What are these pedals for?

A11YourBase

I just got a cheap old road bike and i'm sure as many people on here can empathize, i have got the cycling bug already!

I have just started commuting and one of the first things i want to do is fix my feet to the pedals in some way to i can benefit from pedaling upwards. Pictures of my bike and pedals can be found here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/62249235@N ... 637604958/

I'm completely skint and so was thinking initially the cheapest way would be toe clips and straps but unsure what exactly i have to buy in order to fix them to the pedals i already have. I can see they have various holes for fixings of some sort. Do toe clips come with the screws etc and are my pedals able to accept all toe clips?

Any advice much appreciated.

diamonddog

Metal cage & straps. but I do not think you will like them - PITA and pulling up on the pedal with these does not work that well IMO.
I would use them as they are then get clipless pedals & shoes when you have saved up enough money.

pirnie

I agree, toe straps are pretty useless. Really hard to get your feet in and out of them and not that effective. Every beginner I know who has started using them has either switched straight to clipless or abandoned the toe straps altogether and just ridden with flats.

If you're keen to go clipless then I'd suggest looking at the classifieds on here, there's some pretty cheap used pedals about, and shoes as well if you have "normal" shape/size feet (unlike myself!)

Monty Dog

25 years ago we didn't have a choice and we all learned to cope with them. Some track riders still double-up with straps and clipless pedals because clipless is not 100% reliable. The downside is that to work well, the straps need to be tight and that means learning to cope with a degree of discomfort / pain but they're certainly better than flats because you are able to transmit more power through the foot for more of the stroke - flats are for people who can't pedal properly!

cesco

Just posting to say that I have a VERY similar Peugeot bike. The colours and striping are exactly the same. To make this post more relevant: I have strapless clips on it. I happened to like them, but to each their own of course.

A11YourBase

Thanks a lot for the replies. So my existing pedals are made for toe clips and people don't recommend I bother with them and i'm better off waiting...

In light of this i have more questions!

I can get hold of some spd pedals for free off a friends old mountain bike. Is there spd specific shoes or is it just spd cleats and they fit on all shoes? Am finding it a bit confusing. I eventually want a road specific pedal and shoe but am unsure if its worth buying shoes/cleats for these to start with?

Cheers

A11YourBase

cesco wrote:

Just posting to say that I have a VERY similar Peugeot bike. The colours and striping are exactly the same. To make this post more relevant: I have strapless clips on it. I happened to like them, but to each their own of course.

Hi there, I do love the bike and i see it as a great starting point for getting into cycling. Interesting to here you like the toe clips without straps and as they are cheap it would get me going straight away in terms of using more of my available leg power! If i just bought clips do they come with the fixings to fit them to my pedals/

craker

Don't the right shoes for straps have a flap or something above your toes that engages with the strap making it harder to pull your feet out? Clips / Straps without the right shoes are like clipless pedals without a cleat.

[Having just Googled to find a picture to match my musings, I've drawn a blank so I'm probably talking nonsense).

A11YourBase

craker wrote:

Don't the right shoes for straps have a flap or something above your toes that engages with the strap making it harder to pull your feet out? Clips / Straps without the right shoes are like clipless pedals without a cleat.

[Having just Googled to find a picture to match my musings, I've drawn a blank so I'm probably talking nonsense).

I was under the impression that clips and straps are for use with any everyday shoe which is one advantage i suppose? I think you normal shoes don't slip out because they have a clip over the toe and a strap over your shoe...?

davidtalbot

Yes to clip in you'll need SPD shoes and in particular SPD mountain bike shoes (or road shoes for mtb pedals). To be honest for commuting I'd say the some MTB shoes (have a look in your local Lidl, they had some cycling shoes on offer a couple of weeks ago so may still have some) will be fine, and a whole lot easier to walk in at the other end! Also nothing wrong with the MTB pedals, better saving the cash of a better bike rather than change something that won't make a difference!
Though if you can't afford some shoes to go with your free pedals (you may need to buy cleats as well) don't discount toe clips totally, most of us who grew up in the 70s/80s or earlier grew up riding with them and while modern clipless are certainly better toe clips did the job you want them to!

davidtalbot

A11YourBase wrote:

craker wrote:

Don't the right shoes for straps have a flap or something above your toes that engages with the strap making it harder to pull your feet out? Clips / Straps without the right shoes are like clipless pedals without a cleat.

