Originally Posted by
gregf83
Please share a study showing the effects of clipless pedals while sprinting. And then explain why track riders are both clipped and strapped in.
Funnily enough I haven't looked at track sprinters. I didn't think that was particularly relevant to road cycling. Now I'm sure a track sprinter hauling a massive gear from a standing start will push and pull for maximal attack, but once they get up to a normal cadence and maximal power (not maximal torque) they will not be push/pulling for the same reasons pro road racers don't or are unable to anyway. It's been proven that at high cadence and power it is virtually impossible to pull on the pedal upstroke. It's more a matter of minimising the power absorbed on the upstroke.
I'm not looking for edge cases here, I'm just trying to point out that pedal pulling is not really a fundamental advantage of clipless pedals. They have plenty of other advantages, which is why I use them. But power is not one of them. I wish I could double my power output by pulling as that would increase my sprint power to 2400W and my FTP would be pushing 600W. I'd be happy with that!