Clipless Pedals, really required, I mean, really?

stevetaylor20

Guys,

I use flat pedals and always have, i'm also extremely fit and am confident that even on a light hybrid commuter I can beat the most (amateurs, not team sky!) on light full carbon bikes. - Not to sound like a jerk, that's just how it seems. I have a racer full carbon, only had it a month. I hear some people say there's no point of a road bike without clipless, which I think is a stupid comment, as it doesn't make sense. I can get the point where efficiency can be lost, but it does not necessarily mean, surely, that my ride speed power etc, will be less than other people? A ride is more complicated than pedals and, my understanding of athletic events is that generally about 70% is mental and the rest physical.

I know there are technical reasons, but a spade is a spade and it's a pedal you put your foot on to move a bicycle, or am I being slightly simple minded? I don't know if people can see where i'm coming from here. I'm not against buying them, I simply can't be bothered to be on a bike and not be able to come off it when and where i'd like safely without falling. Plus to me the cycling shoes look a little non-stylish! Plus I like flats because i personally think that, depending upon where you are and elevation you should need to change you foot position on the pedal.

Feel free to say if i;m talking rubbish, i am fairly new to road bikes

If i'm talking rubbish please say

mpatts

They make a huge difference - in simple terms you can apply more power more of the time (essentially you do a 'wiping' motion on the bottom of the stroke).

There are hills that I couldn't even get up on my fixie if I didn't run clipless.

The other element which is worth considering is that road shoes have extremely stiff shoes - you lose nothing in shoe flex transferring the power to the pedals.

In short - ignoring comparisons to others - you will be faster clipless.

mpatts

Oh and one other point - the cleat position is an important element to the way the bike fits overall - it helps to keep them in the same place.

vmaxphil

the choice is yours, ride flats if you want or toe clips and straps if it suits you, clip less is not mandatory

stevetaylor20

Fair enough mate, thanks for the information, guess i'll get on wiggle and buy some. Maybe if you don't mind another question?!

If you can recommend a clipless pedal and possibly a clipless pedal that can be used as flats at the same time that would be great! WOuld be nice to go down on a small commute, rarely, on the road bike you know, but not essential at all....

Thanks again for your advice much appreciated

turnerjohn

guessing you come from a MTB background ?!
clip-less make a massive difference as you can use the entire rotation (up as well as downstoke) ...although you learn to pedal differently in circles which is far more efficient.
The other difference is clip-less cycle shoes are much stiffer (guessing your wearing trainers?) and therefore no power loss through flex....believe me it makes a big difference and being locked in makes you feel more instictive and part of the bike.
There are no safety issues as if you do take a tumble your foot will easily twist out.

nothing point, if your as fit as you think you are then race on flats !!!

stevetaylor20

Cool thanks John, again if you have any recommendations of good clipless pedals fell free..thanks again guys. I'm on wiggle now!

wongataa

stevetaylor20 wrote:

Fair enough mate, thanks for the information, guess i'll get on wiggle and buy some. Maybe if you don't mind another question?!

If you can recommend a clipless pedal and possibly a clipless pedal that can be used as flats at the same time that would be great! WOuld be nice to go down on a small commute, rarely, on the road bike you know, but not essential at all....

Thanks again for your advice much appreciated

Shimano do SPD pedals with flats on one side.

stevetaylor20

cool, i've just seen the A530 model, they look alright

roger_merriman

If your foot is comfortable, and secure, then the pedal is doing it's job, clip less is another way of doing that, the faster/efficiency claims are at best marginal. road cycling is mostly about the heart not the legs.

this said flat pedals partially decent ones tend to be heavy and big so do have to watch it round the bends, or you'll risk pedal strike.

team47b

stevetaylor20 wrote:

If i'm talking rubbish please say

You are not talking rubbish BUT until you have tried both then you can only understand half the argument.

