Clipless Pedals: Are they really worth it?
Replies
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Biggest thing for me being clipped in is that you can rest your quads and use your hammies for extended periods of time if need be.
They will definitely increase your speed, endurance, handling and efficiency.
This, and it also helps with hills. I love them and can't get on a bike without them. It feels like I am one with the bike.
My wife on the other hand, just cant get the hang of them.
You shouldn't be moving around the pedal stroke with your hammies. That's one of the leading causes to my knee injury.0 -
chivalryder wrote: »Biggest thing for me being clipped in is that you can rest your quads and use your hammies for extended periods of time if need be.
They will definitely increase your speed, endurance, handling and efficiency.
This, and it also helps with hills. I love them and can't get on a bike without them. It feels like I am one with the bike.
My wife on the other hand, just cant get the hang of them.
You shouldn't be moving around the pedal stroke with your hammies. That's one of the leading causes to my knee injury.
Agreed. Again, the clipless allows you to use your hamstrings to some degree, rather than staying limp, but you don't want to rock your pelvis so far back on the saddle that they are the only muscles firing. Surefire path to injury.
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They have pedals where one side is flat and the other accepts clippless shoes. I bought them for my road bike (which I only ride on a trainer for cardio because I'm a chicken!). So perhaps you can try those out by clipping into one pedal and not the other until you get used to it? At my LBS one of the guys there said that, generally, people fall with clipless when they are either stopped or going very slow. All the comments on here seemed to support that. Point is that you probably will hurt your ego more than your body when you fall (I hear everyone does at least once)...
Two years ago, I broke my ankle... No. I obliterated my ankle when I fell off my hybrid in the road. I tried to scale uneven ground and went crashing to the pavement in the middle of traffic. I was in regular sneakers and using flat pedals. I instinctively put my foot down to brace my fall. I was going at least 17mph. The road jarred my ankle and yanked it right off the bone(s). By the end of my tumble my ankle was hanging on by the tendons only. So flat pedals can also be dangerous. I kinna wish I had on clips that day!!! BTW, 9 pins and a plate were waiting for me in surgery that night, along with 6 months of rehab. Oh yeah, and about 50lbs of fat from overeating and not moving!
That seriously sucks and I'm sorry to hear that happened to you. I don't think clipless would have helped you in that scenario though. After cycling in clipless pedals for a few years, I could get my feet out of the pedals just as fast as you can get them off flat pedals. If this was an "instinctive" reaction to put your foot down, you could have done the exact same thing in clipless pedals.
On the other side of the coin, I've seen someone get hit lightly by a car and his bike ended up about 10 ft away from the rider...
and one of his feet was still in the shoe...
and the shoe was still attached to the bike.0 -
So basically what we've got here is
- 4 or 5 of us advocating the benefits of clipless pedals
- an entire racing community sworn to clipless
- the vast vast vast majority of recreational riders using clipless
and
- one guy saying clipless will lead to injury and cause you to be a poor technical rider0 -
chivalryder wrote: »On the other side of the coin, I've seen someone get hit lightly by a car and his bike ended up about 10 ft away from the rider...
and one of his feet was still in the shoe...
and the shoe was still attached to the bike.
I would have to classify that as a "freak accident" - even more outside the realm of probability than the typical car-vs-cyclist incident.
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chivalryder wrote: »Biggest thing for me being clipped in is that you can rest your quads and use your hammies for extended periods of time if need be.
They will definitely increase your speed, endurance, handling and efficiency.
This, and it also helps with hills. I love them and can't get on a bike without them. It feels like I am one with the bike.
My wife on the other hand, just cant get the hang of them.
You shouldn't be moving around the pedal stroke with your hammies. That's one of the leading causes to my knee injury.
Agreed. Again, the clipless allows you to use your hamstrings to some degree, rather than staying limp, but you don't want to rock your pelvis so far back on the saddle that they are the only muscles firing. Surefire path to injury.
Yup! Yup! The only work your hammies should be doing is lifting your back foot up enough so it's applying zero pressure to the pedal on the back stroke, allowing you to put maximum power into the down stroke of the opposite foot.
This is something you can and should be able to do on flat pedals, though it is a lot more difficult because if you lift too much, your foot will leave the pedal.
