Clipless merits

I commute down A roads and find that if I pedal in circles I can go alot faster than just pushing alone. Yes I start breathing harder because I'm using more muscles and when I first started using this technique I could only sustain it for a short time before the extra muscles I was now utilising started to burn. But I got fitter and the muscles became conditioned and now I can sustain it and go alot faster than I used to be able too. Haven't you ever wondered how these roadies buzz along at 25mph, I did!!!

Another advantage is you can alternate between pushing and pulling to let the respective muscles have a break.

JamesM":izkrwln3 said:

It's not a crock, Pedaling in circles gives you a big power boost and yes it's hard to sustain initially but once you get used to it you can sustain it. It's not same with toe clips they're just too loose.

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Have to agree with this - it does take practise and for me I have to remember to do it - but on my timed runs I'm noticeably faster with it. I find it no more tiring than I would expect for the same effort exerted uphill or on a sprint. In fact up hills are one place it really seems beneficial.

http://www.roadbikerider.com/cycling-sc ... al-strokes

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Interesting, so, just get on with it and stop worrying.

It's not same with toe clips they're just too loose.

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Track cyclists still use toe clips and straps. :?

Also, in years past, you would use toe clips and straps in combination with cycling shoes that had a cleat on the bottom that fitted over the rear edge of the pedal cage. This made it impossible to pull your foot off the pedal without first reaching down to flip the tap on your toe straps to loosen them.



Traditional cycling shoes had a fairly thick, solid leather sole with a steel shank within it to make them completely rigid. You'd ride a few miles without shoe plates, until a line was pressed into the leather by the rear of the pedal, then you would nail on the shoe plates so that the slot lined up with the line to make sure your shoe plates were in the right position. Later shoes had a plastic sole with a bolt on cleat, similar to the way clipless cleats are bolted on to modern shoes.

xerxes":yli2s64h said:

Track cyclists still use toe clips and straps. :?

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I was told because they can tighten them up more

JamesM":3eum24c6 said:

Haven't you ever wondered how these roadies buzz along at 25mph, I did!!!

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Doping!

I have had a foot in each camp for a long time, but mainly platforms for me now. I need to get a foot down an awful lot, and I am not commuting or needing to get anywhere quickly. I certainly have never had problems hopping a bike around with platforms.

tintin40":2a9m7d5t said:

xerxes":2a9m7d5t said:

Track cyclists still use toe clips and straps. :?

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I was told because they can tighten them up more

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2000+ watts can pull cleats out of the pedals. So they use clips and straps on clipless pedals. (Or just the straps at least)

That's why spdr was so popular, the maximum retention load was huge and the cleats were extremely rigid.

JamesM":2owhzyhy said:

Haven't you ever wondered how these roadies buzz along at 25mph, I did!!!

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Practice, training, drafting, more practice. For 95% or more of road riding clipless makes virtually no difference to power output. For the last few hundred metres of a sprint or acceleration on a mountain, it helps. A bit.

Helps keep your feet in place though.

And if you are actually *properly* pedalling in circles for any length of time (more than a few miles), you should get your entry in for the ToB.

FWIW the weakest link for a trained road cyclist is the cardiovascular system, the loads applied through the pedals aren't usually much more than you'd apply walking up the stairs. So you'd be better off training your lungs than your legs.

mattr":1yvakshr said:

JamesM":1yvakshr said:

Haven't you ever wondered how these roadies buzz along at 25mph, I did!!!

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Practice, training, drafting, more practice. For 95% or more of road riding clipless makes virtually no difference to power output. For the last few hundred metres of a sprint or acceleration on a mountain, it helps. A bit.

Helps keep your feet in place though.

And if you are actually *properly* pedalling in circles for any length of time (more than a few miles), you should get your entry in for the ToB.

FWIW the weakest link for a trained road cyclist is the cardiovascular system, the loads applied through the pedals aren't usually much more than you'd apply walking up the stairs. So you'd be better off training your lungs than your legs.

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What you said.