SPD's power advantage....Myth?

cee

supersonic wrote:

Let's not try and get too heated! We ain't the commuting forum ;-)

Which one?

meesterbond

On the plus side, only another 150 odd posts and we'll have posted more rubbish on this SPD thread than we did on the last one...

Keep up the good work.

meanwhile

NatoED wrote:

ok that last qoute [the clipless cause over-use injuries through restricting movement] is bollocks . mostly cos Clipless pedals have float that does alow the knees tomove to their natural shape while pedling.

Float is designed to ameliorate such problems, yes. Assuming that it does so 100% effectively is, however, silly.

A freind of mine who has just started road riding and is using Clipless pedals and has a knee that was broken in a motor cycle accident. He finds that his knees no longer hurt now he uses Clipless pedals instead of flats and cages. His foot can float and turn .

Generalizing from a short period of use by one rider to the entire population of cyclists is also silly.

meanwhile

yeehaamcgee wrote:

NatoED wrote:

ok that last qoute is bollocks . mostly cos Clipless pedals have float that does alow the knees tomove to their natural shape while pedling. A freind of mine who has just started road riding and is using Clipless pedals and has a knee that was broken in a motor cycle accident. He finds that his knees no longer hurt now he uses Clipless pedals instead of flats and cages. His foot can float and turn .

Well, there's also a very large contingent of this here forum, and several physios to back them up that would claim that SPDs can exacerbate injuries.

This is why it is important to discuss things like this. People buy clipless pedals because they see racers using them, but a lot of things that make sense in race don't make sense anywhere else - modern athletics often requires a willingness to trash your body. We can't trust the manufacturers to be honest (pedals and especially shoes) are high profit items. We can't trust the magazines, because they have to sell ads and they're written by idiots anyway. Researching and sharing information is all we have.

supersonic

We can't trust the magazines, because they have to sell ads and they're written by idiots anyway

Ads have NOTHING to do with it with some mags. And thanks for calling me an idiot. Rather hypocritical that you are having a pop at others for generalising, then do exactly that yourself.

NatoED

I also have a dodge knee (the cap is not properly possitioned due to an accident on my bike while using flat pedals that ironicaly would not have happenned if i had been clipped in) and find no ill effects from using clipless pedals. i call the bollocks charge to Clipless causing repeated strain injuries as companies will spend thousands of pound (even millions) developing ergonomic pedals for use by the cyclist.

yes they could make an already existing injury worse but that shouldn't be a reason to shout: "DON'T BUY THE FECKERS"
Any number of factors could effect your knees and hip joints such as incorrect seat position.

The reason i bought clipless was that i was doing more XC riding and less trials and dirt jumping. Therefore i wanted a pedal that would alow a more efficiant use of power. and for longer rides. (i would average 3-5 hours in the saddle almost non-stop) . Plus i wanted more control on rocky routes that surround the area that i lived in south wales.

I say ride what you like . If you want flats then use them if ; you like Clipless use them . if you want to nail your feet to a set of flats seek medical help from the men with nice white coats (did me a world of good)

aahjnnot

This thread is great. I love the way that arguments can feed on prejudices that show no humility in the face of scientific evidence.

The excellent articles linked on by supersonic on page 7 tell you all you need to know about the pedalling techniques made possible by SPDs: pulling on the upstroke produces a higher peak power output but is metabolically less efficient; and a circular pedalling motion produces a more even delivery of torque.

So SPDs might help you if you're attempting to sprint or accelerate powerfully. They'll also be of benefit if you're struggling with traction - for example, on steep, muddy climbs. But if you use SPDs to modify your pedalling technique outside those specific circumstance, you'll be more breathless and tire more quickly.

So it all depends on the circumstances - and that's why there are so many arguments. I love it!

meanwhile

supersonic wrote:

We can't trust the magazines, because they have to sell ads and they're written by idiots anyway

Ads have NOTHING to do with it with some mags. And thanks for calling me an idiot. Rather hypocritical that you are having a pop at others for generalising, then do exactly that yourself.

I'll apologize the first time I see an intelligent article in a (non-German*) cycling magazine. Magazines avoid being useful or definite on hardware that they could easily test and where testing would have huge benefits to readers. When Trek or Specialized produce a new bike with supposed reduce energy losses due to frame flex does ANY magazine bother doing the powertap tests that could easily say if this was true? No, not one that I've ever seen. It would be so easy and worth so much more than what you people actually do - but if Specialized or Trek didn't like the answers (and they probably wouldn't) then you'd lose ad revenue.

Keep it vague; keep it excited; keep selling product; keep your jobs.

*Tour's famous tyre tests are a model of what all magazines should do with all hardware.