why do some prefer straps to clipless?
 

Other than straps being cheaper or more stylish, is there a functional/performance reason?

Cause I can wear any shoes I want with them

My heels don't fit my Looks.

mmmhmm.



you get good(not super great, but good) power transfer without having to lug around two pairs of shoes if you wanna chill somewhere.

Most people are unable to find shoes for clipless that you can walk comfortably in, and don't look like what an astronaut would wear.. I was fortunate enough to find some I can wear around school all day, or even around town. Shimano somethings, I don't think they make them anymore. Sure they're not running shoes what with the stiff sole (wouldn't want to walk more than 2 miles in them at once), but I'd rather bike than walk around, so the power transfer makes up for it.

If you're actually planning on riding, go clipless :p

just a matter of taste. i've used both. both are good for some bikes for some things for some people. just depends on the bike, the use, and the person.

the ease of being able to wear any shoe you want. it got to be very annoying having to wear only clipless shoes so i had to go back to straps but went to double straps. i LOVE clipless for the power and control aspect but hate it for its lockdown method. i wasn't used to being so locked in and didn't find it very safe to use in traffic(of course i was using shimano spd's so that could be a factor of it) i may plan on trying to score a used pair of time attacks and see what the rave is about them. overall straps are very practical for daily use

I commute on fixed with toe clips. It's easier to jump off the bike and do my thang.

I've used Times on my mountain bike for years. They're amazing.

I once heard somebody say they would never ride in shoes they couldn't run up the stairs in. I liked that.

Because I'm not a Sunday cyclist. I ride to get places, and I need to walk when I get there.

can you take a pic of them, or take a look what model they are, I have been looking around for some. If you can wear them through a school day, those are the ones fo me.

Because if youve ever pulled out of a clipless pedal you will understand that brakeless clipless is very, very scary.

Straps are more practical, who wants to bring 2 pairs of shoes everywhere what happens when you ride, your bike down the pub? correct me if im wrong, but itsnt one of the points of riding Fixed gear having a simpler bike. you don't have brakes but you need a pair of shoes to ride your bike? that makes sense in my mind *rolls eyes*

Saw one bad wreck when I was younger racing BMX, clipless had just started to be used. Kid lost all his teeth and shattered his jaw open.


* Note:
Not to say I didn't see a ton of other bad wrecks, a broken neck, etc, but he wouldn't have gone over like he did had he just been on platforms

both. just depends on mood and purpose of ride. most of the time, i ride clips and straps because of the reasons stated above (i can wear any pair of shoes i want, great for errands, etc.). but when i go on longer rides, just to ride, then i will swap them out for clipless. clipless feels safer -- much easier to get your feet out of, if you are one of the people who pull the clips and straps tight, like me -- and they have much better power transfer. plus, on longer rides, my feet go numb with clips and straps, whereas on clipless they feel great. but yeah, for commuting, short rides, pub 'n pedals, then i like clips and straps.
also, someone above said clipless are scary if you ride brakeless. for me, it's the opposite. i've never accidentally clipped out of my Candy SL clipless pedals, but i've had a scary moment or two trying to skid with clips and straps and have my straps come loose (but i'm a big guy...)

I ride clipless on my road bike that I use for delivery because climbing hills seems much easier but I also usually end up standing around in my clipless shoes for 5-8 hours at a time and it kills my feet. More comfortable shoes and simplicity is the name of the game when I wanna ride without feeling like I am at work.

hardly relates to this conversation though, since hardly anyone advocates riding only platforms. he'd have still been fscked if he was in clips & straps, id imagine.

i ride with clips & straps because i usually am going to work, or going to a friends house, or going to class when i ride. for just going on a ride, clipless would be good, but thats less frequently the case.

You would be stupid to race BMX without clipless, you only get half the power otherwise. I raced for seven years with clips, almost like second nature to me now, I'm not trying to be mr. hippy hipster and ride around without any brakes, but you will and can get just as hurt on a bike with or without clips, I have crashed plenty and if you have your clips setup right, any sideways motion on the clip and you would pop out. I used to hit doubles and triples and occasionally screw up and clip out mid air to save my ass. Once you learn it and set it up correctly, you would have to be dumb to scorpian a bike or stay cliped in while crashing.

I think it's more frightening to pull out of straps. Going fast or downhill, if by chance you unclip, at least you can just step back down and clip back in (my experience is with eggbeaters which I love, and am way happy with the sixsixone launch spd mountain shoes, they look like skate shoes). I tried clips and straps for a while and was sketching when bombing down steep hills because I wasn't confident I could get back in the straps if my feet slipped out. So I guess it really depends on your style, speed and terrain.

On a different note, I have been rocking PowerGrips upon suggestion from several BFFGs and I must say that they truly are the jam.

I had several bad falls with first and second generation clipless from Look and Time. It was possible to pull out of these pedals on the upstroke, and the early attempts at including float in the systems (red Look cleats, for instance) were prone to disengaging on the down stroke. This resulted in unpleasantness when it occured during, say, a 1/pro field sprint. I am told that these problems have been solved, but early experiences put me off the whole business, so I went back to clips and straps and have rarely looked back. (I have Eggbeaters on my mountain bike, and can pull out of them on the upstroke.)

Properly set up clips and straps are extremely secure. This is a dying art, as there are few straps that work correctly -- and they are NOT inexpensive: a good pedal/strap setup can easily cost $250 -- and even fewer shoes with good cleats. Right now I am using Campagnolo laminated straps, Campy steel clips, and Campy Super Record pedals, none of which have been made in the last 15 years or so. I am also using an even older pair of ventilated leather shoes with wooden soles and extremely deep cleat slots. This is a reliable, comfortable setup which absolutely holds up to the most violent sprint, but can also be adjusted to allow the foot to be pulled out in an emergency. Too bad it can't do both at the same time.

i dont use clips because tennis shoes look stupid with spandex

True true, but my head still relates the two.

The second, and more pertinent one these days, is I don't feel comfortable riding them in city traffic, which is where I spend most of my time on my bike.

Like I said, clipless wasn't really being used 10 years ago, at least where I was. I only saw a few select people at Nationals/Grands with them. I'm sure things are different today (actually looking again at getting a BMX bike, if I can find a nice shape mid-90's Haro Group 1 frameset to build) and I can understand the power aspect, but it really put me off to them.

Don't get me wrong, I've ridden them on one of my mountain bikes, and one of my road bikes, but I personally feel more comfortable with straps. This might be different if I had a fixed gear, but I ride a single speed conversion soooo...

It's Kinky.............and they cost a lot of money when MKS is stamped on them