powergrip straps
 

anyone here ever used the powergrip straps on a fixed gear? i saw one dude a long time ago riding with them, and ive always wondered if they would work or not.

they work like a champ. especially if you like to wear big goofy clunky shoes that don't fit in normal toeclips.

i always have trouble skidding in toe clips. its sooo much easier in clipless, but sometimes i just dont want to walk into a bar with my clipless shoes on. i was thinking about buying these as alternative pedals when i just want to walk like a normal person.

tried 'em for a day
then went back to clips and straps

why?

arent they made of neoprene?

are MKS and kristophe (or however you spell it) pretty comparable as far as sizing goes? (XL MKS=XL kristophe). are there any combinations of pedal/clips that seem to work better than others?

i think they are more of a canvas type material. at least thats what they felt like. my brother has them on his Rivendell and his Quickbeam. I didnt try skidding or anything on the Qbeam, but they felt pretty secure and seemed like a good alternative in "foot retention systems"

I have them on a singlespeed and I like them. They are the closest I'll ever get to being clipless since I don't have a buckage for clipless shoes/pedal systems.

I definitely recommend that the pedal that you use with them if you are just buying the straps have the pointed teeth for easier entry. I have another pair that I got from Nashbar and the pedal didn't have pointed teeth and isn't as easy to get into. Sometime I have to look down to get into them which is dangerous in traffic.

I've got them and love them. They are attatched to some generic MTB platforms and I can my chucks in and out of them easily and I feel that after clipless they are the best option. I've had mine for about 6 months now and they are starting to look a little ragidy, so I'll keep you all updated with how long they last.

On a side note, the bracket hangs out kind of far and I've clipped that on the ground multiple times, I've got the scratches on the bracket to prove it.

I got some which i still have to mount (only got them recently). The material is some sort of composite, seems very tough. I'd guess using them for a day is unlikely to give you much of clue about them unless you put in A LOT of miles

shants has the biggest ***** in the world for power grips

are they good for huge feet w/ big clunky boots? i read awhile back that some little jiggly part of the mechanism would bend and break with large shoes, but was fine with small shoes? anyone have any experience with powergrips and toobigfeets?

They make extra-large/long straps, which are basically two power grip straps stitched together to make it longer. btw, in addition to the powergrip strap I have the nylon strap (that used to be on my old pair of cages), which also wraps around my foot, -just incase the power grip strap tears or breaks when I need it most.

okay. i love powergrips. i have pretty average-sized feet (wear between 8.5-10, depending on the shoe). basically, they are the ultra****ingjam for the following reasons:

* you can easily adjust them to accomodate different sized shoes and boots (i've ridden with combat boots on, but not super large winter-type ones). you cannot really do the same with clips without bending them.

* when properly setup (you have them tight enough for your particular shoes), they fit very snugly and allow very good power transfer. easily as good or better than clips and straps (see following reason for why they are better than clips/straps for everyday riding) for being able to utilize your upstroke and for skidding.

* they are amazingly easy to get in and out of. since you insert your foot at an angle and then rotate your foot to tighten, it is a total breeze. with clips and straps, you have to set the "tightness" so that you have a snug fit but can also get in and out easily (that is, unless you tighten and loosen the straps EVERY TIME you ride). this is probably the absolute best thing about them. i never worry about getting my foot caught in my clips when i have to bail or when i am dismounting.

now, to address the issues with the hardware. once i crashed into an asshat of a pedestrian on a cell phone and it bent the angled bracket. this is to be expected. of course, you hear reports of people bending this very same piece (or, more commonly, bending/breaking the adjustment clamp) in normal riding. i am a skinny and pretty lightweight bastard, so i don't think i put the same stresses on them as someone who is larger. because of the design, i also think that you are more likely to have problems if you have larger feet. i could draw a diagram, but i am not feeling articulate enough right now to describe exactly why this is the case. it has to do with additional torque being placed on the hardware due to increased amount of foot hanging over the side of the pedal. i have never had a problem, however.

all said, i think they are really a superior design for street and everyday riding. but, they could really afford to have beefier hardware. if you aren't a massive mother****er, i don't think that you will have any problems, however.

I rode on those ... 12 years ago. They were awesome and I totally recommend them. Just straighten out your foot and you're locked down. Getting out of the straps (when you want to) couldn't be easier. Flip them inside out and go no logo styles ...

just out of personal experience, i bent the hardware my first day trying to tighten them down to the point where i would not pull the strap out when applying back pressure. i didnt over torque, installed the right way, etc. called the company, they agreed without any problem to send new hardware. sounded like it was a routine issue for them. while waiting for the hardware to arrive, i put my clip/strap back on, and subsequently broke the other pedals' hardware while adjusting. again, called, they sent the hardware to me no problem, again i put my old clip/strap back on. the clip/strap are still on, the new hardware wallows in the box o' parts.

with a little investment in making the hardware a little more diesel, they would be a great product, but i have heard too much about the failures of the adjustment system (a very small screw holding down the kevlar/canvas material is the weakpoint) they coulkd be a great product. otherwise, breakable. stick with the classic.

So does the extra bit of material/bracket hanging down from the end of the pedal not cause problems on a fixed gear?

See pic here for reference: http://www.performancebike.com/shop/...28&PID=484346#

I would think that bit would scrape the ground on every corner.

i wish they would make that piece beefier. i really really really want to feel confident enough in these to invest.

I have a set on my fixie folder. They're okay - much better than anything else if you're riding in combat boots or in cubicle-slave office shoes on lunchtime errands - but I find that I can't pull up like I want to without my feet untwisting. Maybe it's a technique thing.

The extra bit of fabric just makes "scurf" noises when you corner hard. Once you realise it's not pedal strike, it's no biggie.

Boots, I'm a 100kg torque monster; they're surviving my abuses. Plenty tough enough.

I've cut mine down to where there is only about an inch to 3/4 of an inch hanging out. It acts as a sort of warning gauge when going through corners actually- when I hear that scrap I know I have a little farter then pedal strike, so I kind of like it for that.

I completely agree with shants on all the above stated reasons why they rock, and as for they breaking, I'm about 180 (spread out over 6'1") and I've torque ****ed the bolts won and never broken them. Just my experiences.

i tend to think that - feel free to suggest that i am wrong - the hardware problems are probably caused by a combination of a heavy rider and large feet.. or maybe just one or the other. i actually am inclined to believe that larger feet really are the major culprit (or people who ride with the flat of their foot on the pedal instead of the ball), because every extra cm of foot that hangs over the pedal puts a significantly larger amount of torque on the adjustment hardware.

Thats probably true about the weight and size, I wear a size 11.5 in my chucks and I only get the ball of my foot onto the pedal. It could also be from not having your foot straight on the pedal-- if your foot is actually pushing on the hardware from being cocked off to the side it could easily put esxtra stress on the hardware.

I am seing some significant wear problems on the inside (nearest the frame) part of the strap, outside of that I a totally satisfied with them.

i've been totally killing the pair that i have on my commuter for over a year now and they are just now displaying signs of battle damage. they are certainly more durable than any straps i've ever seen from a clip/strap setup, in any case.