Until you unlip by accident and the difference will not be negligible.
Of course you can unclip by accident with clips and straps too. Usually when the straps fails.
However, that's not a product feature, but a product failure and is usually the owners fault for not maintaining his ride.

Now THAT is a blanket statement! (But of course you are right. )

ha! you have to take up that one with jacopo belbo.

I actually read that book and didn't recognize the quote until now.
Probably Eco's most difficult book - at least for me.

You've slipped out twice in one week, so of course you don't trust them. I've never slipped out in 3+ years, so guess what: No matter how many times you say clipless pedals all suck and I will slip out of them I'm not gonna buy it. They work great for me. When I chose not to use them it's not because of reliability. Your experience apparently differs from most people's. That doesn't make you wrong, but it certainly doesn't make you an expert.

Just think about it logically and the choice should be easy.

Right. Spend the money for new pedals on strippers!

Brand new cleats.....When yer going as fast as you can and you have to lock up on the line...that split second initial torque screwed me. Pulled straight out. It does happen. I am not saying either is best for all applications but clips and straps have never failed me. And yes I ate the pavement.....hard. On a previous run I got third. ECMC Rotterdam.

Yes, it is not that clipless constantly unclip. Most of the time they are just fine. Unfortunately, they tend to unclip when you least want it - usually when putting lots of strain on them. Strain of course depends on riding style, preference of braking method, terrain, etc.
So if you go on long moderate rides in rolling country with little traffic. Clipless might never fail you.
If you enjoy going down steep hills with no hand brakes, pitching your bike sideways to scrub speed then clipless is certainly the wrong choice.

dude, again with the blanket statements! like mattface said, it might have been the "wrong" choice for you, but it's the "right" one for me. ok?

But it is true! (and it's not a blanket statement but an example to illustrate my point).

Take each pedal and put them through the same trials. Use on for a wide variety of terrains. Test them for general riding, tricks, commuting, racing, etc (all on fixed of course). Do hockey stops, skids, sprints, fast spinning, etc. Test them with brakes, no brakes, high gears, low gears, and so on. On a whole one pedal system will emerge to be a lot more reliable than the other.

correct. has this been done yet? no. all we have is what different people are reporting under different conditions. you can't make unequivocal conclusions from that.

So regardless of what we all know about the different nature of each pedal system it is still impossible to deduce which one is more reliable under certain circumstances?

July 5. It's observed as a holiday by longshoremen on the west coast to this day (July 5, that is, whichever day of the week it falls on) with picnics and rallies and such. All the ports from San Diego to Vancouver shut down.

Track bike. Single speed. Fixed gear bicycle. Fixed gear fixie messenger skid Pabst Blue ribbon.

ah, okay. I didn't really think that one through. ouch.

ive pulled out of my time atacs skidding hard down hills. but if i adjust the way i twist my foot when im skidding, i can keep it from happening. and plus, with clipless, i dont look like a ****** if i lose my trackstand. which doesnt happen often. but theres nothing more embarassing than falling face first in a crosswalk.

powergrips -- you're not coming out of the ****ing strap when you skid... and you can get out of it far easier than either clipless or clips and straps when you want to. end of story.

Well I hope your happy sr20det

Its even worse when you do it with clipless, don't get out in time, and fall over next to another bicyclist and in front of a cop car, who's occupants start cracking up and tell you, over the loud speaker, "smooth one". Luckily I have no pride as it is, so it was all fun

oh shants, you and your powergrips. when i get home from the holidays, im gonna shop for them. im pretty excited about it. every logical bone in my body tell me that i should get them. its time i stop resisting the urge....

Suntour Sprints

ready?!?!?...

ideally platforms-big ones-i had a pair of bmw shinburgers and i absolutely loved them till my old ride got stolen-they were amazing to behold and insane to experience-the grip was unbelievable and they got comments and looks all the f-in time- it felt like you were standing on the ground; you could get down on them and it felt ok to do so- top of the line all the way- i ride in the city (lots of on/off type stuff) on a converted 12spd ssfw w/ front brake and i never felt more in control than on those pedals- you could feel so much in your feet just from their massive surface area; they were wide and were semi-prone to catching on things curbs or otherwise if one werent careful-it hurt when i got bit but they did make me more conscious of all actions that were pedal related- my ears burned every time i heard then scrape on the street or curbs or whatever- i saw dollar signs floating floating away from me- that being said riding clipped in freaks me out more than almost any pedal bite i may receive- platforms arent for everyone; i love them and nothing else makes sense to me @ this time.

you had BMW SHINBURGERS!?
I don't have the balls to ride on those pedals. Its the same as riding on Meat Mincing Hammers... or pedals that shred your shins into beef patties.


+ they're so expensive.. yet so BLING!
not wanting to be a weight weenie but CRAP! these are like gold bricks man, 844g for the pair.
I commend you for sporting these pedals.

i've been switching between sylvan/clips and spd's, right now i'm riding my spd's