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| Clip-on pedals (Read 1059 times) |
| view log Blaine Moore |
posted: 5/13/2008 at 2:13 PM |
I love my clipless pedals. It took a little while to get rid of that walking on ice feeling when I first got them, and after not riding for a couple years and then getting back on the bike I had to "relearn" not to stop and flop. Thankfully, after another couple year break, I didn't have any of those issues getting back on.
Quote from JakeKnight on 5/10/2008 at 7:07 PM:What are clipless pedals? Why would I need or want them? What's wrong with the old-fashioned kind?
MTA: ditto for toe clips. What are those?
Toe clips are the plastic cages that attach over a normal pedal that you push your foot into so that you can pull up on the pedal when on your upstroke.
Clipless pedals are pedals that have a bracket that attaches to the bottom of your shoes and literally turns your shoe into a part of the pedal.
Clipless pedals are the most efficient in terms of energy expenditure when trying to ride, but even toe clips are better than just having a flat pedal. It lets you use the entire revolution of the pedal to move the chain as opposed to only being able to use the downstroke, which involves shifting your weight from side to side as you ride.
To get out of toe clips, you need to lift your foot a little and pull your foot backwards.
To get out of clipless pedals, you normally need to rotate your foot out between 30° and 45° so disengage it. When you first start using them, your foot can move back and forth on the pedal without coming unattached, so it feels as though you are trying to walk on ice until you get used to it. It also takes a little getting used to get into and out of the attachment on the pedal, so that what often happens is that you come to a stop and start to lean over but your foot is still attached to the pedal and you can't disengage it in time to keep from toppling. Hence, stop & flop. Most new riders to clipless pedals will often disengage one foot but then lean towards the other foot. |
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posted: 5/13/2008 at 4:35 PM |
Thanks, Blaine. That makes it clear.
It sounds like toe clips would be painful on the top of the foot  Do you just wear regular shoes with them?
Do you have to buy special shoes for the clipless? or do you attach something to your own shoe of choice? Is there options on where the 'clipless' attach? I have problems with my metatarsels and have been using regular 'old' flat petals so I can push with more of my arches rather than the ball of the foot. Do I have options?
TIA. |
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| view log Bif! Bam! Pow! |
posted: 5/13/2008 at 4:56 PM
modified: 5/13/2008 at 4:58 PM |
Quote from soxfan on 5/13/2008 at 4:35 PM:Thanks, Blaine. That makes it clear. It sounds like toe clips would be painful on the top of the foot Do you just wear regular shoes with them? Do you have to buy special shoes for the clipless? or do you attach something to your own shoe of choice? Is there options on where the 'clipless' attach? I have problems with my metatarsels and have been using regular 'old' flat petals so I can push with more of my arches rather than the ball of the foot. Do I have options? TIA.
a) no toe clipsstraps arent painful...they are usually pretty loose and you can wear any shoe with them. They would prevent you from pushing with your arches unless you had them so loose they were useless. There are also more hi-tech toeclips that would work better with certain shoes.
b) yes you have to have special shoes and the clips are pretty fixed...only a little adjustment room. On the other hand since you can pull with the upstroke instead of pushing down, you may end up with less pressure on your metatarsals. |
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| view log Blaine Moore |
posted: 5/13/2008 at 5:55 PM
modified: 5/13/2008 at 5:55 PM |
Quote from soxfan on 5/13/2008 at 4:35 PM:It sounds like toe clips would be painful on the top of the foot Do you just wear regular shoes with them?
Quote from soxfan on 5/13/2008 at 4:35 PM:Do you have to buy special shoes for the clipless? or do you attach something to your own shoe of choice? Is there options on where the 'clipless' attach? I have problems with my metatarsels and have been using regular 'old' flat petals so I can push with more of my arches rather than the ball of the foot. Do I have options? I don't know anything about how it would effect your metatarsels - I have mine adjusted so that my foot is positioned where I want it. Like Ennay said, you may find its easier since you can maintain a circular motion rather than just a sharp downward push.
