Which Pedals?
- Thread starter pb71
- Start date
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gaz
Cycle Camera TV
- Location
- South Croydon
alecstilleyedye said:
true that. spd-sl style pedals ftw
AlanW
Legendary Member
- Location
- Not to sure?
I agree that there is no right or wrong pedals, its very much personal choice.
However, lets look at the pedalling process logically.
In order to cycle most efficiently you need to put equal amounts of load on each leg. Now if you only add load to one leg on the downward stroke then the other leg is doing nothing to assist the process other than following the path of the rotation of the cranks.
Two problems, 1) there is a danger that you can overload the knee joint as it is doing all the work. 2) you are only using 50% of your capacity to move in a forward direction. Imagine a car only running on two cylinders instead of four?
So in order to get the best possible performance, and I am not talking racing performance, more actual physical performance, it makes common and logical sense to pull on the up stoke as well.
Two reasons, 1) the load is now shared equally between the two joints. 2) you are using to full effect what God gifted you with, ie a pair of legs.
So now lets look at how the force applied to the pedals during the process is applied.
If you do not have a stiff sole, then any downward force applied to the pedal will be lost in the flexing of the soles of the shoe. Using the car as an example again. Why do racing cars, or racing bikes for that matter, have stiff chassis's?
So that the power is not lost due to chassis flex, and more importantly it is directed to the driven wheels, its exactly the same principle isn't it?
Yes, toe clips were good in there day, but so were horse and carts, we have moved on, thank heavens!
To use toe straps to their full effect you need to be strapped in tightly, that's why they are still the first choice for track riders. So for that very reason they are rubbish for general commuting, IMHO that is.
And yes I have used them, and used them for many years until the Look clipless system was introduced.
SPD for commuting is idea, easy to walk on, easy to clip in and out and shoes that look normal. I use then for commuting, but again IMHO you cannot beat full size road cleats (Look Keo or similar) for adding that increase in power due to the larger footprint of the cleat/shoe combination. The down side is that it is more uncomfortable to walk in and the cleats are in direct contact with the surface that you are walking on. Therefore they wear out quite quickly!
However, lets look at the pedalling process logically.
In order to cycle most efficiently you need to put equal amounts of load on each leg. Now if you only add load to one leg on the downward stroke then the other leg is doing nothing to assist the process other than following the path of the rotation of the cranks.
Two problems, 1) there is a danger that you can overload the knee joint as it is doing all the work. 2) you are only using 50% of your capacity to move in a forward direction. Imagine a car only running on two cylinders instead of four?
So in order to get the best possible performance, and I am not talking racing performance, more actual physical performance, it makes common and logical sense to pull on the up stoke as well.
Two reasons, 1) the load is now shared equally between the two joints. 2) you are using to full effect what God gifted you with, ie a pair of legs.
So now lets look at how the force applied to the pedals during the process is applied.
If you do not have a stiff sole, then any downward force applied to the pedal will be lost in the flexing of the soles of the shoe. Using the car as an example again. Why do racing cars, or racing bikes for that matter, have stiff chassis's?
So that the power is not lost due to chassis flex, and more importantly it is directed to the driven wheels, its exactly the same principle isn't it?
Yes, toe clips were good in there day, but so were horse and carts, we have moved on, thank heavens!
To use toe straps to their full effect you need to be strapped in tightly, that's why they are still the first choice for track riders. So for that very reason they are rubbish for general commuting, IMHO that is.
And yes I have used them, and used them for many years until the Look clipless system was introduced.
SPD for commuting is idea, easy to walk on, easy to clip in and out and shoes that look normal. I use then for commuting, but again IMHO you cannot beat full size road cleats (Look Keo or similar) for adding that increase in power due to the larger footprint of the cleat/shoe combination. The down side is that it is more uncomfortable to walk in and the cleats are in direct contact with the surface that you are walking on. Therefore they wear out quite quickly!
Rohloff_Brompton_Rider
Formerly just_fixed
alecstilleyedye said:
now i don't really buy into that train of thought. pedalling is cyclic, therefore any flex power loss will be made up at the end of the stroke by un flexing. i.e, the initial power delay is stored in the flexing, only to be returned to the cycle by unflexing. i'm sure i read somewhere that flexing is good for the foot, a bit like reflexology, only for free
I have a set of these on my road bike http://www.wiggle.co.uk/s/cycle/7/?Wd=Shimano_PD-R540_SPD_SL_Sport_Pedals_
I always hated using straps.
I always hated using straps.