gios

With respect to what shoes to use now with flats? Like reaching for...

plittle2005

May I use that priceless pic for political purposes?

Melvang

I can almost guarantee you that if your chain unexpectedly comes off or breaks in the middle of a power stroke of a sprint, you are going down to the ground. Clipless or platforms won't help either way.

livedarklions

This is the claim that totally mystifies me as someone who does all my riding on platforms. I'm no KOM contender, but I'm good on climbs and do a lot of it. I've never had any problems with my feet needing to be repositioned during a climb, either sitting or standing. And I know this isn't a serious data point as I don't race, but I pass people on clipless on hills all the time, and I don't think I've ever been passed in that situation once since I started distance riding.
I totally defer to people who say they need clipless for competitive sprinting, but I'm not going to defer to people saying "you can't do x on platforms " when they are describing something I do regularly. I don't think I'm quite that special.

subgrade

You mean gravity is enough to keep ones feet on the pedals? That's crazy talk!

Mesher

Was it because the running shoes were too flexible? Would you do it again with other footwear?

Germany_chris

I like clipless on my mountain bike because it's easier to get the rear wheel in the air. I like clipless on road bike because I feel more secure going fast. I like flats on everything else because life is just simpler if you wear normal shoes I don't want to clop around the grocery store on my way home from work, or clop in the bar to have a beer.

Horses (pedals) for courses

twowheelies

I think it all depends on the bike you're riding... I have clipless pedals on my "newer" road bike, toeclips on my "vintage" bike, and flat pedals on my hybrid... its actually really nice to have your foot secured to the pedal on a longer ride, even if around the city and i have to clip out at intersections once in a while. But around the neighborhood would be kind of silly. All depends on what you're doing that day.

Paul Barnard

How can you people not realize the danger and lack of control you experience when your foot isn't securely attached to the pedal on smooth tarmac? What if your foot slips?

twowheelies

🤣🤣🤣

Kapusta

I once duct taped my feet to the pedals and had a terrible time getting out of them in time, and they took forever to get back in to.

I'm never using foot retention again.

Sounds absurd? Yes it is, just like people riding cheap crappy flats in tennis shoes and thinking they know something about riding decent flats.

ofajen

It just hit me today as sounding odd that we call clip in pedals “clipless”. As a long time user of toe clips beginning in the 70s, I suppose I understand why the term was used to differentiate the new product back then: no toe clips needed.

Still, it seems odd today that we have platform pedals that really don’t have any type of clip, and yet we call the ones with a dedicated shoe clipping mechanism “clipless”. Language is funny. Just my two cents.

Oh, and this thread has me thinking about trying out toe clips again after four years of only using platform pedals and not really giving it much thought. 😊

Otto

daleb116

Whatever works for each of us. My pedals are flat one one side and let me attach to the other. Mostly riding the flat side lately. Somewhere I think I still have my old toe clips....

ofajen

Yeah I still have my old KKT toe clips, but no straps in sight. Guess I’ll need to get some so I can try it out.

Otto

Metieval

possibly..... but I have issues with keeping it casual when riding solo. So I'd rather be clippless.

CliffordK

Why do they even have pedals on those bikes? Did they pedal to the top of the mountain?

RohloffRoller

I recently dragged my fixed wheel bike out from the back of the shed and cleared the dust off it.

It certainly helps to be clipped in riding fixed.

Now can we bury the term clipless in favour of clipped in pedals or cleats?

Mike

Toespeas

thats dumb dude , proves my point you will just use them to spite others saying its not good , the facts are clipless has more benefits than flats , even some straps are better , do you boo boo, let me know when you do a 200 mile ride on flats see how your feet feel after 12 hours

livedarklions

I've done a 168 mile ride, several dozen 150 mile rides, weekly centuries on flats, climbed 12,000 feet over 200 miles in two days a couple of times and my feet are fine. Does that count?

Really dumb comment. Platform pedals are actually easier on your feet. Feet aren't designed to pull up and have pressure applied to the same exact spot.

Again, I don't argue you should give up clipless, but you really need to stop making crap up about platforms.

elcruxio

At the risk of you just trying to make a point I'll say this.

It's about the shoes. A soft flexible shoe will cause issues with flat pedals whereas a stiff shoe probably won't. Though I guess the shoe needs to be a specific cycling shoe nonetheless since I haven't had good results with hiking shoes, stiff boots etc.

On the other hand a properly stiffened cycling shoe isn't going to cause pressure point issues even with the smallest spd cleats. Potential instability can be remedied with larger spd pedals which have a larger platform (never tried spd-sl or other road standards so I don't know about those).

Having the "pressure" in the exact same spot means my foot will be consistently positioned and that helps me to avoid other issues like joint pain, back pain etc.

I've never had a hot spot or foot issue even though I've toured thousands of miles on small profile spd's.

Also profusely bleeding shins is something I don't miss.

Kapusta

Seriously?

What exactly do you think is going to happen with a good pair flats and shoes?

Really curious what is going to happen to me after 12 hours that has not happened to me in 10 hours.

livedarklions

I'm just going to stick to commenting on the comfort of flats because, as I've said repeatedly, I have no experience with clipless. I do know that my congenitally malformed ankles cannot tolerate any upward torque, so any advantages of SPDs would be lost on me. I also know I have heard people who use them complain about hot spots, and have never heard anyone who uses platforms do that.