You may also find that it is less than an issue because most shoes for clipless pedals are pretty rigid so no matter where the clip is you still have a completely stable platform. The shoes don't bend as much as sneakers do. I wear frog pedals, which allow for a recessed attachment piece so that you can wear them around a little easier. The shoes for that are pretty close to sneakers and are fine for short walks, but even those don't have the same level of bend as most sneakers.
My shoes are similar to these:
(Note that the shoes above don't have the attachments on the sneaker installed yet!)
These are the clipless pedals that I have:
Random road clipless pedal:
And shoe:
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I just started using Twitter - anybody else on there? http://twitter.com/BlaineMoore
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| view log Supermegaheart Me |
posted: 5/13/2008 at 8:37 PM |
Thank you, Blaine. Knowing about bikes, this really helped.
Obviously I'm considering triathlons in the (far distant) future, so I was kind of curious about this stuff.
Obvious question: what are the advantages of clipless pedals vs. toe clips? Do any triathletes use old fashioned pedals?
I'd think with the toe clips you could wear your running shoes and transition easier to the run. What am I missing? |
E-mail: JakeKnight2002@aol.com
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~ Obsessor
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| view log Ruler of Running Tights |
posted: 5/13/2008 at 8:45 PM |
| Quote from JakeKnight on 5/13/2008 at 8:37 PM: Thank you, Blaine. Knowing about bikes, this really helped.
Obviously I'm considering triathlons in the (far distant) future, so I was kind of curious about this stuff.
Obvious question: what are the advantages of clipless pedals vs. toe clips? Do any triathletes use old fashioned pedals?
I'd think with the toe clips you could wear your running shoes and transition easier to the run. What am I missing?
From my Tri days, clipless had several advantages
1) you could hold a better cadence once you learned to use them properly
2) I found improved performance while cycling
3) getting in an out of the fasteners is quicker and safer than old style clips
4) typically you leave your cycling shoes in the clips when transitioning and put on a pair of running shoes from staging so no wear and tear is happening
5) I did tris in the late 80's through the 90s and hardly saw anyone with toe clips. I assume this holds true today as well.
Man that brings back memories - painful one's but loads of fun.
JK - you have the correct disposition to enjoy tri's - masochist  |
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2008 goals:
1) run a fall marathon (Indy)
2) stay injury free
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4) get my kids to start running with me
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| view log jules2 |
posted: 5/13/2008 at 8:55 PM |
Toe clips are lethal and should be avoided as depending on the sole of your shoe it is sometimes hard to bail out.
Clipless are far better as they equalise the pedal stroke as demonstrated by the fact that you can pedal with just one foot.
The trouble is that for a start you will always fall off if you are lucky it is on the grass if you are unlucky it is under a truck.
If you cycle regularly you will pick it up quickly if not I should imagine you might have continual problems.
If you are just starting I'd suggest double sided MTB pedals set as loose as possible. |
| you only learn who has been swimming naked when the tide goes out |
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JoeShort view log |
posted: 5/13/2008 at 10:50 PM |
| I use the same clipless pedals, double sided MTB style SPDs, on both my mountain and road bikes just to keep it simple and to be able to use the same shoes. I had a couple of tip-overs when I was first getting used to them, but had my first close call today in a long time. Stopped at a busy intersection, casually unclipped the left side, and started tipping over to the right! Got the right one out just at the last second and caught myself (you'll actually get better at unclipping quickly when falling when you mountain bike in them a lot). One addtional advantage to clipless on a MTB, it really helps to maneuver the bike when your feet are clipped in. Some people equate it to ski bindings, you gain a lot more control over the bike and are able to lift up and hop the bike in certain situations. |
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posted: 5/14/2008 at 11:16 AM |
| Thanks again, Blaine. Good info. One last question, are the clipless shoes rigid enough that downward pressure is distributed along the foot or do you feel it all in the forefoot? I suppose I'd have to try them. I was leaning towards clips as an intermediate step but you guys don't seem to have much good to say about them. |
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| view log Running public maps |
posted: 5/14/2008 at 12:48 PM |
| I have problems with my feet falling asleep after about 30 minutes on a stationary bike with regular shoes, yet I can ride my MTB with the SPD clips and MTB shoes for over an hour without any issue. Getting in and out of the clips eventually becomes second nature. I'm probably rotating my foot to get off the pedals of the stationary bike. |
Ross
2008 Goals
• Escape from O'Hare terminal G 11:45 5/3/08
• Run for 5 min - 15 min - 30 min
• 5k 10k - 4m/HM
• Weight < 200 |
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| view log Blaine Moore |
posted: 5/14/2008 at 2:32 PM |
| Quote from soxfan on 5/14/2008 at 11:16 AM: Thanks again, Blaine. Good info. One last question, are the clipless shoes rigid enough that downward pressure is distributed along the foot or do you feel it all in the forefoot? I suppose I'd have to try them. I was leaning towards clips as an intermediate step but you guys don't seem to have much good to say about them.
