legit

okay, so my spd strapless pedals/shoes are annoying because I have to use them to ride (which makes errand rides really annoying). And after trying toe straps several times I know that they are not an option for me (I can never get my feet out in time to stop myself from falling).

So I'm at my whits end and am tempted to try those power grips (https://www.rei.com/product/609173) that everyone is talking about. But before I do I was just wondering what people (specifically fixie riders) think of them? And has anyone used them for skid stopping (pretty much the only way I stop) how do they work out?

Thanks for the input,
- legit

on a side note - does anyone know where the BFF in DC will be at?

Nietzsche

I ride with feetbelts which are basically the same thing as powergrips. I really like them, totally eliminates toe overlap because you can slide your foot out far enough to avoid it. I can skid stop fine but I have a brake so I rarely do.

btw I'm in fairfax too. This rain is brutal.

dsh

They really don't seem like they'd be any easier to get out of than regular clips+straps.

As for the film thing, if they don't say on the site yet I'm guessing no one is gonna know.

legit

sounds good, this rain is brutal, the lightning keeps hitting right next to my apt and shaking my building.

I guess I may just give them a try. Kinda tired of shelling out money to "try out" pedal solutions, but I'm really tired of having cleats on when I want to just ride to the store.

legit

The reason I think they would be easier is that you don't have to reach down to loosen them. With regular straps in order to skid stop I would have to really tighten them down, but then I couldn't get out of them when I needed to.

Nietzsche

I had cages and straps and they were uncomfortable. I saw feetbelts and couldn't wait to try them. I'm pretty sure you could make them yourself for about $10 or less. It's just some hardware and a piece of seatbelt with 8 holes in it.

z415

A friend of mine has Power Grips for his fixed polo bike and can skid just fine. But this is a tiny gear combo for polo, might be different for a conventional geared bike.

legit

hmmm... after looking at them I think those feet belts may work a bit better, or at least stand up to the riggers of fixie riding better than power grips would, I may have to order some.

Unless you know of a local shop that sells them???

jakerock

Why are you resisting the obvious solution?
= Double straps.

pckopa

I ride with home-made power grips every winter... love it. Skidding isn't a problem (although in the winter it never is.) I highly recommend fashioning your own. I used leather straps and some flat iron (for the mount) and it worked fine. I'll post some pics perhaps.

Zachee

Feetbelts and Powergrips are the exact same thing. I ride with powergrips and have for a year. I like them fairly well, they are definetely more resilent than the single straps and clips I rode with before. I do think I might switch back to clips and straps again or maybe go clipless, mostly because I like to do longer rides and powergrips tends to put pressure on your foot diagonally (mostly on the inside center and little toe) which sucks.

Also it seems you were using clips incorrectly, it shouldn't be neccesary to tighten them down even for skidding. Maybe you should work on your leg strength...

LupinIII

in other news, i have some toshi doubles in the mail for me, woot

Hagisan

I ran PGs and did not have an issue with skidding. My issue is with the hardware that hangs of the pedal which scraped too much for my liking.

I like the looks of these, but have yet to order them.
HOLDFAST

asherlighn

I use powergrips and can skid fine.

kyselad

I used powergrips and had an awful experienced on my fixed setup. My foot would work itself backwards as I applied back pressure, making skidding sketchy. I tried numerous adjustments, including cranking them down crazy tight, and nothing worked. It may have been my particular shoes or pedals (GR-9), as others seem to have had better luck, but for me, the same combo works fine with clips. Neither powergrips nor clips can come close to clipless, but I still much prefer clips to powergrips. ymmv

Plecks

I have Powergrips on my GR-9s, and they've worked great for me. I don't usually skid as I have a brake, but when I do it's pretty easy.

conor

1. learn to use clips and straps.
2. ???
3. profit.

also: backpressure. i rarely skid and stop just fine, and i've usually taken my feet out of the clips before i've even come close to where i'm stepping off the bike.

practice practice practice, sir.

legit

ok, so heres the deal with clips and straps: first of all I was using a cheapo pair from REI ($15) because I didn't feel like shelling out for something that may not work for me. so anytime I would go to skid I would lift up on my front pedal (and push on my back pedal) and my foot would easily slide right out of the front pedal's clips. I don't see how I can make clips work because:

1. If all i do is put presure on my back tire then my tire jumps (im a bit of a heavier guy so there is already more weight on my back tire than usual anyways).
2. I don't see how I can prevent my front foot from sliding out of straps and clips (I tried several ankle/foot positions throughout an afternoon and unless I tightened them down my foot slid out).

So I am either missing something really fundamental or straps/clips just wont work for me.

What are double straps (forgive my naivety, still a bit of a newbie)?

legit

Also, after reviewing some sheldon brown info on skid stopping i should add that my gear ratio is 48/17. So with that high a gear ratio it may impact why clips/straps don't really work for me (Strength before endurance is my unofficial motto ).

hairnet

I don't know about that man. I borrow my friend's bike occasionally and he has 80 gear inches with toe clips/straps. It's no different skidding on that than any another bike except that it takes more work.

btw, I'd keep the clipless pedals. I think it is a whole lot easier to skid with them than with clips/straps.

braveeagle3

+1 for Hold Fast straps

I used to use powergrips, but now I ride Hold Fast. Can't say enough good things about this product. Seriously, waaay comfortable. And I can easily adjust them when wearing different shoes (which you cannot do on powergrips).

Brig

+1 more on the Hold Fast Straps....although, they aren't easier to get out of than clips/straps in my opinion.....they are Bad Ass though.

Zachee

Those holdfast straps look amazing, they only thing I would be worried about is not being able to get my feet tight enough by pushing them in.

idk though I just went back to single clips and straps and am going to be buying two brakes soon, soon that I can stop other ways than skidding and back-pressure. I would love to go clipless soon, but they all seem really expensive? Anyone have any suggestions on that front?

dddave

i can't believe people actually use these things.

Brig

Well according to the U.S. Census Bureau, "The report showed that 54 million households, or 51 percent, had one or more computers in the home......"

believe it.......

Oh, you're talking about the straps......I can't believe that everyone isn't using them yet.