As far as the stiffness of the sole being a big factor in comfort on the flats, I have not noticed this to be the case. I have had good results with any flat-bottomed shoe with reasonable support. I actually have very fragile feet due to the ankle problems, and I would probably be more, not less, sensitive any problem along those lines. I'm not questioning whether you've had those problems with less-stiff soles, but I can say that they're not universal. My best results have been with New Balance skate shoes and sneakers, my worst result might be the century I just rode with a new pair of Five Tens I just bought on sale, but that might be a breaking in thing. Up to them, I've never owned a pair of bicycling shoes, I found the last 10 miles much less comfortable than with New Balance.

Sorry, can't relate to the shin problem. I've gotten a couple (that's two, literally) minor scratches on my shins in 10s of thousands of miles riding with my Chesters, but nothing that ever bled profusely. I think I had one that bled a tiny amount, but it was extremely trivial. I have no idea what you could be doing that would cause routine big cuts when you ride flats. Maybe don't do that and you could use flats.

I don't get the back pain, joint pain, etc, you mention. I think this notion that you will get them if your feet move a little is ridiculous and yet another thing people make up to argue against the use of flats. I have nerve endings in my feet and a nervous system that will let me know if my foot position is causing problems elsewhere, and that seems to be enough to keep my feet within tolerable fit limits. I also (heavens forbid!) occasionally alter my foot position when standing on the pedals going uphill. This shouldn't be surprising, the whole geometry of the bike in relation to the rider actually changes when you're going uphill.

I'm not trying to convince anyone to switch to platforms, but I'm really not going to let them get away with saying "you can't do x on flats" when I do x on flats all the time. That's happened several times in this thread. Someone called someone "dumb" for preferring flats and then proceeded to add distance riding to the list of "can't dos" that I happen to know is BS. I'm not sure you intended to, but you just added "can't ride flats long distance without having back pain or joint pain" to that list--do it all the time, don't get that pain.


It's almost like we have different feet, different strengths an weaknesses, and different pedal preferences. It's a piece of gear, not an identity statement. Using one or the other doesn't make you a better rider than someone else.

woofy

I resisted clipless for a very, very long time. Then I tried SPD. The benefits that make them a must have for me are:

1. Feet securely planted - NOT coming off uncontrollably at the wrong time (all times are the wrong time)
2. Foot placement is precise and I do not have to work at it. Spend the same time getting in still, but once in, no adjustment, slipping, etc.
3. The stiffness of the shoe definitely is beneficial overall - I miss it when I do use trainers on my gravel bike, even for short distances

I have scored the crap out of both my ankle and my shin coming off pedals. It happens, especially on gravel. For me it is a skin preserving move above all else. And don't make out like I am some kind of utter idiot because my feet come off here and there. As we used to say, no falls no **lls. If your feet are always firmly planted on your platforms then that's all you need. Good on 'ya. I need more. Period.

I never feel foot pain, pinching or anything negative based on foot placement. I personally think the shoes don't look that great, but whatever. I have relatively comfortable shoes that are easy to get on and off, are walkable and not overly noisy. About as good as it gets.

I'm not going back. That said, my gravel bike has dual use pedals - SPD on one side, flat on the other. Sometimes I am going down to the lake to jump in. Water shoes or trainers are the way to go in that situation, so I have some flexibility. Anything over five miles and I'll be clipped in. There is little that anyone will ever say that will change that. I suspect it is so for the majority of people using clipless.

livedarklions

And that's how you write this. All "this is why it works for me" and no "you can't do..." I won't argue with a word of it.

I'm kind of thinking there's a reason that some people find the scratch issue a problem and some don't, maybe people have different dismounting habits due to leg length or something. Our bodies are not standard issue, there are probably lots of things I find awkward that you do easily. For some reason, I don't hit my shins, ankles and calves on the pedals and judging from the posts on this thread, there seem to be a few people who do and a few people who don't. Much as I'd like to ascribe that to some sort of gracefulness on my side, I'm generally a big damn klutz.

elcruxio

If I try to use any flexible shoe for more than 10 miles (New Balance sneakers for example) my feet sore and lactic. This happens with small platforms and large mtb platforms. I might have weak feet, but I doubt it as I frequently walk and run minimalist/barefoot. It could be my size 47 feet being just too large for platforms to support me properly. I know I'm always shifting my feet for a better position.

The issue goes away with stiffer shoes, but with those it's hard to find a comfortable/powerful position for my feet.

Falling off the pedals when riding rock gardens can do that. Especially when you fall along the pedal. One reason why I switched to clipless when mtb'ing.

You may not get those issues but I do. With clipless I can forget about my feet. With platforms I'm constantly shifting my feet and thinking of a better position. I use them on my utility bike out of necessity. But probably wouldn't if I had oxfords and balmorals with spd cleated soles.

You can do those things and that's great. Clipless helps me so I use them. I doubt I could do the distances I do now with flat pedals.

It's not personal. I'm stating what works for me but it might not work for you or others. Though clipless is a pretty neat system, kinda like ski bindings