What offense? What bullseye?

Listen, maybe I come off like I'm deeply hurt or moved or by all this, but I'm not. I'm not deeply anything by any of this. I just happen to always be this caustic and pedantic, thank you very much.

At least you finally recognized why what you said was an absolute statement. You could even drop the "in my humble opinion" bit, as "some of us" or "some of those" is more than sufficient to keep nitpicking little hair-splitters like myself off your back.

I have played around on the internet since before browsers existed.

From the beginning I have participated on numerous forums, and I moderate a few forums, as well.

I cannot remember a time in which everyone did not understand what "In My Humble Opinion" (IMHO) meant, until now.

Actually, though, I think Jabba Degrassi understands very well what IMHO means and has always meant, despite the pseudo-meaning he feigned in his attempt to make a nonexistant point.

In the unlikely probability that Jabba Degrassi somehow does not know what IMHO means, let me share a little common knowledge with him:

IMHO means with respect for my fellow forumites, I do not place my opinion above theirs, and nor do I claim the following as fact.

Many people who spend time in these types of forums use Culturally-Standardized Phrases such as In My Humble Opinion precisely in order to avoid the type of embarrassing conversation that has recently taken place between me and Jabba Degrassi.

I have only persisted in this as long as I have because I have an interest in the type of behavior demonstrated by Jabba Degrassi.

I have in the past behaved in exactly the same manner as has Jabba Degrassi, and since I don't want to repeat this behavior in my own private future, I pay attention to other people when they do it in order to become more familiar with the pattern.

I work in a field that has a very high accident rate (higher than commercial fishermen), and all of us in my profession study the behavior of those who have had accidents in order to recognize the same patterns when they occur in our own lives.

But I see that even now I have repeated Jabba Degrassi's pattern in this post.

Fun, eh?

Oh, and the Bullseye?

It means I hit Jabba Degrassi with my Humble Opinion, even though I didn't aim at him.

Like I said, sorry about that.

messengering, you spend about half your day not on your bike. so i've always worn comfortable shoes & tradition clips & straps pedals... i think that clipless is a great idea for long rides that don't involve as much of the stop & start of urban riding.

What pattern? Stop playing junior psychologist on the internet. There's exactly one person who's impressed by all your posturing, and you're it.

You were wrong, get over it. Again, if I say something along the lines of "I'm not racist but blah blah blah rhymes with bigger," I'm still being racist. If I say "In my humble opinion the earth is flat, evolution is a lie, and flu shots are just a government plot to steal our DNA and absolutely everybody who thinks otherwise is a semi-literate imbecile, without exception," I am not magically shielded from criticism or rebuttal by my little disclaimer.

My statement is still an absolute one, despite the fact that it''s just my oh-so humble opinion. My opinion, in this case, is an absolute one. It is an opinion which makes no room for the dissenting opinions of others, or errors, or exceptions.

And again, you're wrong when you say "in my humble opinion" also means "nor do I claim the following as fact." You're over-stepping the bounds of those humble little words. One could easily say "In my humble opinion, Claim A is a fact," without making any logical contradictions. Okay, so you're humble, that's not really relevant, but that in no way contradicts the rest of the sentence. And this is your opinion. You've formed an opinion about Claim A, and based on your experience, you personally believe Claim A is a fact. That is a valid statement. Congratulations!

The problem here is that you have failed to grasp the point I am making. Frankly, I've wasted enough time trying to explain this to you.

Whoever said that clipless shoes/pedals don't provide any advantage over clips has clearly never ridden with clipless pedals. I was skeptical at first that a stiff carbon fiber sole could give me more power in my pedalstroke until I tried them. Having that stiff sole in a clipless bike specific shoe provides wayyy more support than the best set of clips and pedals can. No foot flex = 100% power transfer from the rest of your legs movement.

That said, I ride clipless as well as clipped, as well as platforms. It all depends on the bike riding style. Clipless for road biking and long distance stuff, clipped for fixed, and platforms for dirtjumping.

jabba 3 ken 0

epic yawn.

ken is wrong. not an opinion.

so, eggbeater sl + sidi dominators are a good combo?

its all an opinion thing and there is no right answer. i commute (have no car) on my fixie but i also train for races on it. i ride clipless on 4/6 of my bikes (bmx clipless just isnt how its done). anyway, clipless systems are much better for efficiency, comfort blah blah blah, but when it comes down to it its a pain in the ***** to have to bring an extra pair of shoes with you everywhere you go. hell, its also a pain in the ass to walk around a store clunken with every step. i swear by clipless for my performance needs but for daily riding and a few weekly training rides, some nice straps (powergrips) do a good job. also, im with you on the brooks thing. i dont own one, but i have ridden some nicely broken in ones, and my selle italia flite (s) would kick a brooks ***** any day of the week.

I've taken clipless pedals off of half a dozen of my (and my son's) bikes in the last year. I love being able to get off the bike and walk when I want/need to. We only have two bikes with clipless pedals - our hardcore road bikes for the hills.

Cuz.....

no 2nd pair of shoes....

can't skid w/ confidence w/ clipless...

yes... it does look cool.

Of those who ride with clips and straps, how tight do you adjust the straps?

Do you leave them the same tightness/looseness all the time and slip your foot in and out of them, or do you tighten and loosen them while riding?

Back in the days when I rode geared bikes with clips and straps I adusted the straps to where I could slip my foot in and out, and I left the straps at that adjustment all the time.

My son, as I have written earlier, rides his geared bike with clips and straps and adjusts them while riding.

I'd like to know how fixed gear riders deal with straps.

I have no doubt that different riders use different strategies.

I keep them at an acceptable tightness so I can hop on and hop off with ease, but I tighten if I'm going to be riding for a distance, say more than one or two miles. toshi straps are easy to tighten and loosen once you get the hang of it. Depends on the riding situation and I depend on my bicycle 100% for transportation in the city.

Size 14 feet here, which made it real hard to find shoes when I was thinking of taking the clipless plunge. After an almost fruitless search that only came up with $150 shoes (then add in the cost of new pedals), I came to the realization that a $50 pedals/clips/straps set-up with some flat soled utilitarian shoes meet my needs. I'm comfortable with them, comfortable riding with them, and I consider them the best value for my dollar and my riding needs.

Clipless of clips; the proper pedals are whatever gets you in the saddle and crankin out some miles . . . .

Just got the single leather strap clip on the mks sylvans a few weeks. Just went out for a late night jaunt and tried riding it in reverse a bit without my clips on. A strap got sucked up in the chain ring and ripped right in two. I'm kind of amazed/pissed, but that's what I get for trying to ride a bicycle backwards, I guess.

Only one of my bikes has clips/straps. The other three just plain ol' pedals.

For long rides, I wear running shoes, I yank the straps down tight, compressing the soles a bit, making feet nice and snug.

If I'm wandering around town shopping or whatnot, I leave 'em loose often.

I just use what came on the bike usually. I just built up my KHS, with $12 pedals. I'll probably get clips for 'em by summer time trail riding season...