toe clips or clipless for city fixie riding?
 

I just picked up an IRO Mark V to thrash around Boston with. I'm trying to figure out whether I want to go with a clipless setup, or just use toe clips. Any advice would be appreciated.

do you have a preference? have you tried each? which is more comfortable for you/your wallet?

people will answer you like this:
1-clips are best
2-clipless is best
3-search for this topic, already been done.

i side with clips, cristophe steel clips (the ones that say "christophe" down the middle section in nice vertically stamped letters) with alfredo binda leather straps (the ones with the little hole to loop and pull the excess through) or toshi double straps (the ones that are double straps, leather, etc). i dont know a thing about clipless.

Toe clips=sneakers, clipless=cycling shoes. Most times I prefer not to carry extra shoes around town.

nice slayer avatar.
clipless is great if you can find shoes comfortable enough to hang out in.
toe clips are great because you can wear your everyday shoes.
i usually ride clipless in the city.

I just use platforms without cages. I've managed to hit 36-37 mph downhill on them.

I have double sided pedals, I can go both ways

its all about the clips

I'd say clipless, but that's because all the clips I've tried are uncomfortable. Now if I could find something nice, that fit a huge foot and had some shoes that are more "made" for that kind of thing, I might change my mind.
Definitely finding comfortable clipless shoes is imperative though.

I've never used clipless, and I don't have any experience using toe clips on a fixie. My main concern with clipless is that I would imagine that it's very difficult to unclip while the pedals are moving. I've seen a fair amount of fixies around town with clipless, though, and I'm curious as to what they offer that the less expensive and simpler toe clips don't.

I thought that the cleats were screwed into the bottom and protruded out from the sole....are they recessed or easy removable? Like I said before, I have no experience with clipless.

Since the winter's coming up, I actually picked up a pair of Dimension mountain bike pedals ($20) to use until the spring (and I until get more comfortable with riding fixie)

Slayer saves (I have been using them with great success so far) so what I say below might not apply to you or Slayer.


The "difficulty" with clipless is not that you won't be able to unclip when you need to, but that you will unclip when you DON'T need to (like when locking up going down a steep hill, approaching an intersection etc.).

The advantage is (and that is only true if you ride with sneakers instead of cleated shoes designed for clips and straps) that you will have better power transfer. You can pull up and push down more efficiently because your clipless shoe sole is very stiff and because you are very connected to the pedal.

I've never really had a problem unclipping when I wanted to or when I didn't.

If you go clipless, get Mountain bike pedals and shoes, such as SPDs or eggbeaters. These are better because on mountain shoes the cleats are recessed in the tread on the bottom of the shoe so when you walk the cleats don't touch the ground.

Toe Clips And Straps!

S/f,
Ceya!

ideally.

i've definitely seen a lot of bad shoes around, and people wearing badly-fitting shoes. the point of bike shoes is not the same as walking shoes, which provide comfort upon downward pressure. cycling shoes need to fit more like a glove, comfortable, snug, and stiff all the way around.


i ride clips and straps. shoes--good shoes--and clipless pedals... they're too expensive for me. i can't afford them. but i did fall much more in love with clips and straps when i took off the large clips and put medium ones on. hooray for that.

good shoes + clipless == better torque transfer, comfy and faster. at the velodrome pretty much everyone rides clipless.

I have no idea why you would want to clip *out* while the pedals are moving, I think you mean in. The whole clip in/out issue with clipless is blown out of proportion. It is easier to get in and out of clipless (at least Looks, which I use) than it is to get in and out of cinched straps but it might take an hour or two of getting used to it and to realize the advantages. If you roll with your straps loose then your not really taking advantage of the straps, really.

Anyway, I'm not doing messenger miles but I do ride about 20 miles a day pretty much every day in Manhattan and Brooklyn and I would never want to go back to clips and straps.

Toe Clips And Straps and shimano mt-30 shoes!

clipless egg beaters and MTB shoes.
Ive always had this fear of getting stuck trying to pull my shoe out and falling over.. but hey.. thats me..

