Originally Posted by
applesoggy
I still use clips and straps,and if you're using the right straps you don't have to reach down to adjust.
Originally Posted by
seau grateau
Back in the days when people used them as legit foot retention with slotted cleats, they did.
I still use slotted cleats and pull my straps tight. Accidentally un-clipping clipless pedals at 200 RPM scares the **** out of me. That is a very real injury that I'm not forgetting for weeks or months. (And that's
before I hit the road.) Riding a pedal/cleat system where I can un-clip and have my foot completely free down a fast hill fixed is, for me, completely
not fun. But good cleats (ie aluminum with slots in good shape) and good leather straps in good shape and having a good spin makes fast descents FUN! Un-clipping is still possible, but my foot is still on the pedal. Grab the brakes, bleed about 5 mph of speed and all is good.
If you ride a 42-17 and do a 40 mph descent, you're pedaling 200 RPM. That's not a un-achievable pipe dream. Cars have clocked me at that speed many times.
Oh, and to the OP's question: I make my fix gear pedals easy to pick up by adding a huge (and strong) steel tab bolted to the rear rattrap. (I make them from 1/2" x 1/8" flat bar. At any Home Depot.) and the tab I hit with my shoe is more than an inch long. I then add enough washers to the toeclip bolts that the pedals hang toeclip down, tab up to make flipping them back easy. I know it sounds like the weight would really hurt you going uphill. But if you do say a century with hills and you just once have to stop and start on a steep hill, you will realize that was weight very well spent!
Ben