[Having just Googled to find a picture to match my musings, I've drawn a blank so I'm probably talking nonsense).

I was under the impression that clips and straps are for use with any everyday shoe which is one advantage i suppose? I think you normal shoes don't slip out because they have a clip over the toe and a strap over your shoe...?

Sure maybe there are shoes to make them work better but any shoes will do!

Dmak

Pedaling.

A11YourBase

Dmak wrote:

Pedaling.

Apologies if i didn't make it obvious enough to everyone that i was talking specifically about what the shape and threaded holes in this particular pedal were for. Thanks for your reply though, really useful stuff.

slow bloke

Unread postby craker » Fri Aug 09, 2013 12:48 pm
Don't the right shoes for straps have a flap or something above your toes that engages with the strap making it harder to pull your feet out? Clips / Straps without the right shoes are like clipless pedals without a cleat.

[Having just Googled to find a picture to match my musings, I've drawn a blank so I'm probably talking nonsense).

In the old days you would have a cleat on the sole of the shoe, this was a metal or plastic plate with a deep groove in it, when you put your shoe in the pedal and clip this groove would fit over the rear edge of the pedal and the strap would be used to pull it snug. One used to cycle around with new shoes waiting for the pedal to leave a groove in the sole of any new shoes so you could nail the cleat in the correct place - yes you had to nail them in place. IIRc when they were phased out in the prop pleton by look etc the incidence of long term knee injuries decreased but that may be a myth. Toe clips and straps can also be very difficult to get out of if wearing trainers. Straps and clips one of the old school things that we are better of without.

keef66

Dmak wrote:

Pedaling.

Pedalling

A11YourBase

Thanks for everyone's help or apparent lack-of in the minority cases. I have just read this article which has possibly at least made me settle down about the apparent need to be clipped in.

http://www.cyclorama.net/viewArticle.ph ... ubjectId=9

doug5_10

That article is the biggest load of tosh, pay no attention to it.

desweller

The gains are definitely in the regions of diminishing returns as far as recreational riders are concerned. If a touring cyclist can ride from East Asia to Western Europe in Crocs then chances are that attaching yourself to your pedals isn't worth getting that worried about unless you're involved in competition.

MichaelW

Firstly,as a newbie, do you have the bike-handling skills to attach yourself to pedals. Most people who start using clipless or convert from toe clips to clipless have a depth of experience and can do stuff like track stands, bunny hops etc from hours of riding as a child. If you really are a newbie to cycling, then ride on platform pedals for a while and suck in the inefficiencies. My everyday utility bike has platform pedals and I am happy to use them.
Second: correct use of toe clips in the clipless age is to accept them as a halfway house in terms of efficiency with the added advantage of using any shoe you like. Do NOT use them in the old racing fashion with the straps cinched tight. There is no excuse for using racing cleats unless you are a beardy old man who used to race in the 1970s.

Pick a toe clip the correct size for your feet (S/M/L)
Pick a strap of stiff material, pref leather.
Thread the strap with a twist inside the pedal to keep it in place.
Tighten the strap so you can move your shoe in and out then leave it.
Select shoes with an appropriate amount of grippyness; too many knobbles and mouldings will catch, too slick soles will slide around. My old-school Silver Shadow trainers have just the right amount for easy riding + plenty of leather reinforcement to prevent wear and tear.
Lace your shoes to prevent catching on the top of the toeclip. On this site, look at the method called CrissCross lacing.

