CliffordK

With street shoes (or any shoes without cleats), simply put your heel down and push down. Your foot will come loose, and quick too. It doesn't matter if they are tight or loose.

The advantage of loosening the toe straps before you stop is that it is easier to get the feet back in without them cinched up tight.

If you have cleats, twist the ankle like you would with clipless, then pull... same thing.

steelbikeguy

why would you twist your foot when using slotted cleats?
I still use slotted cleats, and just lift up very slightly and pull the foot back.

Steve in Peoria

fietsbob

Classic Touring shoes, sure to pass Eroica judges https://reynolds-england.com/t/new-classic-road

CliffordK

It has been a while, but you must be getting the straps awfully loose if you're lifting up and they're coming loose. Or, perhaps using one-bolt cleats.

For the standard 2-bolt cleats, I learned to twist, and they came loose, I believe even with the straps moderately tight.

steelbikeguy

I don't really know what "awfully loose" means, but for non-competitive rides, I rarely snug up the straps. I just pull out of the pedals w/o twisting in the X, Y, or Z axis.
As far as the different behaviors of slotted cleats, I've never noticed a difference between metal or plastic, or between cleats with one bolt or two bolts or nail-on cleats.
... except that metal cleats are really slippery on linoleum floors...

Steve in Peoria

Salamandrine 

Yeah, that's what I always did too. Lift up a bit and pull yer foot out. That's how everyone did it that I ever saw ride a bike with straps. Not rocket science. Never heard of this foot twisting technique.

Maybe the idea is to force the strap open with your foot, enough to get your foot out?? Seems to me that would wear out the strap at the buckle pretty quick. Why not just loosen the strap with a finger or thumb?

conspiratemus1

While this may well be true for an individual it is not necessarily generalizably true for all. It’s worth noting that Shimano in the package insert — yeah, I know, who reads them? — for its SPD products warns that they are not to be regarded as emergency release devices, like a ski binding, but as foot-retention devices to keep the shoe from separating from the pedal and causing a crash from loss of control during vigorous pedaling. (I.e., just like traditional cleats clips, and straps.). Shimano doesn’t want to be held liable for a broken ankle compound fracture (which can be a limb-threatening injury) ”because their stupid pedals didn’t release my feet when I wiped out in the corner I took too fast.”

I would also point out that just because you cannot do something, even after making the effort to learn, doesn’t mean that it can’t be done. If that were true, we wouldn’t have surgeons, or musicians, or capitalists. True, SPDs are to a degree idiot-proofed: if you can get your foot in, you can usually (until the cleat wears out) get it out. Getting out of toe straps reliably requires attention to detail, demonstration of The Proper Method, and graduated practice. SPDs make all this unnecessary, just like automatic transmissions. Most of my bikes use them. But the idea isn’t to get your foot out “in an emergency”. Nobody unclips at speed to avoid a crash. The important thing is whether release is necessary or desirable duringthe crash. Shimano says don’t rely on it happening.

Salamandrine 

For me, riding clipless isn't much different than riding with straps, even straps and slot cleats.

With clipless, you have to twist your foot. With straps, you have to flick open the strap. Both quickly become second nature.

SewardRum

For the Eroica California, I used an old pair of leather lace-up MTB shoes and I ground off some of the composite lugs on the sole to make it easier to slide in and out of the toe-clips and pedal frames. I also keep the toe-clip straps pretty loose, and don't have any problems getting my feet free from the pedals.

64Pete

Even with cleats I can get my feet out ok. When my size 12's want out they come out.
It's just not necessary to tighten the straps that tight on a non-competitive ride. (my opinion of course)

Pete