Clipless pedals...do I really need them?

[presta]

There's loads of such shoes available - it's pretty much the default for MTB shoes to have a recessed clear.

I meant suitable for me, not the pedal.

Try riding up a 8km climb in flats then try it in clipless and see. Oh and don't forget the hairpin descents.

I've done lots of big climbs with rat traps and toe clips. The reason I've never tried clipless is because I never found any shoes that were suitable (for me).

can lift on upstroke as opposed to only pressing on pedals

I was never fit enough to climb out of the saddle, let alone pull on the pedals.

 

[presta]

The other plus is you can walk like a normal human being with this system

You can with ordinary shoes too.

 

[Exlaser2]

You can with ordinary shoes too.

How to say I didn’t understand the point of your post, without saying I didn’t understand the point of your post . 😀
Please read the last two sentences of my post again .

 

[presta]

Something nobody's mentioned is the cost, cycling shoes are two or three times the price of a pair of ordinary shoes that are a better quality and fit.

 

[Fredo76]

any 'power' from the upstroke will be superseded by the other leg doing a downstroke. It's a big muscle vs little muscle thing... the big muscle does all the work, regardless of how much effort one puts into 'pulling up'.

This is like saying a motor wouldn't help because the rider is already pedaling. If a friend helps you push your car, does his force 'supercede' yours?

 

[Exlaser2]

Can you spend hundreds of pound on cycling shoes ? Of course you can .

On the other hand I recently spent @£70 for a pair of Shimano xc1 spd shoes which is just the same amount as I spent on my last pair of shoes I bought from Clark’s .


https://fawkes-cycles.co.uk/shimano-xc1-xc100-spd-gravel-shoes-black-p23870

 

[davidphilips]

Talking to a few cyclists at cafe and the advice they asked to pass on is clipless are not highly recommended if you use a unicycle and juggle at same time or if you have no other foot wear and intend to walk a tightrope between high buildings.

 

[Webbo2]

Most of my shoes Loakes, Barkers and trickers should have cost between £200 and £500 pounds. My cycling shoes Sidi and Lake cost £225ish. So not much in it really.

 

[HLaB]

One downside of the spikey flat pedals is the mess they can make of your shin or calf should you come off the bike (eg as is guaranteed with mountain biking). A SPD pedal will give you a good clout, but its not going to gouge your skin off.

I was surprised when I last used spiky pedals having not used flats for 10 years I never once whacked my shins and never had sore calves either. Lol it was pointed out at the end of the ride I was bleeding profusely. The spikes punctured perfectly my calves without me noticing

 

[Chief Broom]

If the up stroke produces power wouldnt that deplete your energy reserves the quicker as the up stroke power [if there is any] doesnt come for free. ie 2 riders tackling a monstrous hill..1 is applying power down and bit up number 2 just down. Both riders could be optimising gear choice to suit there mode of power delivery. Pulses of power delivered in a slightly different way but both eating up the power store until burning out both riders.
I guess it comes down to efficiency which is best anyhow its marginal and i dont really care as i lurve! 😍 my shiny shiny toe clips

 

[HLaB]

It might be a coincidence but the biggest improvement to my time trialling a few years back, coincided with me using multi release cleats on my commuter (there's no up pull or you unclip). FWIW, when I got new mtb shoes just after lockdown that was the only type of spd cleat in stock.

 

[Punkawallah]

I was surprised when I last used spiky pedals having not used flats for 10 years I never once whacked my shins and never had sore calves either. Lol it was pointed out at the end of the ride I was bleeding profusely. The spikes punctured perfectly my calves without me noticing

And some people pay a fortune for a chain tattoo! You got a much cooler scar for free!

 

[Juliansou]

Haven’t read all the comments so apologies if this has already been mentioned.
I use double sided MTB clip in on a couple of my bikes - best of both worlds; flats when just out for a pootle & clip in when ‘out for a ride’. The advantage of MTB shoes is recessed cleats which make walking easier & the style of them tends to be a bit more ‘normal shoe’.

 

[Profpointy]

Something nobody's mentioned is the cost, cycling shoes are two or three times the price of a pair of ordinary shoes that are a better quality and fit.

Cripes where are you buying your shoes ? Who spends 7 or 8 hundred quid on cycle shoes?

 

[Mike Ayling]

I have pedals that I clip into, not "clipless"!