shoes, cleats, straps....

[SonofSid]

Excuse a newbie question, but cleats or old fashioned straps - how much difference do they make? In fact, what do they do? My commute is short so guess not any advantage, but training for LEJOG and wondered if it might make a difference to the chances of success. Any thoughts or cautionary pointers appreciated.
Cheers.

 

[Spinney]

I use SPDs with mountain bike shoes - that way I can still walk when I get off the bike (and on LEJOG would mean you wouldn't need to take another pair of shoes with you for evenings). I have pedals with the clippy bit on one side, and normal on the other side - so I can also wear normal trainers if I want to. I think the convenience of that outweighs the need to sometimes flip the pedal over before clipping in.

I'm not a speed merchant, by any means. The cleats give me confidence that my feet won't slip off the pedals (which happened a couple of times with trainers) - once I had built up a bit of confidence that my feet would come off when I did want them to! And I can pull up a bit as well as pushing down, but I don't think I do much of that.

I never fancied straps (which in theory would do the same thing) - it always looked more difficult to get feet out in a hurry...

(There are several threads on here about 'clipless moments' where you can find out what happens if you get this bit wrong!).

 

[SonofSid]

Thanks for that - I'll look round the forum. Can I ask what SPDs are?

 

[Dave Davenport]

Shimano pedaling dynamics. Just means it's a small recessed metal cleat, very similar is available from several other manufacturers. Not quite as 'solid' as a full on road set up but more walkable and you can get various pedal types.

 

[SonofSid]

Thanks

 

[PaulSecteur]

Bit more info on this video...


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmwHqcFlOI4


It looks like she has the release tensio set to a high setting as it looks like she really has to push her heel out. Mine are set to minimum, and it seems more controlled and easier, and they have never uncipped without intention.

 

[threefingerjoe]

I've used the old-fashioned toe clips and straps for almost 40 years, and that is what I'm comfortable with. But, I'm mainly a commuter/utility/touring cyclist, and ride in whatever shoes I have on at the moment. If you really want to be "cool", then you MUST use "clipless". Nearly everyone who uses them says that they are the greatest invention since sliced bread! No self-respecting poseur would be caught dead in toe-straps! ;-)

 

[ASC1951]

Excuse a newbie question, but cleats or old fashioned straps - how much difference do they make?

Huge. Stiff soled shoes also make a big difference, but not quite as much. Together they increase efficiency by about 25%.

I was brought up on straps but find cleats much better.

 

[PpPete]

I was brought up on straps but find cleats much better.

+1 - and that's using cheapo Lidl shoes and basic M520 pedals

 

[Janrhino]

Beware of cleats, have just gone over on my bike 'cos could not get my feet out of them (just not used to them) and dislocated my shouldler when I grabbed onto the barrier and the bike slid. Have replaced pedals with Shimanos which are clipless and have the cleat clip on both sides in the middle so you can use trainers, cycle shoes with or without cleats.

 

[SonofSid]

Thanks for all the info everyone. I've bought some of the Lidl shoes with the stiff sole as a start. A section can be removed to allow for the SPD thing to happen so may well give that a go in the future. Came across something called power straps or something the other day which I might also try. On the Evans site I think. Diagonal pedal strap. Foot kind of locks in aas you turn it to the right angle to ride (like on a mountain board if anyone's used one). Good reviews and a lot easier to get foot out of....

 

[psmiffy]

I used clips for over 35 years from when I got my first proper bike - however about 15 years ago I changed my tourer to SPDs with shimano mtb shoes - as more and more trainer style shoes have become available with SPD now all my bikes are "clipless" - having funny (not the laughing sort) feet I find it much more comfortable and I often wear the "cycling" shoes all day - clipless has become second nature to me and I have found that both the shoes and the pedals seem to wear better than when I was using clips - well worth perservering with

If you really want to be "cool", then you MUST use "clipless". Nearly everyone who uses them says that they are the greatest invention since sliced bread! No self-respecting poseur would be caught dead in toe-straps! ;-)

As a rather portley middle aged geezer "cool" is a bit tricky to carry off

 

[Rob3rt]

Thanks for all the info everyone. I've bought some of the Lidl shoes with the stiff sole as a start. A section can be removed to allow for the SPD thing to happen so may well give that a go in the future. Came across something called power straps or something the other day which I might also try. On the Evans site I think. Diagonal pedal strap. Foot kind of locks in aas you turn it to the right angle to ride (like on a mountain board if anyone's used one). Good reviews and a lot easier to get foot out of....

I am buying some of these for my training bike, because i also use it to commute on and like to wear whatever shoes i feel like, they look good for this purpose.

Personally though, i find clipless to be more of a struggle to clip in rather than clip out. Im getting power straps because if you fail to get in, you can just stand on them and pedal until you get a chance to try again, with clipless I found if i missed it skips across pedal causing a false start and end of rolling at 1mph and either falling over or feeling generally unsafe. I'll try clipless again, I own shoes and Look Keo pedals on my road bike, hence I may as well keep at it since the money is already invested.