Chapter 2.4 of this thesis suggests their may be a risk of injury by trying to adjust the natural pedalling motion (recovering on the upstroke).
How much difference does going clipless make?
- Thread starter 50000tears
- Start date
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Chapter 2.4 of this thesis suggests their may be a risk of injury by trying to adjust the natural pedalling motion (recovering on the upstroke).
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
As 50000tears says, they keep your foot in a constant, secure position. That's quite handy in the wet. I can't honestly say that I noticed an increase in speed when I went clipless, but I really like the clicky noises!
GrasB
Veteran
- Location
- Nr Cambridge
You'll get no immediate effect from going clipless intact you'll probably find it feeling strange & a mild performance reduction. However if you stay with it, which will train your legs to take advantage of the foot retention, you should notice that when going back to flat pedals that you're not able to spin as fast or produce as much power for very short or prolonged durations.
DooDah
Veteran
- Location
- France, now Northamptonshire
SWSteve
Guru
- Location
- Bristol...ish
I don't know if it has made a performance increase for myself, I bought them a little while into cycling - but was seeing big performance increases anyway - The big thing I have experienced whilst riding clipped is a difference in comfort. Having a secure base for your foot meant I didn't suffer from any rubbing on my foot where the cages would have been on my previous trainers, that was the main reason for me wanting to switch
MontyVeda
a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
- Location
- Lancaster... the little city.
depends on the type of flat pedals, my foot doesn't move in the slightest unless i want it to... and i can wear any shoes i like
Dusty Bin
Guest
Sadly, what you have described is physically impossible. If your gearing is the same, and your cadence is the same, then your speed will not increase. Think about it.
But wouldn't it use slightly less downward force meaning those particular muscles may get a little less tired giving more energy for faster cycling?
SWSteve
Guru
- Location
- Bristol...ish
without changing the gear ratio or the rpm, how is it possible to increase the speed?
U
User6179
Guest
OP
OP
50000tears
Senior Member
- Location
- Weymouth, Dorset
I think this post grew a life of its own, sadly mostly due to pointless bickering.
To answer the question in hand it is not a matter of opinion that the same cadence and gearing will produce the same results no matter the technique, it is a simple matter of fact, or as Dusty put it, a matter of physics. What could have been argued was that a better technique due to going clipless allowed a person to cycle at a higher cadence or a higher gear for the same effort, but that is not what was stated.
To answer the question in hand it is not a matter of opinion that the same cadence and gearing will produce the same results no matter the technique, it is a simple matter of fact, or as Dusty put it, a matter of physics. What could have been argued was that a better technique due to going clipless allowed a person to cycle at a higher cadence or a higher gear for the same effort, but that is not what was stated.
