POLL --- Toe clips -or- Clipless ---
#3
hello
My tour bike, Mtb, & fixies all have eggbeaters. I use them with Mtb shoes. Speedplay X's & road shoes for my road bike.
#4
Banned.
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Fort Wayne, Indiana
Posts: 4,761
Bikes: 84 Trek 660 Suntour Superbe; 87 Giant Rincon Shimano XT; 07 Mercian Vincitore Campy Veloce
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times
in
3 Posts
Clips only for the last 30 years. You can ride them with any shoe; if your riding seriously, you can still pull the pedal IF you have a racing shoe with a cleat that has a ridge across it that clips onto the pedal cage then snug the strap down for added security. You can also exit your pedal faster with clips, and I think you can enter faster.
#5
Treking
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Charlotte, NC
Posts: 90
Bikes: Trek 520, Schwinn Le tour luxe, Schwinn High Plains, Sakkit Expedition signature.
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Originally Posted by hakka_lugi
I've used both. Just wondering what people thought these days.
From an observation of our last tour (Flagler Beach tour) I would say 75% of the riders were using clipless.
I'm NOT saying cages are bad, It's just as I get older, I find it harder to bend down to release the straps haha!
#9
Treking
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Charlotte, NC
Posts: 90
Bikes: Trek 520, Schwinn Le tour luxe, Schwinn High Plains, Sakkit Expedition signature.
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Originally Posted by tha_69er
i think that if u have to clip in then its saying that u need help.. that's wut i think... clipless all the way
#10
flux capacitor
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Houston
Posts: 543
Bikes: 2003 Bianchi Eros, 82 Univega (fixed), random year mtb frame for ss
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I always got hotspots in my toes when riding anything longer than 15-20 miles before switching to clipless. No way I could do anything approaching a tour in toe clips.
#11
Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 32
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I used toe clips exclusively for about twenty years. They always worked fine. Then, four or five years ago I tried clipless. Clipless simply do everything better than toe clips and they make more sense. Press down to clip in. Rotate your foot 30 degrees to get out. Easier to adjust the cleat for your foot. No need to reach down to tighten or loosen a strap. Pressure is more evenly divided along the entire top of the shoe, not just at the clip and strap. I can wear my Shimano sandals with clipless pedals. I have a pedal with SPD on one side and a platform on the other, but there's so seldom a need for the platform, really, even while touring. Whenever I ride my bike with toe clips I wonder why I didn't switch to clipless sooner. I'll never go back to toe clips on a regular basis.
#12
hello
Although I've been clipless for many years, it took me a while longer to convert on my Mtb. I felt insecure going clipless on my Mtb on technical terrain and singletrack. I was riding my Mtb with toeclips for several years while all my other bikes have gone clipless. I think insecurity is a big factor for most not wanting to convert to clipless.
#14
Crazy-assed messanger
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Hamilton, Ont, Canada
Posts: 85
Bikes: 20-year old (upgraded) Supercycle Medalist, Specialized Hardrock, never ending assortment of mid-repair old 10-speeds
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Clipless. So much more power, than normal pedals, or even cages, but easier to enter and exit. As an added bonus, especially if you've got eggbeaters, it makes the odds of a daring bike theif doing a crotch-plant onto your crossbar about a thousand times greater.
#15
pedalphile
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 147
Bikes: For dirt: Brodie Climbmax. For touring: IF Independance. For Commuting: Reflecto-Fixie.
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Clipless. Since the beginning. I love the feeling they provide: that my bike is an extension of my body, and not just something I'm sitting on...
#16
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: SE Michigan
Posts: 295
Bikes: '03 Litespeed Blue Ridge; '15 Litespeed T5; '17 Jamis Renegade Exploit; '17 Salsa Fargo 27.5+
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I have SPD's on my roadie, mtb and tandem. I use mtb shoes for all. My wife just got into it with the tandem and got a pair of shoes that look like tennis shoes from Specialized that work with the SPD's. When she walks around it's like wearing normal shoes. I might have to get me a pair of those (had to walk home one time with mechanical problems).
Mark
Mark
#17
contrarian
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: CO Springs
Posts: 2,848
Bikes: 80's ross road bike/commuter, 80's team miyata, 90's haro mtb xtracycle conversion, koga mitaya world traveler
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Eggbeaters/candys for touring and commuting.
__________________
Higher ground for the apocalypse!
Higher ground for the apocalypse!
#20
Evil Genius
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Sumner, WA
Posts: 1,529
Bikes: '92 novara ponderosa, '74 schwinn le tour, Novara fusion, novara transfer, novara randonee(2), novara careema pro, novara bonita(2).
