dedhed

Meh,ride what works for you.
95% of my riding is urban and I urban commute with 2 sided spd, never had an issue. I have spd, clips, and platforms on various bikes.
With 2 sided I'll ride in everything from sandals to Sorels.
You want quick acceleration? Downshift. I don't know how many people I see trying to take off from lights halfway down their cassette.

If you do a search there are probably 50 threads on this dead horse subject on BF.

Pro Tip - When quoting a reply with numerous images, delete the images so we don't have to scroll through the same pictures 10X.

Maelochs

I'd say, "No." (I realize you probably don't want to hear from me again, but so what?) If you just ride in an urban environment .... by which i mean a dense, high-traffic road system with a lot of lights and side streets, driveways, people stepping off the curb or pulling out of roadside parking spots without looking .... the tiny percentage you might gain from lifting to start a sprint is offset that first stroke or two when you aren't clipped in. Always downshift to a good starting gear when you stop and flat pedals will give you a better launch in my experience, which of course is purely personal and possibly poorly analyzed.)

I think I have about $120 in a set of XT pedals and Lake shoes (XX wide) but I had to shop forever to find them at bargain-basement prices, so the time spent shopping might bring the price up to the $200 retail you mention. I also got some Nashbar cycling sandals for about $40, but again .... months of shopping. A pair of regular Teva sandals (or any brand with a very stiff sole) works as well .... sneakers are great, but the teeth on flat pedals will tear them up after a while. So ... I wore $20 K-Mart sneakers and blew through a pair each season or so ....

And you can get excellent flat pedals for $20, and they last almost forever. if cost is a consideration .... easy choice. If performance is also on the table, same choice (IMO.)

Only if you were to do any other kind of riding where foot retention and a very smooth, circular pedal stroke were to outweigh quick reaction times and easy egress, would I say considering cleats made sense.

mjac

That all makes sense.

wolfchild

For me personally it has nothing to do with cost or money... It's all about personal preference, I just don't want to use clipless, that's all....There is no right or wrong here, use whatever pedals you feel are comfortable for you and satisfy your riding needs, it makes no difference what somebody else is using... I've used pinned platform pedals without foot retention for all kinds of riding including: urban commuting, mountain biking, fixed gear riding, 100 mile centuries in rural areas, gravel rides and it worked out fine. Nobody is going to convince me that I need clipless to ride my bike, because I know from experience that I don't need them.

mjac

That is my point, it isn't absolutely necessary to spend $200 - $300 to have a good ride. You chose to go platform because it was a better ride for you. Not because it was cheaper. Probably safer to. At least in urban areas.

WinterCommuter

i run clipless pedals most of the time: commuting, rec riding, racing. I go with flat pedals while running errands or anytime i spend more time off the bike than on. I also like flat pedals in extremely cold weather because having Your cleats freeze into your pedals is no fun.

mjac

Everyone has their preferences for the type of riding they do. The question was, if you do urban riding exclusively would it be worth investing $200 - $300 in a Clipless system for the benefits it provides. Would it be worth it if that is the only type of riding you did? '

tagaproject6

No

mjac

Thats the impression I got. But I guesse if you do a variety of riding a two sided MTB Pedal would make sense.

Jrasero

While SPD are slightly easier to disengage and easier to engage (compared to SPD-SL) since SPD pedals are dual sided they are still not as easy as toe clips. For me it would come down to what urban means and how much you would be disengaging, ie if there are a ton of Stop signs, traffic, lights and also how efficient you want to be. Only you can really figure that out

mjac

I understand what you are saying. The point was, riding on city streets with everything that incurs and that is the only type of riding you do, is gaining that little bit of efficiency from a Clipless system worth $200 - $300? I guesse that is a question everyone has the answer for themselves. But the point I was missing is that I was saying city riding exclusively and I think people were answering from the point they do other riding too so they like dual sided pedals.

Jrasero

Yeah going clipless aint cheap. With that being said SPD aren't that much more efficient but can cost a lot more. So yeah it seems like you are leaning to toe clips

Miele Man

I think something to consider is how often you'd be unclipping/disengaging a foot from a pedal. I also think that the less often you do that, the greater the chance of not being able to do it in an emergency/panic stop especially if the foot you're trying to disengage is in a pedal on the crankarm at the 12 o'clock position. I know that a few times I failed to get out of a clipless pedal before falling over that's what happened to me. I stopped suddenly and the bike leaned to one side and that pedal was at the 12 o'clock position on the crankarm (crank arm was straight up and down or very close to it) and I couldn't twist that foot out of the pedal.

