adamhenry

The pins are excellent at drawing blood from your shin when your feet slip and they will eventually come loose from the pedal.

Troul 

hasn't happened.

adamhenry

It has to me multiple times. I've got the scars. I haven't been able to find a pair of knee guards long enough to protect my shins.

Metieval

here is a cycling shoe for the cultist.
I don't mean that in a bad way. It just amuses me that sandals require spd's and them who ride them swear by them, hence being called cultist.

While I for sure fall into the SPD more than platforrms, if I was to cycle in a sandal it would probably be on platform pedals. Maybe I should try the SPD sandal, but I don't want to get addicted...


https://bikepacking.com/news/shimano...a-spd-sandals/

veganbikes

Best chain lube: WD-40

Best frame material: whatever Huffies are made out of

Best Tire and Size: Specialized Alibi tires (solid rubber, baby) and 18 x 1 3/8

Flipped upside-down drop bars


Riding on just pedal spindles is the best; super aero, lightweight no need for special shoes and with a little duct tape you are not going to fall off the pedals.

adamhenry

I live in sandals all summer long but there ain't no way. That first picture of sandals with socks hurts my eyes. Plaid shorts with suspenders would be a good match. Sandals would never work for cycling for me. JMO though.

veganbikes

I use Finish Line Pedal and Cleat lube. Not aware of other options but open to suggestions.

Truth be told I don't use it super often but once and a while just as a preventive and because we have it at the shop.

elcruxio

I have the Shimano SD-5 sandals and they are by far the best touring shoe I can imagine. Breathable, cool and quick drying when its hot but can be used in almost freezing conditions and rain when paired with sealkinz waterproof socks.

In general SPD sandals are far better summer rain cycling shoes than regular spd shoes, because of quick drying times and very little water retention. My normal shimano shoes need three days to air dry if they get properly soaked. The SD-5's are dry in hours.

bruce19

Have you ever tried Mtn bike shoes/pedals. Just wondering if that might work for you.

TK LP

It's your ride, ride what you want.

csuperbike

These actually kick ass

https://blueskycycling.com/products/...iABEgI-__D_BwE

livedarklions

I ride about 250 miles a week without foot problems, do a lot of climbing standing on the pedals, and cruise at 20+ mph, so I'm finding the whole discussion of the limitations of platforms rather funny.

To answer your question, all of my bikes have RaceFace Chesters, which is a mtn bike pedal. My general foot problems are pretty bad if I walk in the wrong kind of shoes, so I don't experiment with it much. I wear New Balance sneakers with orthotics. Bicycling has always been the one activity that hasn't caused my feet to flare up, so I don't see a need for special "biking" shoes.

Kapusta

Yes, clipless are better for racing. While this should be news to almost nobody, it is also irrelevant to the point I was making:

The idea that flats pose a real risk of slipping off on a road bike or commuter - and that you need clip-less in order to prevent this - is ridiculous. The problem is not using flat. The problem is using cheap, crappy flats.

Besides the whole “this is what the pros use” line of reasoning is probably responsible for more bad gear/equipment decisions than almost anything else.

FWIW, I use both flats and clipless on both my road/gravel and MTBs. I don’t really see one as inherently better than the other outside of timed competition. But good lord, some of the arguments against either are just asinine.

Kapusta

That right there is sig worthy

Speedway2

Do people quote themselves?.....lol

My experiment with nubbed/platforms ended after a "close call" while using them. I was riding in moderate city traffic and keeping my eyes open for distracted cagers. I was pedalling lightly (not much pressure applied on the pedals) when a Ninja pot hole jolted me hard enough causing my foot (I was wearing Solomon Trail Runners) to slip off the pedal.
The bike and I wanted to go in different directions. Had I gone down in traffic it could have be ugly. When I got home (changed my underwear and cracked a beer) I put a spare set of SPD's back on.
When you're used to a system it's sometimes best to stick with it. Besides, I don't want to mess with the Cycling Gods......

livedarklions

That's why these"debates" get so silly. I feel especially unqualified to comment on the advantages of SPDs because I really can't use them but, obviously, if I were to start using them, I probably wouldn't be good at it as I have no experience with them. The point is that the converse is true, that I am better at riding with platforms than someone who has been riding exclusively with some sort of foot restraint would be. That's why all these "you can't don't do X with platforms" always come off so silly because the writer is inevitably projecting their lack of experience and/or platform-specific skills onto everyone else.

