good toe clip with strap pedals?

ben-----

Hello,

Are there any good toe clip pedals, ones which you don't need special shoes for, out there? (Not too expensive but not budget either.) I've just bought these on ebay, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PAIR-OF-LIGHT ... 0693884498 , haven't got them yet, but I suspect they're not good, but then there doesn't seem to be many good options if you don't want to use special shoes, which I don't. Maybe the ones I've ordered are going to be OK.

diamonddog

As long as they spin OK they should be fine, the toe clip looks to be plastic so will flex.

Apollonius

It depends what you are replacing. If you are taking off something like those horrible little plastic things that Specialized (for example) come fitted with then you have made a wise upgrade. If you are removing a clipless pedal because you don't have the right shoes then that might not be such a step forward.

Pedals and shoes need to be paired, really. What are you choosing to ride in? If it is trainers (and there are plenty of good reasons for that choice) then choose ones that have as hard and flat a sole as you can find. It should work for you.

ben-----

I'm not replacing anything; it's a new bike with no pedals. And I just don't want to have to use special shoes, so pedals with toe clips and straps is what's required. Just seems there aren't much good ones, or choice even, having chosen the toe clips and straps type.

Yeah, the trainers have a flat sole, reasonably hard.

Thanks.

diamonddog

The choices are limited but they can have metal toe clips instead of plastic, the pedal base can be the flatter type with a toothed type base but there is not much else to be done with them. I hope they work out for you.

ben-----

Cool, thanks.

MichaelW

I use MKS Sylvian touring pedal, double sided with no raised bit at the outside.
Metal toe clips with stiff, leather straps.
The best general purpose casual kick-about trainer for bike use I have found is Silver Shadow. Some of the trail shoes have stiffer soles but beware of soles that are too aggressive and fancy external mouldings that can catch.

simon_masterson

MKS are very popular, for platforms,clips and straps. Metal clips and leather straps are my preference, though if your trainers have flimsy toes they may be worn down. Otherwise as long as they aren't covered in silly protrusions they will be fine. Make sure that you feed your straps through correctly if you intend to tighten them.

lotus49

My only advice is not to spend too much on them because sooner or later you will realise you have made the wrong choice and will buy some clipless shoes and pedals.

simon_masterson

lotus49 wrote:

My only advice is not to spend too much on them because sooner or later you will realise you have made the wrong choice and will buy some clipless shoes and pedals.

Unfortunately, I have to agree; a good set of platforms, clips and straps - without shoes - does cost more than a very usable clipless setup...

dandrew

There's a cycle jumble @ Herne Hill Velodrome every few weeks. Plenty of toe clips /leather straps and stuff to kit out an older bike. Well worth exploring! Most of the stuff is new stock / old spec.

Bordersroadie

Try the forum at retrobike.co.uk.

Apollonius

Ben has made is choice and has his reasons for doing so. I can understand that people who ride clipless believe he needs to progress in that direction, but Ben has chosen toe clips and straps. He may change in the future. It is possible he will want better toe-clip-and-straps pedals in the future. For now, try the ones you have bought and see how it goes. It might well be fine for what you want. I would suggest getting some leather straps rather than the stretchy nylon ones. They are not easy to come by, but give a much more solid and secure mounting for your feet. Not as solid as clipless, no doubt, but one step at a time.....

diamonddog

^^This

Monty Dog

Genetik do some decent, lightweight pedals for toeclips and straps - I use some on my classic Gios after the cages cracked on my Campagnolo Record pedal and the cost of replacements was prohibitive - damn the popularity of hipsters riding old bikes!

ben-----

> Genetik do some decent, lightweight pedals for toeclips and straps

Yup, these look quite good:
http://road.cc/content/review/5940-gene ... pro-pedals

> I use some on my classic Gios after the cages cracked on my Campagnolo Record pedal and the cost of replacements was prohibitive

Yup, I've got some old (80s) Shimano 105 pedals on my old bike (just got a new bike but keeping old one). A plastic toe clip has broken in one place and finding and replacing the plastic toe clips seems hard/v.expensive (metal toe clips, which would be far better, even more so), so really I'm looking for two new sets of pedals. Also those Shimano 105 pedals aren't designed to be used with normal shoes I don't think, even though they've got toe clips. So they were never a good idea in the first place. Might give your recommendation a go.