Get some pedals try them then have an opinion one way or another then we can all rubbish your comments

Mrs T has A530's on her hybrid, it's a good way to make a comparison, useful in traffic saves having to keep clipping in and out, then you can move onto other types of clipless pedals when you see the advantage.

turnerjohn

stevetaylor20 wrote:

Cool thanks John, again if you have any recommendations of good clipless pedals fell free..thanks again guys. I'm on wiggle now!

if your going down the shoe / pedal route wiggle are doing shimano 105 and Ultegra pedals at around 40% and shimano shoes around 22% off...and with wiggle you get free returns and Haribo :-) (edit not every time tho !)

grizedaleforest

I use the A530 pedals mentioned above on my general purpose cyclocross based bike. Good value, easy to set up and use and will give you a good feel for what clipless is about. Match them with touring oriented shoes; they have rubber 'bumpers' on the sole which make them easier to walk in - you can also find some reasonably non-cycle looking shoes of this type if you're concerned about style. I will be amazed if trying clipless for a few weeks doesn't convert you!!

stevetaylor20

THanks guys, i've ordered some a530 as a tester and will then take the whole spd from there..once i've been converted!

turnerjohn

stevetaylor20 wrote:

THanks guys, i've ordered some a530 as a tester and will then take the whole spd from there..once i've been converted!

one point....A530's use 2 bolt MTB style cleats and so won't fit proper road shoes (without a hidious and very akward shimano adapter), so your need Touring or MTB shoes to fit....which unless full on carbon soled won't be as stiff and you have a smaller contact area (road cleats are much larger for more area contact) and so are less comfortable....and yes I use both

team47b

touring shoes have the same stiffness of sole as most road shoes, I have both, they are the same soles but with added rubber strips to aid walking, I have tried the 'bend the sole' test they are the same. You wont tell the difference. They are the same.

MTB shoe soles are more flexible you may or may not personally notice the difference, but are more rigid than the trainers you currently ride in.

If the soles are rigid enough then the contact point is irrelevant as the whole shoe is then your contact point and is larger than the platform pedals you are used to.

simon_masterson

With the greatest of respect, I generally find that people as confident as you are just unaware of the standard of the 'competition'...

But there are many misconceptions about clipless pedals, and a few of them are to be found here. Your stroke range isn't really increased because most of the time you shouldn't be pulling on the pedals, and the only way that you're going to be able to 'power through the whole stroke' is if you disconnect the cranks from one another, and that will really make you faster...

But they do work. They keep your foot in place (which helps with higher cadence and confidence out of the saddle) and give you a choice of comfortable shoes. It doesn't matter what you use as long as it's comfortable; don't listen to anyone who tells you that you've got to have 'road' kit.

turnerjohn

Simon Masterson wrote:

It doesn't matter what you use as long as it's comfortable; don't listen to anyone who tells you that you've got to have 'road' kit.

what i saw trying to tell him that the pedals his buying (thus also the shoes) arent compatable with road kit :roll:

stevetaylor20

I am a little confused by replies and everything i've read. The fact is that everyone says something completely different, therefore my judgement is that no one really knows and generally it 'probably' doesn't really matter. There is no obvious and clear answer. If you're comfortable with what you have and it works then..! For what i've seen, pedals are pedals and shoes are shoes, unless you're going for full pro tour de france participation you're probably just an amateur.

I am going to try out a combination set to see how it goes.

On another note, how does one get to compete in the actual tour de france, could i do it? - I don't mean the amateur one where you do a couple of stages. I'm not underestimating people or competition, they're all human and if not they're on drugs, to be fair many of them probably are still doing drugs on the tour!

frisbee

stevetaylor20 wrote:

I am a little confused by replies and everything i've read. The fact is that everyone says something completely different, therefore my judgement is that no one really knows and generally it 'probably' doesn't really matter. There is no obvious and clear answer. If you're comfortable with what you have and it works then..! For what i've seen, pedals are pedals and shoes are shoes, unless you're going for full pro tour de france participation you're probably just an amateur.

I am going to try out a combination set to see how it goes.

On another note, how does one get to compete in the actual tour de france, could i do it? - I don't mean the amateur one where you do a couple of stages. I'm not underestimating people or competition, they're all human and if not they're on drugs, to be fair many of them probably are still doing drugs on the tour!

You can ride around on a 3 year's old bike with stabilizers if you like! That's what I and all the other posters on this thread would actually recommend if we weren't trying to keep a secret advantage to ourselves.

I can beat most amateurs on proper bikes fairly easily when I ride mine. I can't beat the pros though, they are already immune to falling off laughing by their exposure to Wiggins sideburns.

charlie_potatoes

stevetaylor20 wrote:

On another note, how does one get to compete in the actual tour de france, could i do it? - I don't mean the amateur one where you do a couple of stages. I'm not underestimating people or competition, they're all human and if not they're on drugs, to be fair many of them probably are still doing drugs on the tour!

