Yen

My husband has undergone joint replacement surgery in both shoulders. He purchased a recumbent after his second surgery. All of his bikes have platform pedals.

He is considering putting clipless pedals on the recumbent to keep his foot from sliding downward. He's looking at the A530s (dual-sided, platform on one side) which I have (and love) on my Surly LHT. His shoes have a cutout for cleats if he decides to go clipless.

However, he's understandably nervous about falling on either of his shoulders if he's unable (or forgets) to unclip.

So, I mentioned PowerGrips, but he's wondering how well they hold the foot in place while it is vertical.

Are PowerGrips the best option for him? I know there are many clipless evangelists but he is trying to avoid taking unnecessary risks.

bjjoondo 

My wife and I have had great luck with the PowerGrips (straps) on standard pedals on both our bents. Probably don't give you the "perfect push" down hill like clip-in pedals but we've never had our feet come out of the straps, even on hard bumps!! You adjust them to fit "snuggly" but so you can easily get your foot out quickly. Now IF we bought "Bent Trikes", we'd think seriously on going to the "clip-in" style pedals as you don't have to worry about "falling over"! jmho, ymmv.

Yen

Thank you for your reply. Sounds like those are worth a try, and a whole lot cheaper than new pedals + cleats. I love being clipped in but I don't have two artificial shoulders to contend with and worry about falling on. Falls can happen with any type of pedal, but why increase the odds?

kennytb

Has he considered a trike? Very little chance of tipping over. They are too much fun.

bjjoondo 

FYI, we stared out with the OEM pedals and metal "half-clips", which worked fine untill you hit a "bump" in the road, then the feet would try to fly off the pedals. Then tried "Platform Pedals" without the half-clips. Feet stayed on, again till we hit a bump or divit in the road, the same thing.

Installed PowerStraps, adj. them per instructions, this time the feet stayed on even over the bumps and divets in the road. Like I stated, you don't get that perfect push, on the uphill's like clip-in (shoes/pedals) BUT the PowerStrap can easily be adjusted to fit most type of shoes and you can get "longer straps" if you like to wear boots in the colder months! JMHO, YMMV.

Dchiefransom

You didn't tell us which recumbent he got.

countersTrike

Leg suck- when a foot drops off of a pedal on the ground when a trike is moving- is a lot worse than falling over in my opinion. That happened to me; I flipped up in the air then landed then my trike which was also flipping landed on me. I have used bungee cords (cheap Powergrips but with s-t-r-e-t-c-h) and have had good luck. Trikes have been great fun before and after but my trike sure won that round!

Bobsk8

I had Powergrips for awhile, many years ago, and I didn't care for the pressure on the top of my foot, when the grips were adjusted for a good grip. I think everyone falls once with clipless, when you first use them. After that you learn to unclip as soon as you think there is a possibility that you will have to stop, and you also adjust them for quick release. I ride a Recumbent Trike now, so that is no longer and issure for me, but in 11 years of riding a Rans Tailwind, I never fell because of the clipless pedals.

JanMM

I used Powergrips for a year or two, after toe clips and before clipless/SPD. Powergrips were OK, but I prefer clipless.
As best I can remember, (middle-aged man's memory), have never done an Arte Johnson related to clipless, Powergrips, or toe clilps.

Doug5150

I tried Powergrips once... they weren't big enough for my size of shoes, and I couldn't find anywhere at the time to order the bigger ones. :\

But even at that, I could see that they don't work well unless you wear shoes that are totally-slick on the bottom. The cleats of most jogging/cross-training shoes get hung up on the pedal frame and won't allow your feet to twist. IF you twist your feet in hard anyway (to get your shoes placed properly on the pedals) then it's just as tough to get your feet back out.
So Powergrips may work for some people, but I don't think too much of them myself.

One thing to look up is heel slings for pedals. Many people make them, one guy should be selling them. Bentrider had a article on them a while back. https://www.bentrideronline.com/?p=5131

Another option is to make heel platforms, which is a bent piece of sheet metal that does the same thing as a heel sling (it's bent so that it holds your foot up behind the heel). A heel platform is heavier, but there's nothing at all to snag on your shoes when you want your feet off in a hurry.

scrapser

You might want to try the "strapless" Mt Zefal half-toe clips. I have them on all of my bikes, one of which is a recumbent. Previously I used metal toe clips with leather straps. If you hit a bump hard enough, your foot will likely shift (the foot currently on the upstroke) but you will not slip off the pedal. This has been my experience at least. On a recumbent, you will always have some pressure on both pedals. If you don't, you have the seat to pedals distance set too far.

I have found I can actually pull on the upstroke with these toe clips. Maybe not as much as I might with clip-ons but hey, we aren't racing on recumbents usually. I should also note I need to get my feet on the ground quickly when riding my Slipstream and coming to a stop. So I would never consider clip-ons...too much risk of falling over and damaging my handlebar (and me along with it!).

They are also inexpensive, you don't need to pay big bucks for the funny shoes, and can pretty much wear whatever you want. WIN-WIN all around.

WPeabody 

Bought a pair of clipless pedals and a pair of Keen sandals, and now am getting used to the clipless pedals, at least on a trike I don't have to worry about falling over. Only drawback is you have to wear the clipless shoes, whereas with the straps you can wear any shoes with them...

rnorris

I've tried both on my Gold Rush recumbent, but eventually went to clipless because the pressure on the top of my shoe from the narrow band of the Power Grips eventually caused pain in my left foot. I probably could have solved the problem by wearing shoes with a stiffer upper section, but by that time I was used to clipless pedals and never tried switching back.

JSRLDesignLLC

If you are interested in Heel Slings, check out JSRLDesignLLC.com I am the guy who made the ones reported in the benrideronline.com article.

John S. R. Lawrence