I cycle with sneakers and the widest part is 4.5” which is wider than my pedals. Is this OK? I don’t want clipless pedals as I don’t want to have to get shoes for it maybe in the future. My bike came with toe clips and I didn’t try them until today. It felt like I was doing more RPM without losing control of foot placement and I like how my feet stood put but my toe area feels a bit odd. It’s the plastic toe clip right on top of my big toe. My shoes have the airy mesh fabric over upper part.

I have to use straps on the loosest setting. If this is the case is there any point of having the straps on the clips?

Well, people used bike shoes back when clips and straps were the only deal around. Riding in sneakers will never be as efficient as bike shoes.

Having said that your clip placement is wrong and could be too short. The clip should not be over the big toe but more toward the center of your foot. Is the ball of your foot over the pedal spindle? If you can't get your foot that far into the clip then it's too short.

Bikes that come with clips and straps tend to use cheap clips and straps since these pedals are frequently swapped out. Used to be that clips in different sizes were readily available but I don't know if that's true anymore since relatively few people use high end clips and straps anymore.

size 14. I don't use straps

I use a low-end road bike. I can get the ball of my foot onto the pedal. It's not too short. The strap goes on kind of stupid though. I had the clips as close as possible to the crank arms which would give me more surface area. I can make slight adjustments away from them. Should the big toe be between the two plastic pieces? It feels better that way but I get less surface contact on the pedals as I move my foot further away from the crank arms.

The picture in post 2 shows accurate placement. Forte is the housebrand of Performance so checking them out might be helpful.

Old fashioned pedals designed for toe clips and cleats (just like 10wheels has shown in the picture) were ALWAYS small because they were designed for shoes with cleats that raised the shoe up off the pedal. I have really small feet yet I still find these old pedals feel small If I wear street shoes. Using toe clips and straps is definitely better than using nothing so stick with it but it will never be ideal unless you use proper cycling shoes.

Anthony

I'll try the toe clips for a week probably just need to get use to them. I think I'll get some other pedals and power grips later.