Comments on: Regression - Pedals

By: jessilinford

jessilinford — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 11:17:24 +0000

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By: Storage Northwich

Storage Northwich — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 00:55:12 +0000

Nice post, keep up the excellent work

By: cocheese

cocheese — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:41:55 +0000

I have bunk knees (esp the left) and I’m about at my wit’s end dealing with it. I got the Spec’y shoes with inserts, SPD pedals, and the full pro bike fit…helped but did not get to the root of the issue. Consequesntly, I just had knee surgery for two tears and a bad plica. After I recover, I’m going to try some of your suggestions. WTB’s with Bruce Gordon Ti toe holders, Powergrips, straight DH-style flats…I’ll try anything short of a red hot poker in the ear!

By: Jeff Moser

Jeff Moser — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 06:11:16 +0000

The great pedal debate is kind of like the great fork and spoon debate. I just use the right tool for the job. When I eat soup, I use my spoon. Spaghetti, my fork.

Egg Beaters for mountain, road, BMX racing. Flats for cruisers, playing around on my dirt jumper, or other times when i don’t want to wear cycling shoes.

I enjoy both!

By: Ralphy

Ralphy — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:00:51 +0000

“If I remember correctly, Lance pedalled with a very high cadence, he did not ’spin’.”

Uh, what’s the difference?

By: Mathew

Mathew — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:39:31 +0000

Time ATAC - don’t settle for less!

I ride my ATACs with cleated shoes but nowadays I never clip in. Instead I just use the cleats to locate my feet on the pedals properly, with the ball of the foot above the spindle. In that way I get maximal ankle movement, with no feelings of being trapped and no need to reposition the feet.
If I had to ride with SPD or any other cleat system I doubt I would be able to ride ‘clipless yet always unclipped’ so easily. The Time ATAC pedal design has better patents than the rest - get them if you want the best of clip/unclipped worlds.

I have tried riding those stupid BMX-style ‘flat’ pedals and they feel horrible. Your feet are glued to the pedals in a fixed position with no float. You also have to wear shin protectors with them, unless gouged shins are really desired. They also weigh a tonne and tend not to have reflectors.

As for pulling on the upstroke - it depends on your ride, there are tough ‘grades’ in the UK where a little help is most useful, much like 4×4 in a car, and we all know how much that is *really* needed. As for spinning, isn’t that what planet-trashing, 4×4 owning cowards do in the gym? Or do primadonna roadies do it too?
If I remember correctly, Lance pedalled with a very high cadence, he did not ’spin’.

By: JoelGuelph

JoelGuelph — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 18:27:19 +0000

I think one thing that should be pointed out is that their are many platform pedals that fall between extremely sticky/hard to adjust foot position and no grip/easy to slip off. Many pedals have adjustable/replaceable pins that can be adjusted or replaced with shorter or longer pins. The length and sharpness of the pins has a huge effect on how grippy the pedals are.

Personally, I ride flats on my commuter so I don’t have to deal with my clipless shoes at work, I don’t have to worry about swapping them off my MTB on a daily basis, and I can handle the icy patches a lot more easily. Flats on my FR/jumper and BMX, clipless on my XC and road bikes. I briefly used clipless for racing 4X and BMX, but the power advantage wasn’t worth it compared to the ability to take a foot off when bumping elbows.

By: kerbouchaud

kerbouchaud — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 14:01:44 +0000

During my rant about the ignorance of the posted artical I did fail to mention that not every style of riding can benefit from clipless. I wouldn’t think about trying to use them on downhill or free ride trails, and often will swap them to platforms on trails that I am not familiar with providing that I know there aren’t too many heavy climbs. I’d rather walk up a hill than get wadded up in a pile on the other side. For my home trails though, clipless works best for me. At the same time one of my riding buddies who takes it to the max wherever he rides wouldn’t be caught dead with clipless as he just tries to much crazy crap where being clipped in would be a liability.
Like Kent said, just keep the wheels turning regardless of what kind of pedals you use.

By: Kent Peterson

Kent Peterson — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 02:44:10 +0000

I’m not speaking for anybody but me, but I’m not missing pulling up. When I rode the GDR (2500 miles in 22 days and change) and when I won the San Francisco to Portland Raid-Californie I did so with Power Grip pedals. For distance riding I value not just float but the ability to micro-adjust for and aft. You don’t get that with clipless pedals.

I rode over 10,000 miles last year on platform pedals with no additional retention, just grippy shoes (Keens) and that works fine for me. If clipless work fine for you, or toeclips, or Power Grips or whatever, I’ve got no problem with that either.

Keep ‘em rolling, no matter how you turn the pedals around.

Kent “Mountain Turtle” Peterson
Issaquah WA USA

By: Kristin

Kristin — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:28:20 +0000

coming from a downhill racer I seem to use both platform and clipless. I have yet to notice a problem in my knees or legs….yet. I would rather ride flats anyday of the week. If I need to bail, I dont want my bike falling on top of me causing more damage just because Im connected. When Im riding I love doing no footers and can cans. You have to take in all aspects of riding, not just the riding you do. BMX, XC, Freeride, Downhill, Touring, Cyclocross, road, comfort….if you said clipless to the majority of poeple who ride bikes, they would look at you like you had 10 heads. Its not the equipment that makes the ride…its the rider that makes themself. Lance Armstrong would kick ass just ass much on a Walmart bike (or atleast try her hardest) as a Trek. Stpo Bitching…everyone rides different…who cares as long as people are riding.

PS…they arent scars…battle wounds