Toe clips come with all the nuts, bolts and washers that you need. I prefer metal ones.

If you really want high-performance riding rather than high-convenience riding, then get some clipless pedals and shoes.

Alitogata

Monty Dog wrote:

25 years ago we didn't have a choice and we all learned to cope with them. Some track riders still double-up with straps and clipless pedals because clipless is not 100% reliable. The downside is that to work well, the straps need to be tight and that means learning to cope with a degree of discomfort / pain but they're certainly better than flats because you are able to transmit more power through the foot for more of the stroke - flats are for people who can't pedal properly!

Flats are for people who don't road race and give very good pedaling and balance technique to those who use them. Combined with a good pair of rubber sole shoes, are same effective, more comfortable and safest than clipless especially on urban cycling traffic conditions.

Try Makashima Sylvans or other Japanese made flats too see the difference.

Monty Dog

Alitogata wrote:

Flats are for people who don't road race and give very good pedaling and balance technique to those who use them. Combined with a good pair of rubber sole shoes, are same effective, more comfortable and safest than clipless especially on urban cycling traffic conditions.

Try Makashima Sylvans or other Japanese made flats too see the difference.

Rubbish - they're worn by people who lack the balance and skill to keep their bike upright and have to rely on putting their foot down when they lose control

doug5_10

Clipless are just as comfortable when set up properly and the safety thing is nonsense. Clipping in and out is a doddle and if you crash they disengage easily, imagine crashing in clips and tight straps! The only situation I can see flats as an advantage would be downhill MTBing and for bumblies doing 5 mins to the shops and back. If you need to walk about, clip in/out loads (i.e commute, urban riding) use MTB double sided system with 'walkable' shoes. For any decent distance or length of time, clipless is vastly superior. If I get on a bike with flats now, it feels like a piece of cr@p.

simon_masterson

Glad to see that the 'I used the cheap clips and straps on my Halfords bike for 2 weeks before upgrading as I planned to do anyway, and therefore I am an authority on them' parade has turned out...

I use clipless pedals. They may have their benefits (and cost less, and have much better availablility of shoes, etc etc), but quality steel clips (eg. Christophe, MKS) in the right size for your foot, on a decent platform with some leather straps, give a really solid connection to the bike; you can certainly pull on them every bit as much as you can with clipless. If anything I find the connection with a strap more positive, and I've never pulled a foot with a strap, whereas I have with an SPD. I may not miss the numb feet in the cold, but sometimes I do miss the feeling of a tight strap. I also have never had trouble getting my foot out whilst wearing trainers, or out of a tight strap in a tight spot. I'm glad I had done thousands of miles on my Christophe clips and Chossy straps before switching to SPDs; if you can tighten and loosen your straps, you will find clipless pedals a breeze. I did.

Also, disregard the opinion of anyone who uses single-sided road pedals but tells you that clips and straps are difficult to get into. It's just a matter of getting the hang of it; once mastered it is very easy, provided that you have the right size clip and the right size strap, and your shoes aren't covered in protrusions. At least with a clip and strap you can have a fully functional platform to pedal on prior to flipping.

But I'd decide this on economics, personally. Just a decent set of clips and straps (i.e. excluding new footwear) will cost you more than a basic set of SPDs and some shoes.

RDW

cesco wrote:

Just posting to say that I have a VERY similar Peugeot bike. The colours and striping are exactly the same.

We should start a club or something. Mine's an 'Equipe' in red, which I think was a few quid cheaper at the time.

Clips and straps are cool with the hipster crowd right now - apparently some people will pay £90 just for the straps:

http://www.kinokocycles.com/parts/where ... s/p/1.html

You'd probably need to convert your Pug to a fixie, though, and buy a flat cap in tweed.

sparklehedgehog

Halfordsare selling the shimano spd pedals so cheap at the minute

www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/serv ... yId_165566

And if you stick in code B13BP20 you get a further 20% off that!

