I like it all - except toe clips :) After refusing to "clip in" for many years, I finally tried SPDs 5 or 6 years ago and really enjoy the power transfer I perceive (actual or imagined, who cares? I like it) and a sense of connection or connectedness to the pedals, cranks, bike.
I've learned that I prefer mountain bike style over road style SPDs for both my road and not-road bikes (using apparently discontinued? wide Lake MX1 lace-ups), as I enjoy walking with ease and a normal posture. I still use platform pedals, specifically MKS Lambdas on commuter and camping bikes, and use a variety of shoes and boots. I've not tried the more recent iterations on this now iconic Lambda pedal, mostly because they just last forever and I cannot yet justify a new purchase. I have enough overlap on too many of my bikes to like toe clips/cages. I recall disliking how much my foot would bend behind the pedal with big efforts, but I admit I never tried a rigid soled shoe with them. Patch in NYC On Sunday, December 24, 2023 at 8:44:43 PM UTC-5 Patrick Moore wrote: > First entry in new Blahg. And no, he doesn't; he reports someone's > out-of-context judgment. > > But I'm curious how many on this RBW list like and use retention and how > many don't; and of the former, how many use toe clips and how many use > clipless systems -- and what kind. > > I'll start: I rode fast for years and thousands of miles in Keds with > thick, soft soles and then rubber-soled lace ups of other sorts on > un-clipped rat-trap pedals (and even rubber block pedals) until in about > 1990 I got my first relatively expensive road bike (1989 Falcon, tout 531C > with Sante group) and decided largely because of bike mag content that I'd > better get with the retention program. I started with Bata Bikers and clips > and straps, graduated to clips and straps and slotted cleats, then pretty > quickly switched to the burgeoning varieties of clipless -- Sampson > Stratics, Grafton "Erector Set" road and mtb pedals, Speedplay X1s and > Frogs, Looks of various sorts, and finally SPDs, road and mtb (by "road" I > mean the ones that came out for about 1 season long long ago with the mtb > mechanism). > > A couple of years ago I tried platforms with spikes and no-retention shoes > but after about a month of annoyance always shifting my foot to find the > right position I gave up and went back to SPDs. I've got SPDs on all my > bikes though I've got a very nice set of XC Pros + clips and straps + > almost-as-new wood-soled Duegis with cleats that I'd like to try -- I found > slotted cleats with semi-tight straps easier with a fixed drivetrain than > Look Keos -- except that SPDs are so perfect. > > So, I've round that having gotten used to retention I find it very hard to > give it up. I daresay that this habituation is stronger since so much of my > riding is on fixed drivetrains, but I'd still want at least clips and > loose-ish straps with rubber soles for any freewheel drivetrain. > > But again, SPDs just feel so perfect that I will probably just stay with > them. > > Best wishes to all for the Christmas season. > > Patrick Moore, finishing up a late resume on Xmas eve in ABQ, NM. > > -- > > Patrick Moore > Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other writing > services > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > *When thou didst not, savage, k**now thine own meaning,* > > *But wouldst gabble like a** thing most brutish,* > > *I endowed thy purposes w**ith words that made them known.* > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/2f4bb279-1681-473c-8acc-a7e627ba71cdn%40googlegroups.com.