Metieval

That makes sense! I've had wet shoes for multi day rides. Wool dries quickly, So I'd find my self rotating my wool socks often just to try and wick the wet out of my shoes. the Other reason for wearing wool socks is things get sweaty. So feet are generally always wet anyways.
For a wide open sandal, I can see having drier feet. Well unless its a muggy humid day where nothing is evaporating.

Miele Man

What system do riders like Danny MacAskill use? Doesn't look like he uses clipless pedals. Yet he rides some pretty rough stuff.






Cheers

Metieval

I understand that pros wear/use what they are given to wear/use.

I also understand that any study will always a level of bias that corrupts the results, Which also Includes any presentation of said collaboration of studies and test.

Where Bias is not found is in the results of ...
Rogue Races of amateurs and some pros.
Red Hook criterium,
Many of the Gravel Races,

I won't be holding my breath waiting for a guy/gal to win any of them while using platform pedals.

These races are not to be confused with the Wednesday night race at the local club of 10 Ish or so miles.

Metieval

have you watched his outtakes? I wouldn't choose to be clipped in either! that would just be begging for injury.

Trakhak

True. When a bunch of racer friends and I started using mountain bikes for winter training in the late '80s, we all initially used flats. The guys with a BMX background had no trouble with them. The rest of us, used to foot retention, didn't do as well and have the shin scars to prove it. We then switched to toe clips and straps and did better (although we were sometimes unable to keep up with the BMX guys). These days, on the rare occasions that I ride off-road, I use plastic toe clips without straps.

gregf83 

Most people riding bikes grew up riding flats and switched at some point to clipless. I don't think there's much to learn about riding with either other than remembering to clip out when stopping. If you don't have some objective means of measuring power and/or efficiency it's difficult to verify that you'd be 'better' at riding with flats than someone who normally rides clipless.

I did a test years ago comparing riding with flats and clipless. Did a few of 10 min intervals at constant power with clipless and flat pedals. Keeping the power constant I monitored my HR and couldn't detect any difference so believe at steady state there's likely very little, if any, difference in efficiency. I did notice a substantial difference of a couple hundred watts going up a short steep hill and a difference in power starting up from stoplights. Do I need to sprint up hills? Absolutely not. Do I need to sprint against my friends on a group ride? Absolutely not. Do I? Yes.

burnthesheep

Makes sense for the bigger feet, but how much pressure is there really going to be on an e-bike anyway?..... ...bazzzzinggaaa!

livedarklions

It never would have occurred to me that there was any particular skill involved in riding on flats as I have done it all my life so it just seems natural. But so many people are posting that they have no confidence in their ability to stay on the things and that they hurt themselves when they use them that I'm now reconsidering that. Apparently, it's difficult for some people not to bang their shins with their pedals. Who knew?

Interesting you mention stoplights because (and I know this will sound like boasting, but it's true) in an urban setting, I am consistently faster starting on a stoplight than just about any non-motored vehicle I encounter-Stomping onto a big flat pedal gives me a big jolt of power that I don't think I could get if I had to clip in. Again, I don't really know that as I'll never ride clipless. But it really wouldn't at all surprise me if a habitual clipless rider wasn't as good starting on a flat pedal simply because they haven't got a start-up routine suited to the pedal style.

My suspicion has been that there's almost no difference, and my dad always said that the most heated arguments are generally about things that don't matter. When things matter, most times the "right" answer is obvious.

One thing I've noticed about these arguments is that it's going to be impossible to settle them by any kind of study because no one can agree on who the test riders should be. If all pro-level cyclists train a particular way, it only makes sense that they'll be better at that than they are the way they don't train, so it's really not likely you're going to get a group of elite road riders who are as adept at riding on platforms as they are clipless. And if you use average amateur riders, people will say that the lack of difference is because they're not good enough riders to realize the advantages of clipless (or spinning, or whatever).

The second thing I've noticed is that the safety arguments on both sides sound like unmitigated BS to me. Nothing is perfect, but they're both safe.

Kapusta

Well, now I think you are confusing personal preference with "inherently better".