Thanks.

al_kidder

diamonddog wrote:

The choices are limited but they can have metal toe clips instead of plastic, the pedal base can be the flatter type with a toothed type base but there is not much else to be done with them. I hope they work out for you.

I ride with strapped pedals. 2 reasons. 1 is I have a big bunion on one foot and it might be a bit hard to find cycling shoes to fit. Another reason is that if I get a flat miles from nowhere and manage to make a mess of fitting a new tube it could be a very uncomfortable walk to civilisation.
Then there is a 3rd reason. 18 mths ago I hit a bit of debris while riding at about 40kmh. I did a full somersault and landed on my shoulder, destroying my jersey and losing a heap of skin. My feet were still strapped in when I stopped. Clips must be worse.
And a 4th reason. Clacking your way round a supermarket in cycling shoes makes you look stupid if you happen to be picking up a bottle of milk on your way home.

I have used both metal and plastic toe clips and prefer plastic. Metal rusts and eventually breaks. And is harder on trainers and toes.
As for the corrugations on metal pedals, they cut a channel into your shoe over time, but I don't feel them doing it. The actual pedals I've got are Wellgo with a sealed bearing, which I am told matters. They have certainly lasted a lot longer than previous slightly cheaper ones did.

ben-----

> And a 4th reason. Clacking your way round a supermarket in cycling shoes makes you look stupid if you happen to be picking up a bottle of milk on your way home.

Yup, doing things other than cycling is one of my main reasons. And not wanting to carry round or otherwise organise having another pair of shoes to change into.

> I have used both metal and plastic toe clips and prefer plastic. Metal rusts and eventually breaks. And is harder on trainers and toes.

That's interesting. I'd assumed metal would be better because they won't break so easily.

Thanks.

simon_masterson

ben----- wrote:

That's interesting. I'd assumed metal would be better because they won't break so easily.

Thanks.

That's one reason why many (if not most) people DO think that metal clips are better. But it's a non-issue, at least in my experience; my old Christophe clips are about 30 years old. Slightly corroded (though I'm sure some wire wool would sort them out), still fine. The only reason for using plastic platforms and clips in my view is that they are kinder to shoes.

But whilst I remain a keen advocate of beginners using clips and loose straps (a loose strap is much easier to get out of - simply withdrawing the foot is much more instinctive than twisting - but using them still helps with getting used to having your feet attached to the pedals), clipless pedals are much more likely to release in the event of a crash as they are designed to do so; even if your strap is loose, your foot may remain entangled in it.

Hoopdriver

lotus49 wrote:

My only advice is not to spend too much on them because sooner or later you will realise you have made the wrong choice and will buy some clipless shoes and pedals.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with flats and toeclips. I have noticed that the clipless crowd have an almost evangelical zeal when it comes to selling others on their preferred choice of pedal, when in fact the alternative flats and toeclips work very, very well and are certainly an acceptable choice.

simon_masterson

Hoopdriver wrote:

lotus49 wrote:

My only advice is not to spend too much on them because sooner or later you will realise you have made the wrong choice and will buy some clipless shoes and pedals.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with flats and toeclips. I have noticed that the clipless crowd have an almost evangelical zeal when it comes to selling others on their preferred choice of pedal, when in fact the alternative flats and toeclips work very, very well and are certainly an acceptable choice.

They do, and they are. I despair at some of the nonsense that I read on here; clips and straps are dangerous, hard to use, you absolutely won't be able to get your foot out if you tighten the strap, etc...

kwi

I actually miss my clips and straps, especially when my legs are so done I can't twist out of my spds.
less maintenance too.

simon_masterson

kwi wrote:

I actually miss my clips and straps, especially when my legs are so done I can't twist out of my spds.
less maintenance too.

