Seems like a lot of replies in this discussion center around where one does most of his/her riding. If it's mostly start/stop urban streets, then yes platform pedals would be safer. On lightly traveled country roads and bike paths, though, clipless would be workable and probably desirable, leg joints dependent (unless there are lots of street crossings).
My history goes back to the mid-to-late 60's/early 70's during the so-called "bike boom" when the go-to book for everyone was Sloane's "The Complete Book of Bicycling." Sloane heavily endorsed pedal retention - toe clips, straps, and shoe cleats back then (because clipless pedals hadn't been invented yet) - for serious cycling. I got hooked on it and moved forward with that philosophy in mind. Younger riders, especially Riv-influenced ones, have adopted a different pedaling experience. One minor bump in the road in recent decades was this "fixie" movement adopted mostly by Millennials where a large number of those types would have been in big trouble using pedal retention systems. I've noticed that that fad came and went rather quickly. On Monday, December 25, 2023 at 11:01:39 AM UTC-6 Ted Durant wrote: > On Sunday, December 24, 2023 at 7:44:43 PM UTC-6 Patrick Moore wrote: > > 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 started riding bikes in 1968. In 1978 I got my first pair of Detto > Pietro shoes. I've been through cleats, Avocets, SPD, MKS Mapstage, Time > ATAC, Egg Beater, and now I almost exclusively ride in sneakers (Lems) on > flat pedals (mostly Riv's Clem pedals). The most efficient "directly > attached to the rear wheel" system I ever felt was a pair of Delrin cleats > that Pino Morroni machined for Grant. They snapped perfectly into Campy NR > pedals, and you didn't even need a strap unless you really pulled straight > up on them. All the systems that "float" were absolutely terrible for me. > My heels would rotate to the float limits, creating a large amount of > rotational strain on my knees. I found Egg Beaters with zero float cleats > to be the best for my needs, and I still have them on my Riv Road, which is > set up for fast group riding. Also, like Wesley, my wife and I find > cleated pedals to be very important on the tandem - no more feet flying off > the pedals at inopportune moments. I liked having cleated pedals and shoes > for the short downtown part of my commute, where I would often need to > accelerate hard to keep up with the traffic flow. Since I retired I > haven't had a single time when I've been clipless (meaning no binding > system at all!) that I have wished for something holding my feet to the > pedals. On the contrary, I am finding that my feet, ankles, knees, and hips > are much, much happier, especially on long rides. I love being able to > shift my feet forward and back, sometimes on the ball, sometimes the arch, > depending on the terrain and the level of effort. > > My father-in-law started doing some more recreational biking in his > retirement. The shop that sold him a new bike insisted he needed toe clips > and straps. At an intersection with some sand on the pavement (April in > Wisconsin!) he used his front brake and went down. In trying to pull his > foot from the pedal he very badly tore up the ligaments in his knee. > Needless to say, when he got back on the bike the next year, I had tossed > the clips and straps. > > Ted Durant > Milwaukee WI USA > -- 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/27ad5a12-7737-460c-9272-398a9ee4b70fn%40googlegroups.com.
