I've been doing more road cycling lately, and I'm getting faster and faster. As the screenshot shows, I just did 100km at an average of 30 km/h solo, on a slightly windy day.
Now, because I've been casually riding and commuting for my whole life, I'm 100% used to riding with sneakers on flat pedals. Especially because I like to be able to feel where the pedal is under my shoe, which probably isn't the case with hard soled clipless shoes. I'd like to keep riding flats as I am, but am I leaving a lot on the table? If it's truly a very big difference, I might want to try it because I'm definitely not slow as is.
Right now I have quite good spinning technique and spin at a quite high cadence. (I don't know exactly how high, but higher than most people I see out on the paths)
by rcyclingisdawae
25 Comments
It doesn’t matter to me one bit whether you clip in or not. There, it’s settled.
From my experience, the difference was really noticable
Clipping in will increase power during a sprint. It can also matter riding long distances since cycling shoes have a stiff sole while running shoes do not. Running shoes will cause more foot fatigue. The rest of riding there is not much difference between clipless pedals and flat pedals.
Depends. I can tell you one thing for sure though, you won’t feel where the pedal is on your shoe, but it wouldn’t matter because you know the pedal is in exactly the same spot every time. If you like flats more though that’s fine, no one really cares.
Its really not a big difference. It takes just a litttlleee more energy and concentration to keep my foot on the pedal without. For me it just gets easier to push harder when clipped in, but not by much.
They’re far more efficient at transferring power throughout the entire pedal stroke than flats, they’re marginally more efficient than flats and straps. It’s a personal preference unless you’re trying to win races or fit in with a clique that has a dress code.
I like it better, especially on very steep climbs so I don’t have to concentrate on my feet slipping off the pedals, not that it’s a real concern or anything but I like the feeling of being connected with the bike.
Non-quantitative answer: I feel like I ride better with them. I actually feel less comfortable without them.
I’ve never bothered with “clipless” pedals (the irony of the name) and I see no reason why you should unless you struggle with the stiffness of your soles. It offers a single foot position (which will be hell for your ankles if it’s not correctly adjusted), clipping in and out takes getting used to and may cost you your stability in a surprise moment (read: falling over), cycling shoes are a pain in the ass to move around in off the bike, they’re expensive and they also look like they all offer really really bad ventilation. Clipless fanboys, feel free to attempt convincing me otherwise.
I think it allows you to dial in your fit more precisely, and can help with technique.
I also think the stiffness of the shoe is helpful.
Does any of the above actually translate to real gains for you? No idea.
The most beneficial time to be clipped in is descending and climbing. Judging by your numbers that’s probably not a concern!
From my perspective, it’s just more comfortable, and less likely that your foot will slip at an inconvenient time.
I don’t really care about power transfer and the like, but I do care about comfort.
People say you lose power, I would rather say that you’re waisting it or you’re less efficient.
First of all you’re not using you’re legs for the whole rotation, but just for the pushing phase; imagine using your hands instead of your feet, would you just use your arms to push or would you rather do the whole rotation? Of course most of your power will be on the pushing phase because that’s how legs work and you would also need to practice the other phases before being able to use them consistently.
And then there’s the sole of the shoe and the contact area between foot and pedal: a clipless shoe will be way more rigid (completely firm if it’s a road shoe with a carbon plate at the bottom) which means that all of the power will be transferred to the contact point, while with a sneaker you are directing some of your force elsewhere because of the movements of the foot when trying to press down; a smaller surface area might also mean more pressure, but I didn’t do the math on this one so I’ll leave it to someone else.
Is it worth it? I don’t know, but I personally like it more while road cycling. I still use flats on my other bikes and I think they’re more comfortable.
That’s totally flat! I did 100km of gravel with 3000m of climbing and was darn happy with 15km/h. Pedal with what you like but I like being clipping in and having a greater connection to the bike during rough descents.
stiffer carbon soles are better for power transfer
also biomechanically better if properly setup
https://preview.redd.it/scdv00varund1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c9b686e1572b062106594f152f8645004f4aa3bd
I pedal as this technique suggests. I regularly pedal on DMR V11 with Nike SB on my road bike, and there is 0 issue following this pedaling for hours. The grip is strong that I feel like my Nike and the pedal are a one piece. But if I were to pull up the pedal as other techniques suggest, I would need to use clipless shoes.
I certainly wouldnt ride without them.
I’m all over the bike on a ride. Seated, standing, mashing, spinning, jumping out of the saddle to catch a wheel, or take advantage of a dip or bump or turn. Keeping my feet planted isn’t something I have the bandwidth to process while all of that is happening.
And because I’m not as fit as most of the folks I ride with I’m on the rivot much of the time and being able to shift my weight to bias toward pulling up (not standard pedaling procedure) for a second here and there helps.
Your mileage may vary. But it helps me.
I use standard toe clips (I used to have LOOK pedals, but found them to be awkward and stopped using them after about a year). On climbs, every second ascent I ride by pulling up on the pedal instead of pushing down. This helps to my fiftysomething aged knees and balance the workload among the various muscle groups on climbs, extending my endurance.
So, the short answer I can give you is that yes, it matters to me, and above is why.
There is absolutely no need to work on ‘spinning technique’. There are many amateurs who obsesess about this as some essential cycling thing but there are also many people breaking world records who have never worried about that and no good cyclist even has “good spinning technique” as it is usually defined (that is, good cyclists do not pull up or do anything special).
ANYWAY, good cycling shoes with pedals that clip in are a little bit more efficient sometimes, and can be nice to keep your feet planted in the right spot when cornering and on bumps and stuff, but if you are perfectly happy without, no need to change anything.
For just riding no, for racing/sport yes, clip pedalals are important for power transfer, safety and bike control.
I recently got clippless pedals for the first time. It wasn’t a revelatory, life-changing experience like some say, but I do feel like a faster, more efficient cyclist. Honestly I think it has more to do with the stiffness of the sole than the fact that it’s attached to the pedal.
Good job on your gran fondo. also clipless matters far less than padded shorts
No – there have been studies on this. It really makes no difference.
here is an example test from GCN where they compare clipless to hard MTB shoes and pins.
[https://youtu.be/aVLfqjcTbnU?t=728](https://youtu.be/aVLfqjcTbnU?t=728)
the rider was experienced in clipless, and the only difference they found was on sprints.
on one hand rider said didn’t feel comfortable going all out without being clipped in, on other hand felt his performance without being clipped in took advantage of his years of training in clipless to identify a powerful pedal technique. So assuming your technique is good enough already, you probably wont see any speed difference on your 100km rides.
Pushing and pulling the pedals as opposed to just pushing. Makes a difference. Uses different muscles. Overall better leg workout and distribution of ride stress on the legs.