I've never actually used any shoes other than the 1 pair that I have, which aren't as rigid as normal road bike shoes. Next time I get on my bike (hopefully later this week) I'll pay a little more conscious attention to it, it isn't something I've ever paid attention to since I haven't had the same problems. |
Run to Win
I just started using Twitter - anybody else on there? http://twitter.com/BlaineMoore
I am now officially an older guy. Don't believe me? Ask Teresa's DS15. |
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| view log |
posted: 5/16/2008 at 2:09 PM |
Just saw this thread and I have a question...
I just bought a "hybrid" bike (el-cheapo Trek 7000) to use to do some cross-training on my days off of running.
I have been having some knee pain and I thought the bike might help stregthen my quads and help with my Patella tracking issues. Plus it's just fun to ride sometimes...it's been many years and I forgot how enjoyable riding a bike can be.
Anyway, the bike just has regular pedals....no clips or straps of any kind. Should I be thinking about getting clips on it....is there a major fitness or muscle stregthening advantage? Or will I still get most of the benefits of biking (as a form of cross-training) with just the normal pedals? |
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| view log Blaine Moore |
posted: 5/16/2008 at 2:40 PM |
| Quote from Timbodeener on 5/16/2008 at 2:09 PM: Anyway, the bike just has regular pedals....no clips or straps of any kind. Should I be thinking about getting clips on it....is there a major fitness or muscle stregthening advantage? Or will I still get most of the benefits of biking (as a form of cross-training) with just the normal pedals?
You'll get most of the cross training benefits w/normal pedals, if not all of them.
Clipless pedals (and even clips to a degree) become more important as you ride more miles for (a) comfort, (b) performance, and (c) ease of riding.
If you are just tooling around on your bike to cross train, you can still get good exercise w/o spending the extra money, and if you don't ride often enough to get used to the clips or clipless pedals then you are better off w/o them anyway. |
Run to Win
I just started using Twitter - anybody else on there? http://twitter.com/BlaineMoore
I am now officially an older guy. Don't believe me? Ask Teresa's DS15. |
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posted: 5/16/2008 at 7:37 PM |
Thanks Blaine....I was hoping it wasn't going to become more complicated for me
Tim |
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| view log Blaine Moore |
posted: 5/16/2008 at 8:08 PM |
Quote from Timbodeener on 5/16/2008 at 7:37 PM:Thanks Blaine....I was hoping it wasn't going to become more complicated for me Tim
Biking caters itself to gear queers even more than running does.
For a run, you need something to hold the vitals from swinging and (for most people anyway) a pair of shoes. For a bike ride, you need a bike and some tire pressure. Depending upon where you live, you may be legally required to wear some other clothing.
Other than that, it's all just extras. A watch or sunglasses or a helmet or clipless pedals or GPS might make things more enjoyable for you (or it might not) but they aren't actually necessary in order to get benefits. |
Run to Win
I just started using Twitter - anybody else on there? http://twitter.com/BlaineMoore
I am now officially an older guy. Don't believe me? Ask Teresa's DS15. |
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