canklecat

The ankle is a hinge joint. In normal adults with healthy joints it has little or no ability to rotate. Rotation is done by the fibula, around the tibia as the anchor for the rotation. That puts a lot of torsion strain where the fibula connects with the knee. Like any mortise and tenon joint it *can* develop some play if stressed enough beyond its intended function. The human body's connective tissues help minimize direct stress on the hinge joint bones, until injury, aging or disease compromise the connective tissue.

We take a lot for granted when we're young and healthy, mistakenly assuming that because we *could* push our bodies beyond design limitations, that it was normal or a good thing to do, and losing this ability as we age is somehow operator error rather than a design problem. Unfortunately, rebooting the device doesn't seem to clear up the glitch.

In folks with injuries or deteriorating joints, the motion needed to unclip from typical clipless systems can aggravate these conditions. I've experienced only an occasional minor twinge in the knee and ankle when unclipping (usually before I'm warmed up). For awhile I tried unclipping by rotating the heel inward toward the bike, which relieved some twinges, but risked jamming my heel between wheel and frame, or into the spokes. Too risky so I quit that experiment.

Some folks I ride with have occasionally switched from clipless to platform pedals while recovering from leg injuries, or switched permanently back to platforms due to persistent pain caused by the movement needed to unclip.

Some of the latter folks went back to toe clips or strap type foot retention, often without the old style cleats. They rely on shoe tread and grippy platform surfaces for the modest retention they need. The main advantage seems to be minimize slight loss of contact between foot and pedal on the upstroke.

Back in the 1970s I occasionally used my Christophe toe clips with running, casual or work shoes for commutes to work, since parts of my commute had lots of stops/starts and I found my Detto Pietros with metal cleats to be too awkward in the city. But the bit of foot retention provided by the toe clips and a loose strap seemed better to me then that platforms alone without any foot retention. But my pedaling stroke back then may have been sloppy. Nowadays I switch between bikes with platforms and clipless. I rely on grippy shoes and platform pedals to approximate the pedaling-in-circles technique I use with clipless. (Although with clipless I tend to pedal in squares when I'm tired, mostly mashing straight downward, so there's no real advantage over platforms.)

An alternative might be a pedal system with plenty of spring tension adjustment that can be set to minimal. There's a greater risk of unclipping accidentally, which can cause a fall, especially if it happens while standing to pedal. So it's a compromise. I've set my old Look pedals to minimum spring tension and had no problems in more than a year of use. But even at minimum spring tension the Look Delta cleats/pedals tend to retain the foot very positively, with a snappy, audible and palpable clip/unclip sensation. My other bike/shoes with Shimano SPD-SL have a somewhat mushy clip/unclip sensation, with less float. Not drastically different, but enough that I might discontinue using the SPD-SL system if I had persistent knee or ankle pain.

The main reason I use clipless is because I need rigid soles for arch support and to minimize painful muscle spasms in my feet and legs (from ankle to hip), even from the hips to neck. Had 'em at times all my life. It doesn't respond to changes in diet, supplements, etc. What helps is moving often, not sitting too long, exercising or stretching periodically throughout the day.

Compared with that, the small risk of knee and ankle problems is fairly minor. For me. At the moment. Subject to change with age and infirmity. Or whim.