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I use blocks of 2x4 --hemlock or spruce I'm not picky
#21
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 25
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Originally Posted by MichaelW
Has anyone ever experienced a terminal failure with clipless systems? eg cracked shoe soles, sheared bolts etc?
This was exactly what I was taking into consideration when I started this thread. On my last little trip I busted the main strap on my clipless shoes. Fortunately, it was on the last night with no riding the next day. If I had been ANYWHERE other than the last stop it would have been Duct Tape City. I am building a new bike right now and I am still considering which way to go with pedals/shoes. Great thread.
#22
Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 32
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I have had no failures at all with my clipless system. All components, including shoes, pedals, cleats, and cleat bolts have performed flawlessly during all road rides, commutes, and tours. I do use Shimanos pedal that has SPD clipless on one side and a platform on the other on my touring / commuting bike. This pedal should get you through any type of clipless failure you may be concerned about.
I have had toe clips and toe straps break. The clips were the plastic type and broke during a mountain bike ride. I think I also broke a metal one on the road bike. Also, with metal clips, they sometimes catch the road and bend. Sometimes they're tough to bend back to the right place without an annoying and painful angle. Toe straps have broken on my road bike while pulling them tight. Sometimes they show signs of wear and indicate they'll break soon, like a shoelace. But not always.
I'm confident enough in the clipless system I mentinoed above to use it on tours. I will add that I do NOT share the often-cited paranoia of some tourists that "something might break so I must use the simplest possible system."
I have had toe clips and toe straps break. The clips were the plastic type and broke during a mountain bike ride. I think I also broke a metal one on the road bike. Also, with metal clips, they sometimes catch the road and bend. Sometimes they're tough to bend back to the right place without an annoying and painful angle. Toe straps have broken on my road bike while pulling them tight. Sometimes they show signs of wear and indicate they'll break soon, like a shoelace. But not always.
I'm confident enough in the clipless system I mentinoed above to use it on tours. I will add that I do NOT share the often-cited paranoia of some tourists that "something might break so I must use the simplest possible system."
Last edited by Wasn't; 06-26-04 at 07:06 PM.
#23
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Soviet of Oregon or Pensacola FL
Posts: 5,342
Bikes: Still have a few left!
Mentioned: 48 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 467 Post(s)
Liked 532 Times
in
267 Posts
I have clipless on my 3 newer bikes & toe clips on all the old bikes. I experienced a broken sole on a Sidi shoe which made it very difficult to unclip that foot but I was still able to ride home in traffic without to much trouble as it was on the foot I usually don't unclip when stopping. Don
#24
pedalphile
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 147
Bikes: For dirt: Brodie Climbmax. For touring: IF Independance. For Commuting: Reflecto-Fixie.
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I've had a few "fatal" failures:
- I've had one of the bolts that secures the cleat to the shoe loosen and fall out. So instead of being able to twist out of the pedal, the cleat just rotated relative to the shoe. I had to stop, remove my foot from my shoe, unscrew the other cleat bolt by rotating the shoe, and ride home without being able to clip one foot in. No big deal. Solution: Locktite, or periodically check them. Also, always carry the tools you need to tighten them.
- I've had a cracked shoe sole just in front of where the cleat attaches, poking me sharply in the foot when I pedaled hard. Solution: Stuck a piece of cardboard under my insole. Also, replaced the 8-year old shoes...
- On very old el-cheapo pedals, I've had the clipping mechanism just stop working entirely (from wear and tear) so that I couldn't really clip in or out. Solution: rode them home like they were platforms and replaced 'em when I could.
- There was the time my pedals spontaneously caused a cataclysmic explosion that took out nearly an entire city block. Solution: I think I must not have lubed them enough...
- I've had one of the bolts that secures the cleat to the shoe loosen and fall out. So instead of being able to twist out of the pedal, the cleat just rotated relative to the shoe. I had to stop, remove my foot from my shoe, unscrew the other cleat bolt by rotating the shoe, and ride home without being able to clip one foot in. No big deal. Solution: Locktite, or periodically check them. Also, always carry the tools you need to tighten them.
- I've had a cracked shoe sole just in front of where the cleat attaches, poking me sharply in the foot when I pedaled hard. Solution: Stuck a piece of cardboard under my insole. Also, replaced the 8-year old shoes...
- On very old el-cheapo pedals, I've had the clipping mechanism just stop working entirely (from wear and tear) so that I couldn't really clip in or out. Solution: rode them home like they were platforms and replaced 'em when I could.
- There was the time my pedals spontaneously caused a cataclysmic explosion that took out nearly an entire city block. Solution: I think I must not have lubed them enough...