if Most People fall at least once when using clipless, why use them at all?

I've heard the following:

1. Better Power transfer
2. Better more consistent knee alignment == less knee pain
3. More confidence on bike with a solid connection to the pedal

To #1 I ask, how much time/power do you lose picking yourself up?
To #2, my first clipless fall resulted in landing on my knee. Now it aches all the time.
To #3, I'm constantly worrying that I'll need to stop suddenly and not get clipped out in time. So much for confidence.

I'm still using clipless, but I can't explain why to any of my non-clipless friends like I used to.

What are your reasons?

thats easy - because the pros do.

1. After the first fall, I have lost no time or power because I don't fall anymore.
2. HTFU and be a man.
3. Practice, practice, practice.

Power transfer and comfort. The power thing is measurable, and it's about 20% power difference for me on a 20% grade. Less of a difference on lower grades.

Confidence will come.

You need to start riding with the grown-ups now

4. If you buy new they come with a warranty.

pros outweigh the cons.

Oddly enough, the knee is fine when I'm on the bike. It's off that it hurts. Probably due to the better knee alignment with clipless. So I guess I have an excuse to just ride more. Isn't that the ultimate goal of any question posted on BF anyway?

fify

This is actually a variation of the "because the pros do" argument...
I can speak only for myself, but I've done the same 25-mile RT commute thousands of times since 1979, on I don't know how many bikes--a recumbent, my singlespeed, at least two mountain bikes and four or five conventional bikes including my Atlantis, Rambouillet, old Trek and a Specialized Allez. Tires have ranged from 23s to 41s on the roadies, and from knobbies to 100psi slicks on the mountain bikes. Pedals include platforms alone, with toe clips and Power Grips, BMX flatties and two clipless systems.
At least for me, the pedals make no difference at all. Tires count most, and how I'm feeling that day is probably second. There's NO correlation between my fast or slow days and the pedals i'm using. I'm not saying they don't work for some people, at least psychologically, but over roughly 3000 identical rides, they haven't made a difference for me.

How DARE you reference non-anecdotal evidence. Blaspheme!

I don't think so.....pros tend to be pretty skinny. cons seem to always be huge. it's probably because all they do is lift weights and eat.

disagree, have you ever seen a con addicted to crack?

It's easier to pedal at a high cadences.

thank you. I was hoping for that.

Are you comparing clipless pedals to toe clips? Or to platform pedals with no clips?
There is a very noticeable performance difference vs. platform pedals. I've heard numbers as high as a 30% advantage.
Compared to toe clips (with good biking shoes), the performance difference is minimal, but clipless are easier to use and more comfortable.

I've been riding long enough to have been part of the clips'n'cleats era. Guess what: you can fall over in those too. If anything, you are more likely to fall over with clips'n'cleats, because you need to loosen your toestrap before you can escape. Admittedly, this action quickly becomes second nature, but if you slow to a halt and have a momentary brain-fart, you're going over.

Here's another reason clipless pedals are better: comfort. Honking down on your toestraps will cause your feet to go numb, or hurt, or generally be bad, because you're relying on a 1-cm strap of leather to restrain your foot instead of the whole shoe upper.

Power transfer and more-solid connections don't strike me as valid arguments for clipless pedals. You can be very solidly locked in with clips'n'cleats, which probably explains why they're still relatively popular among trackies. I never saw a set of traditional cleats that allowed for float (although they often acquired a little play just through use),so I think the knee-alignment issue has some validity. I've come to rely on the float in my Bebops.

Because regular pedals would scratch the carbon fiber soles on my Sidi's.

Clearly bicycle riding is too hard for you. Have you considered golf, or perhaps watching golf on TV?

I guess it depends on how much of a poseur you are.


Still tough to beat this...

That's not too much of a scientific study with all those variables in there. The matrix would consume a large hard drive.

My test was: same bike, same wheels, same tires, same hill, same weather conditions. 20% power difference, measured with my PowerTap (stomp tested the same before and after the rides).

I think the point was that his experience did span a range of variables and that made pedal choice statistically insignificant.

That's fine, but my point was that on climbs, it makes a difference, and I have data that prove it. Let's try all those equipment configurations up Smokey Valley and Ladera Norte in Austin and see if the arrival times are the same.

I'm not making a "because the pros do it" statement. I'm telling the OP that you have more power available with clipless systems. Period.

If you choose to ride at a power level below the benefit threshold, that's another story.

Fair enough. My point really was that Velo Dog's data was probably more realistic than the majority of "data" tossed about around here

On par at best

it does make a huge difference on climbs. i ride a bike with clipless and one with platform and the same hill will be easy on one and damn hard with extra effort required on the other.