Cheers

mr_bill

A few times at 12:00? How many times at other o’clocks???

They say you never forget how to ride a bike, but damn if there aren’t some slow learners.

-mr. bill

mjac

Its me and Toe Clips. I love em. Old fashion, retro, most cost effective, pretty efficient, pretty safe when worn right, can fiddle wth them for foot placement and retention,look cool, wear any shoe, did I say hardly cost anything... good city riding pedal.

Rajflyboy

Five Tens

just go buy them and the rest is history

woodcraft

Shimano pedals/ cleats $27

Shimano shoes $85


https://www.amazon.com/SHIMANO-PDM52...%2C721&sr=8-42

https://www.amazon.com/SHIMANO-Men-s...8-5&th=1&psc=1

mjac

Point well taken. You can possibly get in for around $100 if you hustled. But it was stated repeatedly by Clipless pedal users that for reliability and safety riding in the city with all of its hazards they wanted a multi directional disengage pedal, with an adjustable spring tension and a particular type of Shimano Cleat. Not being that familiar with these systems what would the cost be for something that fit that bill? There are those that spend well in access of $200. In the other extreme you can get in toe clips and straps for $3 at a COOP. I have actually done that. That is all I am saying. A beginning rider, what is their choice to make riding more accessable?

woodcraft

For reliability and safety, you need quality toe clips and straps. Those $3 ones are probably not safe. Plus, you still need pedals and shoes for the cost comparison...

Toe clips $30, Toe straps $105

https://www.retro-gression.com/colle...uble-toe-clips

https://www.retro-gression.com/colle...ble-toe-straps

mjac

That is just not true. Now you have to hunt and dig through the bins at the COOP but I came up with a pair of heavy duty nylon toe clips with double stems coming off the top and a real nice bevel on the toe ends to receive the curve of the shoe. Which is why I like them even better then MKS Steel with their single stem and no bevel. They are short, I could not get a custom length but a couple of 1/4" toe clip spacers put them in the right place. The straps were heavy duty double "Soma" straps with heavy duty double buckles that I cut down to make 4 straps. Got all of that for about $3 because it was a part of other things purchased. Now this may not be typical, that is why I called it the other extreme.

Ironfish653

BMX pedals.

Seriously, if you’ve never ridden a bike before, BMX flats. If you want an inexpensive upgrade from the generic plastic pedals that come on most bikes, that’s the way to go.

If you are a budding enthusiast rider, then there’s no requirement to ride toe clips first If you wasn’t to try clipless. I’ve ridden both, the learning curve is about the same for both, clipless is a little more difficult the first couple of rides, but IMHO, you get better faster.

The only real, measurable difference is cost. Like others have said, with a little bit of savvy, you can get a setup for ~$100. Toe clips, as you know, can be damn near free.

Unless you’re riding Eroica or Keirin events where clipless pedals are prohibited by traditional regulation, toe clips have almost no real advantage.

Miele Man

Too bad you cut apart those fantastic TRACK toe-straps. Your find and prices are not usual. many bicycle co-ops have very little in the line of toe-clips and or toe-straps. Also, you have to be very careful using used toe-straps from a co-op as those toe-straps may be well used, not taken care of or otherwise damaged in a way you don't see.

Another thing.Watch out for those sharp corners on the metal pedal covers you made. If your foot slips off that pedal, especially to the outside, you could end up with a nasty scrape or cut on your leg.

Btw, you can buy a platform that clips onto a clipless pedal so that you can use regular street shoes, boots or whatever else you like on the clipess pedals.






Cheers

wolfchild

Those pedals look very slippery and dangerous. Why the heck would anyone cover their pedals with a piece of sheet metal which has no grip at all ??

wolfchild

Doesn't look grippy enough, they would be very slippery in wet weather...The only platform pedals which provide good secure grip are BMX or MTB style platform pedals with a lot of pins in them.

mjac

That is not sheet metal, it is 1/16" aluminum double bent to slip over the rails. Wanted a broad platform pedal to support the whole ball of the foot which happens to be the concept for the next generation of pedals that pros are starting to adopt.(Catalyst) I can not stand the serations on the rails digging into my feet. I have found people's claims of the need for foot retention with serrated rails with toe clips to be greatly exaggerated. There is absolutely no problem with foot retention at all and contrary to being dangerous, it is much safer because there is nothing for the foot to get hung up on during extraction or engaging the toe clip.