. One thing I don't see mentioned much that also helps me is watching my heel position.

I am completely "unschooled" in cycling technique, but I notice that when I'm pedalling & want to pick up the cadence I instinctively start pulling up with my clipless for a few rotations.

I made the jump to clipless (SPD-SL) this spring, and I love it. It's mainly a security thing - I feel much more confident standing and moving around on climbs/descents, in part because I'm trusting the shoe to support my stupid skinny feet while the pedal just does its thing. I also find the clipless system easier to get into than other types of foot retention (though unclipping is a different story).

It's funny because my husband - a huge fan of oldschool clips and straps - first got me into using foot retention, but now I get made fun of for my "special fancy bike riding shoes." :p

Interesting thread. It took me a while to realize that "clipless" was not what I thought it was. :) I'm old but thought about trying these, but since my accident last fall (broken femur, non-cycling related) I must admit I'm pretty damn sensitive to anything that might relate to a repeat. :o If I wanted to give this a try, would a trainer be a good way to try them?

You could use a trainer or going to the local soccer field might be an option.

Grass is softer than pavement. :thumb:

Yep. Also try the Click'R pedals first, they have a much easier release. Make sure you use SH56 cleats, which are silver, they release in all directions.

Or do what I did, I used a (paved in my case) trailed with grass on both sides. I for example rode on the right side of the trail, slowed down and unclipped my left foot. If I fell, I would have fallen on my right, onto the grass. Rode several passes on both the right and left side to train unclipping from both sides.

Or just ride to work.


-Tim-

Yeah, did that first. Didn't go too well. Bruised knee and elbow... Turns out grass is softer than pavement :eek:

It is what I did at first, it was good for learning the mechanics of unclipping and getting tension set right. Clipping in it didn't simulate as well, having to balance while moving to get the second foot in, that just involved riding.