How much difference does going clipless make?

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50000tears

Senior Member
Location
Weymouth, Dorset
I will say from the start that I am not questioning whether to go clipless or not. I already have both SPD and SPD-SL cleats and pedals. A ride I had yesterday though got me thinking.

In my 60 mile chilly morning ride yesterday I ended up having to go out using flat pedals and trainers, for reasons far too boring to get into! Although this was my furthest distance so far I was pretty disappointed with my overall pace and wondered how much of this I could put down to the pedal/shoe combination. The trainers I had on are basically a running shoe so there is a degree of give in the sole which I know would affect power transfer. Also because it is impossible to pedal proper circles on flat pedals I guess I lost out here too.

Does anybody know speed wise how much I would be losing due to not being clipless? Have studies been done on just how much that correct foot position and easier more powerful pedaling gives a rider?

As a slight aside does the cold weather also slow down overall speed?
 

Biker Joe

Über Member
Re. cold weather slowing you down:-
http://www.cyclechat.net/posts/2768408/
 
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50000tears

50000tears

Senior Member
Location
Weymouth, Dorset
You did some good research there Joe, explains the cold effect very well. I was physically cold for the first 30 miles as I got my clothing wrong so that would have sucked a ton of energy out of my system. I only actually felt any strength coming back once I was on my way back and sucked down my emergency gel!!
 

Smurfy

Naturist Smurf
As a slight aside does the cold weather also slow down overall speed?

Yes, cold air is more dense, and as everybody knows, aerodynamic drag is proportional to 1/2 Rho A V^2

If you want to go fast, ride when it's warm as the density of air (Rho) is lower.

Random bit of trivia: For exactly the same reason, snipers prefer warm conditions as their bullet goes further and faster.
 

MikeW-71

Veteran
Location
Carlisle
Yes, cold air is more dense, and as everybody knows, aerodynamic drag is proportional to 1/2 Rho A V^2

If you want to go fast, ride when it's warm as the density of air (Rho) is lower.

Random bit of trivia: For exactly the same reason, snipers prefer warm conditions as their bullet goes further and faster.
Yep, and to make it worse, clothing tends to be bulkier in winter which increases drag even more.
 
Does anybody know speed wise how much I would be losing due to not being clipless?

Almost certainly none. Clipless is not about speed - it is about a secure, consistent foot position, nothing more.

Have studies been done on just how much that correct foot position and easier more powerful pedaling gives a rider?

There was a study done, which showed that riding on clipless gave you no more power through the pedal stroke than riding on flats.
 
Almost certainly none. Clipless is not about speed - it is about a secure, consistent foot position, nothing more.
Rubbish. Clipless will increase speed over a given distance at the same level of effort. This is purely due to the fact that pedal stroke can be full with clipless, whereas with flat pedals it is nearly all downward pressure.
 
One study is called 'The Pedaling Technique of Elite Endurance Cyclists: Changes With Increasing Workload at Constant Cadence' and was published in the International Journal of Sport Biometrics 7:29-53, 1991. It concludes that they don't really make any difference as far as pedaling efficiency goes.

"...while torque during the upstroke did reduce the total positive work required during the downstroke, it did not contribute significantly to the external work done because 98.6% and 96.3% of the total work done at the low and high workloads, respectively, was done during the downstroke."

The above is supported by another study in 'Physiological and biochemical determinants of elite endurance cycling performance' published in the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 23:93-107, 1991. There are numerous graphs showing that pedal force is only exerted between the top and bottom of the downstroke, represented by a very sharp parabola spiking at 90 degrees from vertical.

I tried linking to the studies, but they are behind a firewall. There's a load of other info and discussion out there - all coming to pretty much the same conclusion. I'm a big fan of clipless pedals and use them on everything and have been doing so for 20+ years. But they honestly don't make you go any faster.
 

Rob3rt

Man or Moose!
Location
Manchester
Rubbish. Clipless will increase speed over a given distance at the same level of effort. This is purely due to the fact that pedal stroke can be full with clipless, whereas with flat pedals it is nearly all downward pressure.

Even with clipless pedals almost all of the force is applied during the down stroke.
 
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50000tears

50000tears

Senior Member
Location
Weymouth, Dorset
Wouldn't more of a factor though be the stiffness of the shoe and foot position? With high cadence pedaling the soft soled trainer wont flex too much I guess but would I still lose some power this way? One plus with clipless is that it keeps the ball of your foot in the optimum position at all times where the trainer on flats does shift around at times.
 
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