I have just built a single speed and have realized why everyone uses toe clips. Yes, i rode the top tube!!! Yes, it hurt!!!
Does anyone have some recommendations as far as pedal and toe clip combinations.
I have vintage campi quills on now but am willing to switch to better pedals if need be.
Oh, and i wear a size 11 casual shoe.

Thanks to all replies

mks L or XL. best for big feet

^^^^ Yeah, you're kind of in the middle for L or XL, or get the soma double ones that are about in between there. Some people think the somas are a little too small top to bottom, but they're fine for something like chucks or sambas, not so great if you want to wear combat boots or running shoes or something. You can bend them, though, and they're fine, it just takes some work.

If you're not riding fixed, super high quality straps aren't as important, but there are options from $5 nylon rigs (which I personally like) to weird rare Japanese and Italian stuff that costs more than a purebread puppy. There are tons of strap threads, you can read a few and get a good idea of what's out there, though you'll mostly just learn that nobody can agree on anything around here.

i wear 11 1/2 and the L MKS's are fine

what about the mks half clips? They seem real practical... but do they do the job?

Yeah, if you arent too concerned with being in the pedal tight and being able to get much power on the upstroke im sure theyd be great. If youre riding casually with brakes they seem like a viable option.

The MKS clips are good. Theyll fit most 'normal' road/track pedals. A nice single strap is a good thing to have. I run doubles and sometimes they seem like a bit much. I have some MKS alpha straps and they are great, but people around here swear by their Toshis (Im sure they are great too).
On the cheap theres these pedals: https://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...&category=1671
If you ahve money burning a hole in your pocket try these: https://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...&category=1671

l or LL wil depend on what kind of shoes you wear, too.

the only reason I'm looking at the MKS minis is because I have some toe overlap from my front tire to my clip. I know that would work but I'd rather have a strap ya know.

i wear an 11.5 and an xl clip

Sheldon Brown: These just cover the toes, no provision for straps. Don't know why anybody would want these silly things, but we've got 'em.

The strap is what holds your foot in, the clip just holds it opened so you can put your foot in there.
See the problem with the half clips yet?

I bought the cheap MKS pedals and I'm very happy with them. I bought the MKS aluminum toe clips as well, and they seem to be high-quality. I run them with cheap straps, mainly because it seemed excessive to spend $100 on the MKS double straps at my LBS. The cheap ones are okay but they need tightening often, which kind of sucks. I'm running them loose now anyway because getting into clips when new to fixed takes some getting used to.

I wear 9 shoes and my clips are M if that helps...

Yeah I would say just go pick up some lower end stuff (MKS is great) because you're going to be thrashing those against the ground pretty good for a while until you've mastered the clips. I'd hate to see you wrecking your nice pedals you just paid a mint for.

Clips are designed to put your foot in the right place on the pedal. You should not sacrifice proper pedaling technique in order to avoid toe overlap (which may be unavoidable, anyway).

so i ended up with some Gallila toe clips (large) and campi toe straps. Again I am using Campi quill pedals.
Note: wicked freaky hard to get into the pedals. My feet are or shoes are too wide. maybe the straps just need to stretch out because my feet aren't gonna get any skinnier!
Anyhow, the toe clips are the right size.
Thanks everyone.
I'll get used to it.
Joel

And how do you feel about that?

The MKS extra-large ones actually have 'LL' written on them. I have a size 14 shoe, and even I find them on the large side.

In other words, LL is too big for you.

i wear a size 13, and find them a little small so...

I wear 9.5 and have L MKS clips...am I better w/ the medium?

What part of the foot do you pedal with?

yes.
i wear an 11.5, make an effort to find shoes that let me get my foot deep in the clip (sambas) and I find a M christophe clip pretty ok. I compared the M christophe to the MKS and they are about the same size.
i put a LL mks clip on my bike and those were too big by a large margin. crazy toe overlap as well as feeling way too big. I'm gonna order a L mks clip next time i order some **** from somewhere.

damn, you guys got big feet.

/lowers his eyes and quietly heads out the back door.

Hrrmpf. I always thought my 9-9.5 feet were fine for the Large MKS clips.

Is piwonka right, because it's always said that MKS is one size off.

that's the whole reason i bought some LL mks clips and they were huge...well i wanted large and the shop hasn't been able to get 'em.
compared a medium MKS to my medium Christophe and they are the same size give take a mm or two.

I had always heard that MKS is one size smaller than euro sizes-I.e., a LL MKS is a L in Christophe.

my friend had that problem. i didn't understand it until i realized he had the straps tightened before he started and was trying to force his foot into the tightened straps.

start with your straps loose. i recommend strapping one foot in before you begin. loosen the strap and tighten it down on that foot. keep your other strap loose enough to easily slip your foot into once you start pedaling. then, just practice getting good at reaching down and tightening your loose strap while you pedal.

then fall down.

then practice getting good at reaching down before you stop and loosening your strap so you can get your foot out before you fall over.

take luck!