Desert Ryder

I have new straps coming for a couple of my vintage mountain bikes.
For those that still use toe clips, Do you give the strap a twist in the pedal or do you thread it straight through?

I was always taught to put a twist in it when I rode a road type bike and it carried over to my MTB cages and straps.
What say you?

ShannonM

Yes.

The twist helps prevent the strap from sliding through the pedal when you pull it tight.

Nylon straps should be twisted twice... They're slippery.

--Shannon

3alarmer 

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...depends on the pedal and the straps. They should stay where you put them, the buckles shouldn't move.
If I can do that without a twist, I do so. With some pedal/strap combinations, the twist is redundant. With some, a half twist is enough.

With pedal/ strap combinations that are difficult to insert in the first place, they usually stay where they are without it.

There are a lot of limp assed toe straps, made and sold now, that don't work well regardless of what you do. Pet peeve.

rekmeyata

The twist is just old school tradition that hasn't died, and rightfully so, it does help keep the leather strap from sliding through the pedals, but also reduced rub/teeth wear on the strap from the buckle making it last a bit longer. So what they would do is put a single twist in the strap, after riding a while the teeth on the buckle would begin to wear the strap, so before they got bad, they would put another twist into the strap effectively shortening the strap which means the teeth on the buckle would bite into an area of the strap that is fresh, so they would keep doing that as time went by, and that is why you don't want to cut the strap to shorten it.

Some later pedals like Suntour Cyclone and Superbe have set screws to hold the strap in position. Those pedals would not fit regular leather straps, so nylon straps were necessary, there were some thinner leather straps but they were cheaper and wouldn't last as long.

Fredo76

Of course! Every un-twisted traditional toe-strap I see is a mistake to me.

datlas 

Of course

79pmooney

+1 With good pedals and straps, I do not twist the straps until they've stretched and started slipping when I pull hard on the straps. The twist takes the buckle to fresh leather.

SurferRosa

I didn't do the twist with my Bottecchia when I recently added brand new leather straps. I was either just lazy or apathetic about it, maybe both.

robobike316 

I have always done the twist.

smd4

My straps are held in place securely by the cleat plate. No need to twist. Which uses up valuable length better suited to strapping in my size 12s. Additionally, twisting would obscure the "Bianchi Dino" labeling.

But even worse than twisting is placing the end of the strap through the "buckle," as seen above. Don't forget toe strap buttons! The Velo ORANGE Blog: Toe Strap Buttons are Cufflinks for Your Bike (velo-orange.blogspot.com)

KerryIrons

And yet somehow I was able to ride toe clips with un-twisted straps for a couple of decades before getting clipless pedals. Alfredo Binda forever!

79pmooney

In my younger and more aggressive fix gear riding days, I used to have a more pressing concern than strap twist. Making the buckle (especially the left buckle) friendly to the hand that reached a little too far for the strap. I ripped my finger open a few times on the lower tab where the strap is (never) pushed through. I used to cut that tab off with wire cutters, then file smooth so there was nothing to catch skin. I also Speedy Stitched 1/8" cord in a loop to the strap ends. This served like those buttons to keep the end of a shortish strap slipping through and provided a very finger friendly handle to grab. (Fix gear - basically a machine that will grab and crush or shred anything caught in it.)

Fredo76

"Binda binders", as a friend called them, were the best, alright!

Speedway2

I actually had to check my bike (picked up during Covid lock-down).....the only one that has toe clips/straps.
I started riding with straps in the mid-70's and twisted them back then and I had put a twist on this one too.
I guess Old habits are hard to break .....

JohnDThompson 

Cyclone has the set screw to prevent the strap from move; Superbe Pro doesn't. I can see where it would be helpful if you run a nylon strap on the Superbe Pro pedal, but I've managed to get leather straps installed on them. It took some serious tugging with pliers on the straps, but it's snug enough that they stay put even without the twist (which wouldn't work anyway, with the limited room from the X-shaped body extrusion. The Cyclone pedals came out after Superbe Pro and I suspect the set screw was added after getting feedback from users.

N.B., that's a Binda laminated strap on the Superbe Pro pedal, so pretty thick.

smd4

Can you loosen the Superbe’s cleat plate to allow easier installation of the strap?

JohnDThompson 

No, the issue is the holes in the body extrusion, not the cage plate.

smd4

Ah. My holes are “open” on one side, where the cleat plate forms the rear “wall” of the hole. I couldn’t see if yours were constructed the same way.

JanMM

Haven't used toe clips since mid-90's but still have some straps that come in handy for a variety of uses, some of which are bicycle-related.

alcjphil

I still have my last set of pedals with straps. The straps are not leather, but a composite plastic and the buckles are similar to ones used on many shoes for clipless pedals. They were great. You could ratchet the buckle to tighten the strap and there was a button to push to release tension. You could not twist those straps at all

rsbob 

Next we will learn if people are using twisted safety straps with their cable bindings and wood skis.

ShannonM

Unlike cable bindings and wooden skis, there actually do exist cycling situations in which toe clips and straps are the best choice.

Road racing and fast recreational riding aren't those situations, true, but there's more to cycling than just those things.

So the question is valid, and useful, and the correct answer to it is: twist the straps.

--Shannon

smd4

But only if necessary to keep the straps from moving.

rsbob 

Sorry that came off as snarky. I used toe straps back in the day, but also was a skier who used safety straps on their cable binding and was so relieved when the ski industry moved to independent bindings, first with safety straps, then brakes. Since I always thought that being strapped onto the pedals in an emergency situation was inherently dangerous - can’t get the feet out in a moments notice - I was happy to move away to clipless. I certainly don’t begrudge those who keep the old ways alive and well. Carry on.

mackgoo

Yes.