Clipless merits

[We_are_Stevo]

BMX nutters seem to manage perfectly ok with flats!

Pedal-wise I have DX-style Wellgos on my latest red build, Mallets on my Explosif, Ritchey on my cro-mega and the blue Wot, but magnesium Wellgo flats on my RSP.

Tried several others before settling on the 661 Filters; they are ridiculously comfortable, better even than my Vans!

 

[secret_squirrel]

Onza HO's - the marmite SPD.

 

[We_are_Stevo]

I also have some of these...

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/winwood-deck ... prod18234/

...for when I can't be *rsed with them!

Are these any good or more hassle then they're worth? They look quite good and and seem like a nice solution for a one bike does all pedal.

Work ok for me, but you do have to ramp the tension up tighter than you would with your shoes because, as you move your feet around, you can otherwise inadvertently unclip them at the most inopportune moment...

...like pulling away from the lights at Hyde Park Corner, then having to cycle round again to pick it up and hope you make it to Park Lane in one piece! :facepalm:

Though the upside of said potentially injurious episode, having been able to hear the damn thing pinging backwards and forwards in the road as it was repeatedly run over by Londons finest, is that they're certainly made to last!

 

[doctor-bond]

Rode clips and straps for years and swore by them, but only 'cause I hadn't tried anything else or thought about it.

A middle aged man on an old mountain bike needs to take his plates off the pedal and put 'em on the floor, or wave them around, quite a lot. Straps or SPDs inhibit this natural and pleasurable activity.

What do clips/spds add? A certain pedalling efficiency? Sure: but compared to the inefficiency of the average retro bike/rider, it's a drop in the ocean. Plus, the small efficiency gained from clipped-in pedalling is easily outweighed by the larger disadvantage of not being able to put your paws down when you need to (rocky terrain; riding in a slow convoy at a retromeet when the dude in front has a mechanical -- it can happen; stopping to admire the view; having a whizz; trying to do cool foot-down broadies in the dust -- why mountain bikes were invented!).

Plus, SPD shoes are crap. Yes they are; heavy, stupid and unnecessary (do you have special driving shoes? When you go to the over forties disco, do you take your special dancing shoes?)

And anyway, why would you need the small efficient advantage that spds allow? To win a race by a few seconds? Pah! Only about three people on here do that anymore.

No my friends, clipped-in pedalling is wonky and pointless. Get some nice light flats, a pair of light shoes and rejoice. You will quite literally become closer to your environment; you will feel an inner glow of pride; passersby will wonder at your poise and elegance; you will lose weight.

Amen.

 

[gtRTSdh]

Some very odd views here: BMXers don't tend to spend the hours in the saddle MTBers do.

Cycling shoes are better for cycling due to the rigid soles, plus having cycling shoes means you don't wreck normal shoes, Vans + mud = knackered Vans. Pushing up muddy hills in Vans = zero progress.

I have scars on my shins from slipped flats, do I have any scars on my shins from slipped SPD's no!

 

[tintin40]

Some very odd views here: BMXers don't tend to spend the hours in the saddle MTBers do.

Cycling shoes are better for cycling due to the rigid soles, plus having cycling shoes means you don't wreck normal shoes, Vans + mud = knackered Vans. Pushing up muddy hills in Vans = zero progress.

I have scars on my shins from slipped flats, do I have any scars on my shins from slipped SPD's no!

second those comments.

 

[Neil]

Rode clips and straps for years and swore by them, but only 'cause I hadn't tried anything else or thought about it.

A middle aged man on an old mountain bike needs to take his plates off the pedal and put 'em on the floor, or wave them around, quite a lot. Straps or SPDs inhibit this natural and pleasurable activity.

What do clips/spds add? A certain pedalling efficiency? Sure: but compared to the inefficiency of the average retro bike/rider, it's a drop in the ocean. Plus, the small efficiency gained from clipped-in pedalling is easily outweighed by the larger disadvantage of not being able to put your paws down when you need to (rocky terrain; riding in a slow convoy at a retromeet when the dude in front has a mechanical -- it can happen; stopping to admire the view; having a whizz; trying to do cool foot-down broadies in the dust -- why mountain bikes were invented!).

Plus, SPD shoes are crap. Yes they are; heavy, stupid and unnecessary (do you have special driving shoes? When you go to the over forties disco, do you take your special dancing shoes?)

And anyway, why would you need the small efficient advantage that spds allow? To win a race by a few seconds? Pah! Only about three people on here do that anymore.

No my friends, clipped-in pedalling is wonky and pointless. Get some nice light flats, a pair of light shoes and rejoice. You will quite literally become closer to your environment; you will feel an inner glow of pride; passersby will wonder at your poise and elegance; you will lose weight.

Amen.

I've always stuck with normal pedals (to a bike, I think they all have Tioga Surefoot VIs on...) and clips and straps. It's a combination I've always got on with, because I don't need to wear specific shoes - can pretty much get away with anything, and I still get the benefits of my foot held in the correct place. I spent several years on road bikes using toeclips, before getting an MTB, so they were already natural for me to use.

Sure, you trade some efficiencies compared with clipless, but then there's some upsides too. And at the moment, my actual cycling on a real bike is too sporadic to have to learn new tricks and get comfortable with them.

I like the flexibility of clips and straps, and realistically, the notion that being clipped in, and being able to "pedal all the way around" to me, at least has been flawed. I find that more fatiguing than simply spinning or pushing hard.

I've only got one pair of shoes that I could run with SPDs anyways - a couple of years back, I bought some Time DXZ shoes, cheap, in an on-one sale - although truth be told, never actually used them up to now.

 

[T'boo Ted]

For me I couldn't comprehend not riding with spd's. Coming from BMX riding flats is(was) fine, jumping riding all that, but found with the bumpyness of riding mtb at speed, meant many a moment with a foot off, or both (thats bad news). My riding buddy had 737's and M200's (coming from clips), damn him, I went for power grips as having clips seemed a bad idea as it was only the bumpy stuff that gave me issues. But a year later the minute I could afford some shoes and pedals, it was spd heaven and haven't looked back. Had one fall at the start and have had the odd moment in 20 years, but 99.99% of them you just unclip without thought.

I cannot ride without them now, rode to pickj up the car from a service last week, 4km ride on mostly biek paths wore sneakers using 636 DX platforms, was pure horrible.

Oh and my shoe's arn't heavy...

 

[Koupe]

do you have special driving shoes? When you go to the over forties disco, do you take your special dancing shoes?

Yes, and, errrr, yes (apart from the 'over-forties' bit)

 

[Ductape]

Some very odd views here: BMXers don't tend to spend the hours in the saddle MTBers do.

Cycling shoes are better for cycling due to the rigid soles, plus having cycling shoes means you don't wreck normal shoes, Vans + mud = knackered Vans. Pushing up muddy hills in Vans = zero progress.

I have scars on my shins from slipped flats, do I have any scars on my shins from slipped SPD's no!

^This^

Stepping out of SPD's as needed is simple. The benefits are real. For all you riding in your tennis shoes please don't stop, I am getting old and out of shape and need every benefit I have to keep up with you.

When I take out my vintage steeds for a day on the trails there are two things I change on them for my own well being; I change to modern rubber if the bike has era correct crusty tires, and I put on a set of SPD pedals. Guilty yes, common sense for me, yes.

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