This is why I believe people who don't race believe clipless pedals are better than flats - because they can't spin the pedals quickly without their feet leaving the pedals, because they don't have good pedaling technique. If you train and practice enough, you can do it on flat pedals, and in doing so, you'll become faster and more efficient when your feet actually are secured to your pedals.0 -
chivalryder wrote: »Biggest thing for me being clipped in is that you can rest your quads and use your hammies for extended periods of time if need be.
They will definitely increase your speed, endurance, handling and efficiency.
This, and it also helps with hills. I love them and can't get on a bike without them. It feels like I am one with the bike.
My wife on the other hand, just cant get the hang of them.
You shouldn't be moving around the pedal stroke with your hammies. That's one of the leading causes to my knee injury.
Agreed. Again, the clipless allows you to use your hamstrings to some degree, rather than staying limp, but you don't want to rock your pelvis so far back on the saddle that they are the only muscles firing. Surefire path to injury.
I definitely didn't mean using your hammies with aggression or anything. Just keeping the pedals moving while your quads rest for a bit. Would never make a climb using my hamstrings. That hurts my knees just thinking about it.
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chivalryder wrote: »On the other side of the coin, I've seen someone get hit lightly by a car and his bike ended up about 10 ft away from the rider...
and one of his feet was still in the shoe...
and the shoe was still attached to the bike.
woohooo!!!! Fear mongering based on a freak accident!!!!0 -
So basically what we've got here is
- 4 or 5 of us advocating the benefits of clipless pedals
- an entire racing community sworn to clipless
- the vast vast vast majority of recreational riders using clipless
and
- one guy saying clipless will lead to injury and cause you to be a poor technical rider
Ignorance is bliss.0 -
Well, he did say it was beneficial for people who race and I race against myself every time I ride so....
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chivalryder wrote: »They have pedals where one side is flat and the other accepts clippless shoes. I bought them for my road bike (which I only ride on a trainer for cardio because I'm a chicken!). So perhaps you can try those out by clipping into one pedal and not the other until you get used to it? At my LBS one of the guys there said that, generally, people fall with clipless when they are either stopped or going very slow. All the comments on here seemed to support that. Point is that you probably will hurt your ego more than your body when you fall (I hear everyone does at least once)...
Two years ago, I broke my ankle... No. I obliterated my ankle when I fell off my hybrid in the road. I tried to scale uneven ground and went crashing to the pavement in the middle of traffic. I was in regular sneakers and using flat pedals. I instinctively put my foot down to brace my fall. I was going at least 17mph. The road jarred my ankle and yanked it right off the bone(s). By the end of my tumble my ankle was hanging on by the tendons only. So flat pedals can also be dangerous. I kinna wish I had on clips that day!!! BTW, 9 pins and a plate were waiting for me in surgery that night, along with 6 months of rehab. Oh yeah, and about 50lbs of fat from overeating and not moving!
That seriously sucks and I'm sorry to hear that happened to you. I don't think clipless would have helped you in that scenario though. After cycling in clipless pedals for a few years, I could get my feet out of the pedals just as fast as you can get them off flat pedals. If this was an "instinctive" reaction to put your foot down, you could have done the exact same thing in clipless pedals.
On the other side of the coin, I've seen someone get hit lightly by a car and his bike ended up about 10 ft away from the rider...
and one of his feet was still in the shoe...
and the shoe was still attached to the bike.
YIKES!!!! So I will consider myself lucky!!! Like I said, most of my riding happens in front of my big screen tv on my CycleOps Powerbeam Pro. I ride my hybrid with flat pedals outside but it's still hard to get the thought of that accident out of my mind. I NEVER wan to fall off of a bike again so I don't think I would use clipless pedals. I do hope to ride in longer events (50-100miles) when I lose this excess weight but I just can't bring myself to change the pedals.0 -
YES.
As you were...0 -
Chivalry, how long have you been riding? Just curious.0
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chivalryder wrote: »This is why I believe people who don't race believe clipless pedals are better than flats - because they can't spin the pedals quickly without their feet leaving the pedals, because they don't have good pedaling technique. If you train and practice enough, you can do it on flat pedals, and in doing so, you'll become faster and more efficient when your feet actually are secured to your pedals.
Most casual/recreation riders don't care to become better technical riders... most don't pay attention to cadence, never mind the technical aspects of their spin.
