Do you use toeclips?

[Oldhippy]

Half toe clips

 

[rogerzilla]

The street fixie riders who do skid stops (or skip stops, which is a more accurate description of the technique) use clips and straps. Really bad things can happen if you pull a foot out of a clipless pedal under these circumstances.

 

[sevenfourate]

Always. Got them on the Road and Gravel. Haven't (Got anything) on the MTB as yet; mainly because i'm starting to try much more adventurous terrain. And would like my feet to be able to provide a much needed 'dab' wherever; and as soon as possible when required !

 

[yello]

I personally wouldn't want straps on my fixed, but then I don't do 'skip stops' either.

 

[Alex321]

This is true. I can't see giving SPDs the wild abandon that one can give clips and straps. Helps with getting those big gears up the hill and over the top, too!

I've never come loose from a clipless pedal while cycling uphill, or any other time while pedaling. Admittedly, I don't go for big sprints, but you rarely see any of the sprinters in top races coming out of them either.

 

[Alex321]

I still actually have a pair of pedals with attached toestraps in my box of "bike junk", but they haven't been on a bike since I bought my first set of SPD pedals and cleated shoes, about 35 years ago.

For me, the difference was immediate and significant, though I'm sure part of the reason was not just the change from toestraps to SPD, but the fact it was a change at the same time from soft-soled trainers to proper stiff-soled cycling shoes.

I only actually replaced that 35 year old pair of shoes a few months ago. If the replacements last as long, they should see me out . But they probably won't as for 20 of those 35 years, I wasn't cycling much at all.

 

[presta]

I've used toe clips for the last 50 odd years. I think I only started because a mate was using them, but I like having my feet secure against slipping off the pedals, and I also like being able to get the pedal positioned for starting without having to hook my foot underneath. I don't tighten the straps, they're always loose so I can get my feet out easily.

I thought I might give clipless a try once, but I never managed to find a suitable pair of shoes that fitted, and gave up looking by the time I'd spent more than a pair of shoes cost on return postage.

 

[Always Cross]

I use clips and straps but on up right bikes but don’t tighten the straps. I used to use spds but arthritis in my ankles makes it difficult to twist out even on the lowest settings. I do use spds on the recumbent trike as it’s safer and I don’t need to unclip when I stop only when I get off the trike.

 

[llamafarmer]

I use clipless on the road bike now, but back in the day i used straps, and regularly tighted them.
That was until i ran out of steam on a hill in the Macc forrest......you can guess the rest!!

 

[Ian H]

I used toeclips (metal, not those 'orrible, stupid plastic ones) with straps and shoe-plates up to the 1990s. I swapped to SPD, but used Look for racing. I then moved to SPDL for time trials, but kept a pair of shoes with Looks for the track (cos I hire a bike). Nowadays I stick with single-sided SPD for all the road bikes, with the exception of the Brompton, which has its original flat pedals.

 

[All uphill]

Flat pedals for me. I'd almost certainly break a few bones if I tried to change the habits of a lifetime.

 

[Ian H]

A dear, mad old mate of mine rides with one toeclip and one clipless. The reason he gives us that toeclips hurt his feet, but he finds it difficult to disconnect from clipless. Don't ask me to explain further.

 

[Rusty Nails]

A dear, mad old mate of mine rides with one toeclip and one clipless. The reason he gives us that toeclips hurt his feet, but he finds it difficult to disconnect from clipless. Don't ask me to explain further.

There is a strange illogical logic in there somewhere.

 

[ColinJ]

And then he starts to topple over onto his clipless side...!

(I successfully unclipped from my LH SPD pedal once, would have been fine if I hadn't been falling to my right at the time! )

 

[Alex321]

And then he starts to topple over onto his clipless side...!

(I successfully unclipped from my LH SPD pedal once, would have been fine if I hadn't been falling to my right at the time! )

I did exactly that a few months ago. I normally always unclip the left foot as I come to a stop, but that one time I got my balance wrong as I did so, and just toppled to my right as I stopped, with that foot still clipped in.