X2 ... I ride with clipless ****mano SPD and shoes. Most comfortable shoe that I own, bike or not :D

Also, the MTB SPD shoe helps you going up the stairs ... go figure.

Regarding clipping and unclipping on a fixed at high speeds .... its a matter of practice. I do it at MAD speeds, but i started doing it slow at first.

Did I mention that I love my front brake? :D

MTB shoes are good and can be great for walking, etc, but keep in mind that if you get a shoe with a flexible sole and no cinched in heel cup you're missing the boat.

To really get the benefits of clipless riding you need a shoe that has a totally stiff sole, cups your heel and has a strap system that tightens against your toes (for pulling up) and holds the shoe tight to your heel. Look at the Sidi racing shoes for what I mean. Lace up MTB shoes with flexi soles are not going to give you as efficient torque transfer or the 'i'm connected to my bike' feeling that a racing shoe will give you.

Don't discount what you get from the non-MTB style pedal/shoe systems.

clipless only... Eggbeaters with sidi dominators ( both on sale) I tried going back to clips and found that I hated it with an extreme passion. I felt like I was either gonna pull out or not be able to pull out in time. It also felt week when skidding/skipping. I'd rather go to a bar in my sidi's(which are super comfy) than use clips.

anybody have recommendations for really good, non-leather, straps?

When I switched to Time pedals (from toe clips) I got some Lake MX101 shoes, which are the cheapest option in a wide width. They were great, I loved them, I pulled an accidental wheelie on my fixed gear 'cuz I stomped/pulled up at the same time leaving a light, it was amazing. I burned the shoes and the cleats out in 8 months 'cuz I used them as my only shoes. I couldn't put new cleats on 'cuz I couldn't get an allen key in one of the bolts 'cuz it was ground down so bad AND the shoe was worn down so bad it wouldn't have protected the cleat at all. I got some Lake MX220's which also come in a wide width (for almost twice as much) and the power transfer was MINDBLOWING. I'm considering getting another pair of the 101's for my daily shoes and keeping the 220's for faster/longer rides 'cuz I can get them for a REALLY good price through work as an employee purchase. I also have a number of sets of cleats, so having an extra pair of shoes makes sense.

power grips
wear real shoe on the way to work

If you are new to fixed gear riding stay away from clipless peddals.

Why? Clipless pedals do take some getting used to, but they aren't any harder on a fixed than a regular bike. And the benefits are certainly worth it to most people.

i hear good things about power grips. they're ugly as sin but they seem like if they fit right, they might be nice, snug, and easy. certainly easier to get snug and to get out than clips/straps.

never tried them though.

For what it's worth, they're easily installed inside-out, so you don't have to advertise "POWERGRIPS" to the world if you don't want to.

toe clips and straps unless you're a bike messenger spending all day on your bike then clipless.

why clipless for messengers ? toe and clips work.

s/f,
Ceya!

Clipless shoes are more solid/sturdy and gives you better transfer of power to your pedals. If you're biking 10 hours a day that may be a more effective solution than having soft sneakers. Clipless gives you also better control since you're actually clipped to your bike. Clipless is also better for safety reasons since they clip out automatically if you crash - clips don't.

I'm all for clips as a civilian because the hassle with changing shoes is not appealing. Clipless shoes can be found in a "sneaker" version but they're never as good looking as a nice pair of Adidas or Nike.

I know this because I was a bikemessenger for 3 1/2 years in both Stockholm, Sweden and Copenhagen, Denmark.

Almost all the messengers and in san francisco that ride a FIXED GEAR bicycles and almost all the people that have been riding fixed for a long time on city streets ride with clips and straps. (Clipless is for road and mtn bikes!). Why? Because they know that clipless is unsafe on a fixed gear bicycle that does not have a handbrake (and even with a handbrake it is dangerous). They are unsafe because they are DESIGNED to release under certain amount of strain and when your foot moves sideways. This causes accidental unclipping when you least want it for example pulling a hockey stop at a busy intersection. With clips and straps this is not the case as long as you buy decent straps and check them every once in a while. True you can get more better power transfer with clipless shoes than with adidas sambas, but is you get some proper cycling shoes with a hard sole the difference is minimal.