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Old 09-10-22, 05:20 AM
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VegasJen
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Clipping in [Flame suit on]

I got derided in another thread for my opinion about *some riders* decision to use clip-in shoes and pedals. Without reviving that thread, I said I thought there are *some riders* who buy into clipping in because that's what the pros do. And one or two people took offense to that, telling me I'm a n00b and don't know WTF I'm talking about.

I'm a n00b, fair enough. But I'm also willing to try a product out and give it a fair shot. I already had pedals on my bikes that accommodated SPD cleats and I found a pair of bike shoes with Look cleats on Craigslist for a reasonable price. I did have one pair of Look pedals that came with a bike I bought a few months back so I had the opportunity to try both styles.

Now, my intent, to be completely fair, was to ride 6-8 rides for about 200 miles with the SPDs and then switch out and ride another 80-100 in 3-4 rides with the Looks, then go back to flats just as a comparison. I didn't make it that far. I did do about 200 miles on the SPDs, including a 34 mile ride in the Santa Barbara triathlon a couple weeks back. But I only made it two rides for about 50 miles with the Look pedals and that's as much as I'm ever going to do with those pedals again. EVAR,

My ride today was the last straw. I busted my ass three times in just over 20 miles because of these things. I don't think I've fallen three times in a year before today. First time, I just hit a steep hill and stalled before I could get all the way to my low gear. I was able to get my right foot out, but I was falling to the left and no matter which way I twisted, the pedal just wouldn't give it up. It was like slow motion and there was nothing I could do. The second time, I was again going up a good incline and I went down on my front chain rings. I pretty much skipped the center ring and went straight from high to low but maybe it was too fast and the chain popped off the ring completely. I was totally dead in the water, stalled and down before I could do anything. The third and last time, I was on flat ground, sitting at an intersection waiting for the light to turn. I was still clipped in on my left foot but had my right foot out and resting on a curb. When the light turned, I took off. I went to clip in on the right foot but the cleat hit the pedal like owl s*** on an ice cube and I was laying on my back in the middle of the intersection before I knew WTF happened. If I still hadn't been about four miles from the truck, I would have thrown those fkn shoes across the road and walked back. I have chain ring "bite" marks on both my right calf and right ankle and a pretty good size hematoma on my left tibia.

But that's my experience. What I see from it is there is a lot of expense and risk with very little benefit. I tried to determine when and who might benefit from clipping in and to be fair, I suppose if you do a lot of riding in the rain or snow or an oil storm(?) then I can see how keeping your feet clipped to the pedals could give you some reassurance. So there's that. And if I was ever sponsored by a manufacturer that required me using their product, sure, I would clip in (like that would ever happen). But for me, I literally see zero benefit for more cost and risk. I'll be going back to flat pedals on my bike today. Never again.


I know I'll get a lot of hate for this, and I'm OK with that. But I also think there are a lot of new riders that might spend money on pedals and shoes because that's what everybody else does. If you have the money and you see the benefit, fine. If you just want to look the part, that's fine too. I'm all about personal freedom. But if you don't want to ride clipped in, that's totally cool too, and I'll be right there with you.
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