brakeless and clips or breakless and clipless
 

im thinking in racing scenarios (such as mostertrack) it might be worth it to use some clipless for the extra power, but on day to day rides, im thinking of turning in my eggbeaters for some old school straps etc.

any thoughts on which is safer?

I dont think one is safer than the other. I ride clips and straps because I like wearing regular shoes... and I think double toe straps are comfortable as hell. Ride with what you like... admitedly, ive never tried clipless. I'm curious, but I don't really want to put out the money to change.

I've been running clipless fixed and really like it. Much easier to stomp in than it is to try to get clipped pedals flipped over and tightened on the fly.

If safety is your main concern, I'm not sure how to look at it. It is pretty easy to get out of clipless pedals in a hurry once you have trained yourself to instinctively rotate your heel outwards when you need to put a foot down. Toe clips and straps are a pain for me because once I get them tight enough to let me use them for pedaling effectively, I can't yank my foot out of them quickly.

My vote would be to keep the eggbeaters on there. I'm not sure why people like clips and straps so much. Maybe it's for the image ;-)

slight derail: does anyone really have a problem getting feet into straps? It takes me about 30 minutes to get used to a new pair of pedals but once i've got it I can do it in my sleep...

I have them both and I enjoy them both. I don't think either is safer. I enjoy being able to wear normal shoes so I usually ride clips and straps on a normal basis and clipless when I'm bored. That said I think clips and straps would be best for alleycats...I feel like I'm at least as profiecient at riding with clipless as the normal roadie but I still think I can get out of clips faster.

i ride with double straps because i like riding in regular shoes as well.

in regards to macG's first comment, entering them is instinctive and fast, and once i've got the straps set for my feet, i don't have to tighten them down every time i ride, they just fit.

as for the saftey, i can't say. i know people who ride with fixed and clipless with no problems, but i've also pulled out of clipless pedals on my road bike. i don't want to pull out when i'm skidding to a stop in traffic.

i've never pulled out of a set of double straps.

Once you try it, you'll probably fall in love with it. The biggest advantages for me are being able to pull straight backwards on the pedals without sliding out of the clips, and having a solid but comfortable connection to the pedal.

As for shoes, I've been wearing my cheap Shimano shoes pretty much everywhere since they're pretty comfortable as long as you don't need to walk miles at a time.

See if someone with a similarly sized foot will let you try their pedals out on your bike or just let you lace up the shoes and take their bike around the block. SPD type pedals and shoes aren't that expensive. I'm using pedals from Nashbar ($35) and entry level Shimano MO21 shoes ($50) I bought locally. I'm very happy with both.

I'm moving on wednesday and then i will be very very poor :/ I do want to try though.

Clipless is safer because they release in crashes, unlike that unmoveable uncaring block of leather.

well i have had both. i never could seem to get the hang of skidding and skipping with clips/straps, but then again i never took off the break. now i ride with eggbeaters and can almost do a fully weighted skid so i feel comfortable. its just that i was bombing down this street a few days ago, had to do an emergency stop and one cleat popped out the eggbeater. after the near death experience, i have started considering going back to clips.

my vote is certainly fer clipless.
always releasing in crashes though?
depends on yer setup.
my bike has a tendency to remain attached to me via my feet.

i mostly crash on the singletrack on my mtn bike, tho.
and am well aware that mtn bikes are looked down upon in this forum.
even if they're fixed.

apologies for the mini-rant.

"go clipless!"

i've yet to unclip accidentlally, my feet have slipped out of the cages though. i'd try both and go with what you like or what is more practical for the situation.

I am a sucker for convenience though, I geared down and took off my clipless pedals recently and am a lot happier just for errand running.

the big advantage to cliples from my perspective is gaining the 5 o clock to 7 o clock part of your spin---with clips and straps my foot would always pull out when i tried to scrape the bottom of my circle. Also, i find them easier to get out of--with straps, everyitme i got them tight enough i had trouble getting out and when i did get out i would have to retighten. The only drawback so far for the clipless is trainign yourself not to casually rotate your heel

so i guess its just me who has had a bad run in with a cleat popping out. do you think that means its time to replace the cleats in my shoes? i looked at my eggbeaters and there doesnt seem to be much wear on them

If i need that part of my spin I just point my toes down at the bottom of my rotation... no problems.

for me, clipless is a much better ride than clips. it's easier to get in and out and the power transfer seems better. the only problem is not wanting to wear the shoes for going to class or whatever short rides, so i keep both around.

crank brother's the cleats will wear faster than the 'pedal' (its intentional since a little cleat is much less expensive and easier to replace than servicing the pedal.) definitely worth checking out, that said i've seen a few other people hear complain about popping out of their eggbeaters, ymmv and if its on the bad side crank bros service department rocks.

Eggbeaters are not adjustable (to my knowledge) but I keep my SPD-type pedals adjusted to have a pretty firm release tension to reduce the chances of pulling out by accident.

The downside is that a casual flip of the ankle sometimes won't unclip my foot, which can make for an embarassing situation when you don't have another half second to try again. Arriving at school this afternoon (technically yesterday), I unclipped my right foot as I decelerated up to the door and came to a stop, but I leaned left for some reason instead of right, and my left foot didn't come out of the pedal on the first yank, making the second and third desperate yanks as I slowly tipped sideways look pretty funny to the crowd of smokers 50 feet away. crash. It happens.

spring tension is not adjustable, amount of float is, two options depending on which way the cleats are installed...

Sounds like a good theory, and maybe you've had different experiences, but even in two of the semi-spectacular crashes I've had I haven't had an trouble with double straps and clips. Maybe I'm just lucky or maybe I'm doing something that makes it work for me, but I don't feel like I'd be any better off in a crash with clipless.

what kind of crap is that about clipless being safer in a crash...
...if you crash, you crash. period. i think the more important
thing is that with clipless you're more likely to accidentally
unclip, something that doesn't happen with clips and straps.
straps can also be adjusted without tools in seconds
...all of this stuff has been discussed so much already though.
just find out what you're most comfortable with and go with it.

Word. This issue is more polarizing than the threadless vs. threaded debate.

yeah, in a crash, crashes are probably more dangerous than which pedals. i mean, maybe clipless release in a crash, but maybe they won't, if you run 'em tight enough to not accidentally unclip under significant pressure.

+1 to travsi's "find out what you're most comfortable with and go with it."

usually takes me a day to break into a new pair of pedals, so yes. But I use the cages w/ straps and semi-tight for easy pull out when I need it.