They want to go farther, probably faster, and have more fun riding. Clipless will do that. Flats will too, but the chance of someone's foot coming off the pedal while spinning and causing them to crash is far greater than someone's foot/shoe staying attached to a bike while the rest of the person is 10' away in the middle of the road.0 -
I've got Shimano 105 pedals on my road bike, with shoes from Specialized with SPD-SL cleats.
I started riding on a hybrid with just toe cages, and going to the road bike with cleats made a huge difference. I am able to keep a better cadence, and put out more power up the hills. I also feel more stable on the bike, and I am much more comfortable standing on hills.
You very quickly get used to kicking out your heel to un-clip, it's second nature now.
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digginDeep wrote: »Yes as others have said about hammys- you end up firing up your hammys instead of one leg being passive on the return to the top of your pedal apex.
I can cosign this. I love riding my bike on the trainer with the clips. I feel it from my glutes through my feet. Love the burn! I can see how they would make someone want to ride longer and to eventually develop more power and endurance. I can't get that same feeling riding on flat pedals. I say the OP should give it a try.0 -
lol. separate your knee joint... I'd love to see the research on that.Clipless pedals will no help with endurance and will not make the ride easier.
orly? Funny, when I switched to clipped pedals, my cadence increased, cruising speed increased, heart rate during climbs decreased, and overall ability to ride over long distances increased both perceptually and corroborated by cycle data.
You're making up stuff as you go. If you understand anything about power transfer, you know your statement is pretty silly. The reason those pedals and shoes exist is to increase efficiency and power. Both combined makes the experience easier. derp.
I was about to go point by point refuting everything the previous poster said, but I will just say +1 to this post.
I don't have the energy to deal with how wrong that was.
There are only two kinds of clipless cyclists in the world.
The kind whose knee joints have separated, and those whose are GOING to.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
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Aside from the "getting used to them" phase they're superb. As a newbie you can get pedals with clips on one side and a normal pedal on the other. That helps when you just want a quick pedal to the shops and don't want to kit up, and also helps you get used to the change in pedal pattern. You'll soon be in full clip mode in no time0
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OP here - Okay to help everyone out...I am not training for an Ironman Tri. I am, however, training to do multiple century rides next year. I did my first one this year on a steel bike with flat pedals and tennis shoes. It sucked in more ways than my knees and lower legs.
The primary reason I bought a carbon bike (and specifically the Trek Domane 4.3) was the way it handles rough trails and bumps. I have had both rotator cuffs repaired and riding on steel I felt every vibration straight up the fork. With carbon I do not get near the vibration.
Would I say I'm a casual rider? It depends on how you look at that. I want to improve but I am also not looking to do a time trial anytime soon.0 -
Would I say I'm a casual rider?
I'm surprised that there's even a debate. The fact that you're doing the distances that you mentioned in the original post says that you'll benefit from moving to clipless.
Yes it's a different ride, your whole system is more engaged, but you'll feel a lot less fatigued.0 -
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chivalryder wrote: »lol. separate your knee joint... I'd love to see the research on that.Clipless pedals will no help with endurance and will not make the ride easier.
orly? Funny, when I switched to clipped pedals, my cadence increased, cruising speed increased, heart rate during climbs decreased, and overall ability to ride over long distances increased both perceptually and corroborated by cycle data.
You're making up stuff as you go. If you understand anything about power transfer, you know your statement is pretty silly. The reason those pedals and shoes exist is to increase efficiency and power. Both combined makes the experience easier. derp.
https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/s-2008-1038374
"There was no significant difference for pedalling effectiveness, net mechanical efficiency (NE) and muscular activity between [flats] and [clipless]."
I think you forgot to put in the final line: "However, an active pulling-up action on the pedal during upstroke increased the pedalling effectiveness, while reducing net mechanical efficiency."
Which, I think, is fairly "duh" worthy. If you apply more force during the upstroke, you will create more power, but it is decidedly awkward.0 -
chivalryder wrote: »"Scraping mud" or "pulling up" is only a way to introduce newbie riders to using them. If anyone actually rides that way for very long they haven't learned to use the pedal.
^^^This.
"Pulling up" will lead to knee injury.
It's also the #1 thing you hear from people boasting about riding clipless, saying it improves hill climbing, etc.
The only thing it will do is mess up your legs.
