Hey y’all. I now have a few years of casual fixed gear riding under my belt with toe clips. I am contemplating platform pedals with high quality straps. I ride mostly fixed gear but occasionally switch to a freewheel. My rides are of two varieties – local runabouts around town (less than 2 miles per leg) or weekend rides (20-30 miles per leg). All at moderate cruising speeds, nothing aggressive.
My reasoning: the metal toe clips tend to drag and scrape on the ground a lot and their shape isn’t the friendliest to all kinds of shoes. I do like the confidence and flow of my toe clips once I get moving, just a bit annoying in stop and go scenarios.
Thoughts?
by apos4822
8 Comments
Straps are good but they still need finely adjusted to the type of shoe you wear. Also don’t get a platform too wide, even though it’s comfy it will give you pedal strike anxiety
I prefer straps by a long shot. I use Hold Fast straps and never adjust them. My right foot strap is looser because that’s the foot I use to stop, making it easier to restrap while riding.
I also get better force transfer than with toe cages.
I use MKS Sylvan track pedals. And I also wear the same shoe when I ride: Nike Air Revaderchi. Other shoes like MTB shoes or skate shoes with flat, hard soles are good too.
Really the only places I still see toe cages are on NJS bikes in keirin races. Most recreational fixed gear bikes I see in NYC have straps or clipless.
I’ve tried both.
What I miss about clip cages is that they stay upright and make putting your foot in VERY easy because it can’t get crush down like a floppy set of straps. They also make it very easy to index your foot onto the pedal. The right combo of clips and pedals makes it very easy to slide your foot in, and you know where your foot will be on the pedal.
Platform straps. I like that I can shove any shoe.. combat boots, adidas trainers, running shoes. It doesn’t matter. Clips can also work, but fighting the cage clip/strap is easier in thinner shoes than wider ones. The platform and strap combo is easy af to adjust for a larger and wider shoe.
Can’t say whether power transfer or skidding is better in one or the other. They both do the job. Shit even plastic clips with nylon straps can do the job for a while. It’s all personal preference. Get a clipless system for a noticeable change.
Clips with double leather straps all day. Easy to get in, solid AF. Fits any shoe I would have worn to go walking around town anyways
Clips with LAMINATED double straps all day. I run those on all of my bikes
Shoes: vans and chucks, low profile = clips
High profile trainers, nike air max, reebok classics = platform pedals with holdfast straps
Super vain but I match the style of the bike. Good quality parts for either system are fine for me so if it’s a skinny tube steel frame it gets clips, or if it’s a chonky boi alloy frame/freestyle frame then it gets straps
I had toe clips for like two years and it ultimately damaged both of my toenails. Apparently I need a more larger size of toe cages (maybe those MKS “LL”s) and I was doing skids with my toes instead of the bridge of my foot. I learned this when I switched to straps. It just fits nicely and I enjoyed it more.