Total bargain

Alitogata

Monty Dog wrote:

Alitogata wrote:

Flats are for people who don't road race and give very good pedaling and balance technique to those who use them. Combined with a good pair of rubber sole shoes, are same effective, more comfortable and safest than clipless especially on urban cycling traffic conditions.

Try Makashima Sylvans or other Japanese made flats too see the difference.

Rubbish - they're worn by people who lack the balance and skill to keep their bike upright and have to rely on putting their foot down when they lose control

Rubbish (too) - I would say that clipless ( when we talk about those who don't race and don't want high performance) are used from those who rely on pedals to give them this more pedaling power that they miss due to their inadequate pedaling technique.

Dmak

A11YourBase wrote:

Dmak wrote:

Pedaling.

Apologies if i didn't make it obvious enough to everyone that i was talking specifically about what the shape and threaded holes in this particular pedal were for. Thanks for your reply though, really useful stuff.

You're welcome, any time. Had to be said

Alitogata

doug5_10 wrote:

Clipless are just as comfortable when set up properly and the safety thing is nonsense. Clipping in and out is a doddle and if you crash they disengage easily, imagine crashing in clips and tight straps! The only situation I can see flats as an advantage would be downhill MTBing and for bumblies doing 5 mins to the shops and back. If you need to walk about, clip in/out loads (i.e commute, urban riding) use MTB double sided system with 'walkable' shoes. For any decent distance or length of time, clipless is vastly superior. If I get on a bike with flats now, it feels like a piece of cr@p.

Don't be so sure. Check this video where a friend of mine,( and very experienced MTB rider) had triple pelvis fracture just because clips didn't disengage as easily as you say. And they didn't even ride downhill.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYJWZ5hPpKk

Imagine what would have happened in case he fall like this on a street full of traffic.

I use clipless only for long distance rides, audax etc, and when I'm sure that there would be no need to clipout every now and then.
Other wise and for commuter use, I use Sylvan Streams pedals with Fiveten Friction or other similar kind of shoes, that stick like glue on my pedals but can disengage immediately in case of collision. And this really saved my life the other day, that a taxi driver got suddenly in front of me while I was riding with 30+km/h. If I wasn't able to throw the bike away from me and roll on the other side, then I would have seen "lettuces upside down" ( as we say here ) getting through the taxi's rear window..

blackhands

Back to the original question. I don't recognise those particular pedals, but they appear to require toeclips specific to them. What brand are they?.

I've got both Shimano AX and Campagnolo Pedals dating from the 1970/80s which are similar but not the same. I doubt that you will now find toeclips to fit yours.

On the general question of clips and straps in the old days, top quality pedals (such as Campag Record) were so weighted that they always stayed in them best position for getting your feet in. Also, shoes had smooth soles, except for the shoeplate, so that they were easier to get in/out. When I stared riding we used quite low fixed wheel most of the time so getting in and out of toeclips was an essential skill to learn. We seldom tightened the straps for everday riding on club runs or general training etc.

A modern trend of using trainers with ridged soles and toeclips seems to be a recipe for disaster.

Alitogata

blackhands wrote:

Back to the original question. I don't recognise those particular pedals, but they appear to require toeclips specific to them. What brand are they?.

I've got both Shimano AX and Campagnolo Pedals dating from the 1970/80s which are similar but not the same. I doubt that you will now find toeclips to fit yours.

On the general question of clips and straps in the old days, top quality pedals (such as Campag Record) were so weighted that they always stayed in them best position for getting your feet in. Also, shoes had smooth soles, except for the shoeplate, so that they were easier to get in/out. When I stared riding we used quite low fixed wheel most of the time so getting in and out of toeclips was an essential skill to learn. We seldom tightened the straps for everday riding on club runs or general training etc.

A modern trend of using trainers with ridged soles and toeclips seems to be a recipe for disaster.

I totally agree on that..