Caferacernoc

I like toe straps on my commuting bike over using a clipless setup. I see all the fixed gear fans seem to now have clips with the double straps. Looks cool but is there much real advantage in performance or comfort or are they just hipster fashion? I'll admit I am a sucker for white bar tape and saddles and that sort of thing so the looks of a white leather double pedal strap are appealing but I'd like to know if it's really an upgrade.
Thanks.

delicious

IF you buy Toshis or Kashimaxx, (not any of the cheap ones or the Errebis), you might enjoy them. I find them slightly more comfortable, and they are useful on a brakeless fixed gear as insurance against a strap breaking at an inopportune time.

edit: I should clarify; personally I would not spend the $100 or whatever on doubles for a vintage road bike.

Panthers007

I wouldn't dream of using double-straps for normal use. I want to be able to get out of 'em fast in an emergency.

bikingshearer 

Double straps exist for track use, specifically for sprints/fast accelerations. As a one-time clips-and-straps road guy, I think double straps on the road are either pointless (if you don't cinch them down) or foolish (if you do).

Caferacernoc

That makes sense from a safety standpoint. Thanks.

RobbieTunes

I know a former race champion that used doubles all the time, then went to triple to get that "tied in" feel. He runs stop lights, slows only enough at intersections to catch a gap in traffic or the light. He rarely wears a helmet.

His triple-tied pedal came off, and he got 17 staples in his noggin and tore a muscle in his shoulder.

I'd say it's a personal choice. He made his.

Me, I have enough problems kicking out, staying upright, and other normal stuff to risk it with two straps.

They work fine for pedaling. That's fine as long as all you do is pedal.

treebound 

Late to the party but yep doubling is for sprinters on the track and a few hard pulling road racers. Head down to Kenosha or the track just across the border if the summer track series are still running and you might see one or two folks running doubles.

JohnDThompson 

The hipsters apparently find them useful for maintaining foot retention during skid stops. Remember, precious few of them use slotted cleats on their carefully sourced NJS track pedals (alas, Van's still hasn't come out with a shoe that will accept cleats), so they're at a disadvantage regarding foot retention. Where they find the money to buy double Toshis *AND* replace tires every few weeks I don't know.

mkeller234

^Live at home maybe?

Retem

toshis laced criss cross thru rx-1s are like wearing house shoes on your bike comfy

Veloria

I think a lot depends on your personal riding style, as well as your sense of balance and coordination. I know that some people find it effortless to get in and out of double-strapped clips.

divineAndbright

I thought about it on my classic road bike which I use shoes with slotted cleats but thought it might be silly, thing is my straps always come too loose when i'm climbing, occasionally a foot coming out. It was a lot worse with nylon straps, then I went to leather ones which work much better, but they still come loose fast.

Retem

get your self a pari of quality laminated straps and some strap buttons place the button just where the strap is loose enough to pull out when you want this will prevent the strap from loosening all the way and give you something to grab when tightening the strap

Hydrated

I still have my old Diadora slotted racing shoes and the pedals that I used with them. I guarantee you one thing... you'll snap your tibia before you'll slip out of those if you're securely double strapped in.

Most hipsters riding in their Pumas or Etnies have zero need for double straps. It's all for fashion.

noglider 

Years ago, a friend of mine made cleats on his sneakers using Shoe Goo. He did a very long tour with those shoes, and he said they worked great. Seems like quite an elegant idea, especially if the sneakers are stiff enough for pedaling.

John E

If he just had a steel shank in the sole, he would have reinvented my favorite cycling shoes of all time, the old Avocet Touring.

Having never broken a strap while riding (although I have replaced more than a few frayed ones before they broke on me), I don't see the point of double straps, and I don't know how I would thread them through my pedals and toeclips, anyway.

Chombi

Holy Cow! Triple straps??? Do these cyclists think they are, some Rolf Golz track god??

noglider 

Yeah, straps breaking seems unlikely for all but the strongest cyclists. Leather? Nylon? Come on.

delicious

strap breakage definitely can happen due to the forces of riding brakeless track bikes in the street . i've had it happen to me and i'm not some monster rider.

Retem

I have had old straps break on my because the leather got worn out around the edge of the pedal and had a very thin spot luckily it wasn't a catastrophic situation

Veloria

Leather straps can break; it has happened to people I know.

noglider 

delicious, has it happened with nylon straps?

delicious

i think the time mine broke was with an older nylon strap that had frayed a bit on the edge of the pedal.

it happens a lot with FG riders, i assume because straps aren't designed with the forces of "skidding" in mind.