With all due respect, this post is propounding absolute garbage. There's more likely hood of injury / muscle strain using just a basic down push at any reasonable intensity ... Muscles and joints such as the knee are designed to be exercised in both motions, hence the opposite contraction and stretching of the opposing muscles. Just basic physiognomy really, as taught to teenagers0 -
rprussell2004 wrote: »
There are only two kinds of clipless cyclists in the world.
The kind whose knee joints have separated, and those whose are GOING to.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Uhm, no.
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Dude. It was right there on page one of the thread.rprussell2004 wrote: »
There are only two kinds of clipless cyclists in the world.
The kind whose knee joints have separated, and those whose are GOING to.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Uhm, no.
Are you telling me you don't believe something posted on an MFP forum?
I.. I'm just.. I can't believe this.
WHAT KIND OF PERSON ARE YOU??!? You're a bot, aren't you?0 -
OP here - Okay to help everyone out...I am not training for an Ironman Tri. I am, however, training to do multiple century rides next year. I did my first one this year on a steel bike with flat pedals and tennis shoes. It sucked in more ways than my knees and lower legs.
The primary reason I bought a carbon bike (and specifically the Trek Domane 4.3) was the way it handles rough trails and bumps. I have had both rotator cuffs repaired and riding on steel I felt every vibration straight up the fork. With carbon I do not get near the vibration.
Would I say I'm a casual rider? It depends on how you look at that. I want to improve but I am also not looking to do a time trial anytime soon.
Well, I have one question for you then, which are brought up by other posters: Do you care about technique and becoming a better rider, or do you want to be lazy and just go ride?
If you want to be lazy and don't care about becoming a better cyclist, go clipless. That seems to be what "casual riders" want. (That is not my opinion). If you actually care about technique, smoothing out your spin, learning how to keep your feet planted on the rougher trails and have better body language on the bike, go flat. There's absolutely no reason why you'll be slower at riding a century on flats than clipless, unless you stick with the tennis shoes. I do not recommend sticking with tennis shoes.0 -
chivalryder wrote: »"Scraping mud" or "pulling up" is only a way to introduce newbie riders to using them. If anyone actually rides that way for very long they haven't learned to use the pedal.
^^^This.
"Pulling up" will lead to knee injury.
It's also the #1 thing you hear from people boasting about riding clipless, saying it improves hill climbing, etc.
The only thing it will do is mess up your legs.
With all due respect, this post is propounding absolute garbage. There's more likely hood of injury / muscle strain using just a basic down push at any reasonable intensity ... Muscles and joints such as the knee are designed to be exercised in both motions, hence the opposite contraction and stretching of the opposing muscles. Just basic physiognomy really, as taught to teenagers
Say that to all the doctors and sports physical therapists I had to spend months with after I injured my knee from doing just that.0 -
chivalryder wrote: »There's absolutely no reason why you'll be slower at riding a century on flats than clipless, unless you stick with the tennis shoes. I do not recommend sticking with tennis shoes.
For the record - what chivalryder is advocating is not the "cheap" pedals that sometimes come on bikes, rather something like this:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/us/en/nukeproof-electron-flat-pedals-2014/rp-prod85858
And shoes like this:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/us/en/five-ten-freerider-mtb-shoe-2014/rp-prod118577
They make a lot of sense for MTB riding. I still disagree on the sloppy technique point with clipless. Sure if might allow you to shortcut your technique but that is not at all a given, and serious cyclists are not likely to have that issue anyway.
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chivalryder wrote: »If you want to be lazy and don't care about becoming a better cyclist, go clipless...
If you actually care about technique, smoothing out your spin, learning how to keep your feet planted on the rougher trails and have better body language on the bike, go flat.
... aaaaaaand there's that classic MFP "if you're not with me, you're stupid and/or lazy" attitude of judgment.
I have to admit, it's refreshing to see it in a conversation not involving carbohydrates for once.0 -
rprussell2004 wrote: »chivalryder wrote: »If you want to be lazy and don't care about becoming a better cyclist, go clipless...
If you actually care about technique, smoothing out your spin, learning how to keep your feet planted on the rougher trails and have better body language on the bike, go flat.
... aaaaaaand there's that classic MFP "if you're not with me, you're stupid and/or lazy" attitude of judgment.
I have to admit, it's refreshing to see it in a conversation not involving carbohydrates for once.
Ya know - I have always wondered what everyone's issue with crabs is. They can't be all that bad. Sure maybe high in cholesterol, but I figure the amount of calories you burn trying to crack them open makes up for it.0
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