:shock:

crikey

You've mentioned 'beating' amateurs a couple of times.

Are you going to quantify this in anyway?

markhewitt1978

Tour de France. Hahahahaha. I can but guarantee you even the best cyclist on this forum would be destroyed in the TdF. Pro cyclists can ride their entire career and not be as good as the guy who finishes last on the tour.

fast as fupp

On another note, how does one get to compete in the actual tour de france, could i do it? - I don't mean the amateur one where you do a couple of stages. I'm not underestimating people or competition, they're all human and if not they're on drugs, to be fair many of them probably are still doing drugs on the tour![/quote]

you need to write to-

M. C. Prudhomme
Amaury Sport Organisation
Paris
France

give reasons why you want to participate and enclose cheque for 500 euros.

they will put you on a waiting list, but in the meantime KEEP TRAINING!

turnerjohn

stevetaylor20 wrote:

On another note, how does one get to compete in the actual tour de france, could i do it? - I don't mean the amateur one where you do a couple of stages. I'm not underestimating people or competition, they're all human and if not they're on drugs, to be fair many of them probably are still doing drugs on the tour!

have to start off Cat 4 racing...win races get points, move up to Cat 3 and again get points / win races and if you dont keep doing that you drop down to Cat 4 again...Cat 2 and Cat 1 require loads and loads of commitment and training...start getting sponsors but until you make PRO (aka no other job cycling is your life) your never get into a big team...from then its points and winning and youve got to be at your pinnicle to even get anywhere. To ride the TDF the team needs enough wins and points under its belt to even be considered to enter...and even then they choose the team.......there you go thats racing in a nutshell so yes you could but you have a better chance of winning the lottery !

as above comments I dont think you understand racing and quite what it entails !

NewTTer

stevetaylor20 wrote:

Guys,

I use flat pedals and always have, i'm also extremely fit and am confident that even on a light hybrid commuter I can beat the most (amateurs, not team sky!) on light full carbon bikes. - Not to sound like a jerk, that's just how it seems. I have a racer full carbon, only had it a month. I hear some people say there's no point of a road bike without clipless, which I think is a stupid comment, as it doesn't make sense. I can get the point where efficiency can be lost, but it does not necessarily mean, surely, that my ride speed power etc, will be less than other people? A ride is more complicated than pedals and, my understanding of athletic events is that generally about 70% is mental and the rest physical.

I know there are technical reasons, but a spade is a spade and it's a pedal you put your foot on to move a bicycle, or am I being slightly simple minded? I don't know if people can see where i'm coming from here. I'm not against buying them, I simply can't be bothered to be on a bike and not be able to come off it when and where i'd like safely without falling. Plus to me the cycling shoes look a little non-stylish! Plus I like flats because i personally think that, depending upon where you are and elevation you should need to change you foot position on the pedal.

Feel free to say if i;m talking rubbish, i am fairly new to road bikes

If i'm talking rubbish please say

You best back those comments up with some figures or links to Strava rides

stevetaylor20

I don't time anything, i just watch people that I pass..

Thanks for everyone's advice, i will take this all into account.

NewTTer

stevetaylor20 wrote:

I don't time anything, i just watch people that I pass..

Thanks for everyone's advice, i will take this all into account.

Just a bullsh***er then FFS

Neil_aky

Most of the performance is about you, not the bike, not the pedals but you.

I switched to clipless (I went with SPDs so I can walk in the shoes) and the biggest advantage is that I feel more secure on the bike, they hold my leg square (even when I get tired) and my Shimano SPD shoes are the most comfortable shoes I own and the stiffness of the shoes prevents a lot of foot ache.

Come back and let us know how you get on.

Have a look at using Strava or Endomondo (you can use a smartphone) - that will tell you how you compare to your peers!

It is a good feeling overtaking someone who is on a really expensive bike wearing all the kit (I take pleasure from it); however, it is usually when I'm only on a 20 mile ride - maybe they are on a century!

crikey

I don't time anything, i just watch people that I pass..

Thanks for everyone's advice, i will take this all into account.

Sad.

wytco0

A slightly different view as I am not a racer I am a beginner who does not know much about riding But.,... I just fine being clipped in is more comfortable and I feel more part of the bike especially on hills.