I am currently using both clip in and flat pedals. I still do roadie group rides with my fellow MAMILs on my Serotta. I use Speedplay pedals for that. I also have a modern mountain bike with SPDs . On my Sam Hillborne I ride flat pedals. If I had my druthers I'd ride flat pedals most of the time. I love riding in sandals because of the chill vibe that it promotes. When I'm on my Hillborne I'm mostly riding alone or on bike paths with friends/family.
At the start of last season I developed pain in one of my knees. I later determined that it was due to my cleat placement on my cycling shoe. I had purchased new cleats during the winter months and carelessly mounted them on my shoes without taking note of the exact placement of the previous cleats. After developing the knee pain I ended up going to my LBS and having the bike fitter take a look at my pedal stroke. Sure enough my cleat needed to be moved inboard on the shoe to solve the problem. All of that to say I wonder if clipping in is worth it when you consider how sensitive my knees are to precise cleat placement. At this point I'm still using both. On Monday, December 25, 2023 at 12:01:39 PM UTC-5 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/2acc87ab-df20-477d-bd66-446f08d4312an%40googlegroups.com.