Me too, but the thing I missed most when I switched was the secure feeling of the tight strap. With that said, I don't so much miss the numb toes on cold days!

Hoopdriver

Simon Masterson wrote:

Hoopdriver wrote:

lotus49 wrote:

My only advice is not to spend too much on them because sooner or later you will realise you have made the wrong choice and will buy some clipless shoes and pedals.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with flats and toeclips. I have noticed that the clipless crowd have an almost evangelical zeal when it comes to selling others on their preferred choice of pedal, when in fact the alternative flats and toeclips work very, very well and are certainly an acceptable choice.

They do, and they are. I despair at some of the nonsense that I read on here; clips and straps are dangerous, hard to use, you absolutely won't be able to get your foot out if you tighten the strap, etc...

Rubbish. Cyclists have been using clips and straps and flats for generations. To hear people go on about these things one would think that nobody survived on bicycles before the mid-90s or so because they were on these suicidal pedals. It just ain't so. I grew upon them, as did everyone else until the past 10-15 years. I never had any trouble extricating my foot quickly when I needed to, nor did anybody I knew. It is a matter of becoming accustomed to using them - not unlike clipless I might add. And unless you are riding on a track, there is no reason whatever to tighten up the straps on your feet. None at all.

simon_masterson

Hoopdriver wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

Hoopdriver wrote:

lotus49 wrote:

My only advice is not to spend too much on them because sooner or later you will realise you have made the wrong choice and will buy some clipless shoes and pedals.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with flats and toeclips. I have noticed that the clipless crowd have an almost evangelical zeal when it comes to selling others on their preferred choice of pedal, when in fact the alternative flats and toeclips work very, very well and are certainly an acceptable choice.

They do, and they are. I despair at some of the nonsense that I read on here; clips and straps are dangerous, hard to use, you absolutely won't be able to get your foot out if you tighten the strap, etc...

Rubbish. Cyclists have been using clips and straps and flats for generations. To hear people go on about these things one would think that nobody survived on bicycles before the mid-90s or so because they were on these suicidal pedals. It just ain't so. I grew upon them, as did everyone else until the past 10-15 years. I never had any trouble extricating my foot quickly when I needed to, nor did anybody I knew. It is a matter of becoming accustomed to using them - not unlike clipless I might add. And unless you are riding on a track, there is no reason whatever to tighten up the straps on your feet. None at all.

Agreed on all points but the last; I don't pull excessively on the pedals, but I do prefer the stability and security of a tight strap. And I still never failed to get my foot out in any tight spots...

charlie_potatoes

Simon Masterson wrote:

clips and straps are dangerous, hard to use, you absolutely won't be able to get your foot out if you tighten the strap

+1

















Only joking

simon_masterson

Cycling on roads is really dangerous as well, don't forget that!

lotus49

I never said clips and straps were dangerous but the vast majority of roadies both on this forum and around where I live use clipless pedals. The only roadies I ever see using toeclips are either clearly beginners or are very old and have been cycling since before clipless pedals were invented.

Toeclips worked OK but they are almost extinct for a reason.

kwi

lotus49 wrote:

Toeclips worked OK but they are almost extinct for a reason.

Shimanos marketing department.

lotus49

kwi wrote:

lotus49 wrote:

Toeclips worked OK but they are almost extinct for a reason.

Shimanos marketing department.

You've got to admit, they are good .

Hoopdriver

lotus49 wrote:

I never said clips and straps were dangerous but the vast majority of roadies both on this forum and around where I live use clipless pedals. The only roadies I ever see using toeclips are either clearly beginners or are very old and have been cycling since before clipless pedals were invented.

Toeclips worked OK but they are almost extinct for a reason.

I take exception to the assertion that you have to be very old to have been cycling before the era of clipless pedals!