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Heavy Fluid

macrumors 6502
Jun 18, 2008
473
8
Ready for summer. Sigh.

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ipodlover77

macrumors 65816
Jan 17, 2009
1,364
393
Does anybody use speedplay pedals on their bikes? Thinking about switching over from platform but in the process would eliminate some positives of platforms, which are riding casually to the store or friends with regular shoes on. Being able to ride with anything. And eliminating any chance of not being able to unclip and totally wiping out (I never tried clipless before).
 

daflake

macrumors 6502a
Apr 8, 2008
920
4,329
Does anybody use speedplay pedals on their bikes? Thinking about switching over from platform but in the process would eliminate some positives of platforms, which are riding casually to the store or friends with regular shoes on. Being able to ride with anything. And eliminating any chance of not being able to unclip and totally wiping out (I never tried clipless before).

I ride SpeedPlay Zero on my road bike and love them. They are a lot easier to get in when riding in traffic over the delta style. They do take a little more work on the maintenance side, but are worth it I think.

As for falling, it is going to happen. It isn't when you are moving, but rather when you go to stop that you will fall. Probably happened to me two or three times and never happens now. You can practice unclipping with your bike in a door way or on a trainer to get used to it. Most people still fall though.
 

/"\/oo\/"\

macrumors regular
Jan 7, 2007
138
0
Like daflake, I have a set of zeros on my bike. I like them a lot, but like seats and bars, pedals are a highly personal choice.

What are you looking to accomplish by going to clipless pedals?
 

ipodlover77

macrumors 65816
Jan 17, 2009
1,364
393
/"\/oo\/"\;20644803 said:
Like daflake, I have a set of zeros on my bike. I like them a lot, but like seats and bars, pedals are a highly personal choice.

What are you looking to accomplish by going to clipless pedals?

Trying to figure out if it would make the ride more enjoyable.

For years I only used platform pedals so I was curious about finally trying clipless and seeing if the energy transfer from pulling up would be quite drastic from just using energy when pushing downwards.

But again, I hate that I lose the ability to ride my bike casually as I would always need cycling shoes if I go with the speedplays. Yeah there are the pedals that allow both clipless and platform but those are kinda cumbersome.
 

daflake

macrumors 6502a
Apr 8, 2008
920
4,329
Trying to figure out if it would make the ride more enjoyable.

For years I only used platform pedals so I was curious about finally trying clipless and seeing if the energy transfer from pulling up would be quite drastic from just using energy when pushing downwards.

But again, I hate that I lose the ability to ride my bike casually as I would always need cycling shoes if I go with the speedplays. Yeah there are the pedals that allow both clipless and platform but those are kinda cumbersome.

Clipless pedals won't really make it more enjoyable, but it will help to increase your speed and power transfer. This isn't really accomplished by "pulling up" as many would think, but rather by keeping your foot in the same location on the pedal and allowing a smoother stroke on the crank. It will limit your ability to ride casually as you will need cycling shoes all the time. That being said, I have four bikes and all of them have clipless pedals on them, even my mountain bike. I wouldn't think of going back!

What kind of bike are you planning on putting them on?
 

ipodlover77

macrumors 65816
Jan 17, 2009
1,364
393
Clipless pedals won't really make it more enjoyable, but it will help to increase your speed and power transfer. This isn't really accomplished by "pulling up" as many would think, but rather by keeping your foot in the same location on the pedal and allowing a smoother stroke on the crank. It will limit your ability to ride casually as you will need cycling shoes all the time. That being said, I have four bikes and all of them have clipless pedals on them, even my mountain bike. I wouldn't think of going back!

What kind of bike are you planning on putting them on?

Caad Synapse 5 Carbon.

I just like casual rides tbph. Longest I've ridden was only about 15-18 miles. And thats a rare occurrence. My casual strolls usually range from 9-12 hah.

Still, I can't get the desire out to want to try clipless but my frugal side tells me it would be a pretty expensive experiment as I would have to buy the pedals as well as shoes.
 

daflake

macrumors 6502a
Apr 8, 2008
920
4,329
I agree with Heavy Fluid to be honest. If I were you, I would stick to SPD for now and not really look at something a little more proprietary. With SPD, you can use a shoe like the Chrome ones that look great and you can talk easily with the cleat attached. If you go with something like Speed Play, it will limit what shoes you can wear.


I generally 20 + miles (longest is 110) on my road bike and pound that out at 18+ MPH average. For me, cleats are a must just to keep me connected. That being said, I might ride flats for casual riding or for manual. I just never do that! Even my mountain bike is SPD.
 

AppleDApp

macrumors 68020
Jun 21, 2011
2,413
45
Caad Synapse 5 Carbon.

I just like casual rides tbph. Longest I've ridden was only about 15-18 miles. And thats a rare occurrence. My casual strolls usually range from 9-12 hah.

Still, I can't get the desire out to want to try clipless but my frugal side tells me it would be a pretty expensive experiment as I would have to buy the pedals as well as shoes.

You could try pedals that have both clipless and regular. You could also get pedal straps as a more affordable option plastic or metal.
 

/"\/oo\/"\

macrumors regular
Jan 7, 2007
138
0
Like others have said, going with an SPD-type setup may be ideal since the cleat is recessed on the sole of the shoe. If you haven't seen them already, Speedplay makes a pair of pedals called Frogs that use the SPD mounting system and are much less environmentally sensitive than the road pedals, but you lose the ability to adjust the float (rotation of your foot before unclipping). I wouldn't read into the efficiency benefits too much TBH.

To me, it doesn't sound like clipless pedals are going to have much, if any, benefit for the riding you're doing, especially since you have to give up the casual factor. That said, it sounds like you want to try it, and you could easily pickup some pedals off craigslist and cheap shoes for $~150 to give it a go, and probably not lose a bunch of money on the pedals if they aren't for you.
 
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