It's the Felt VR40 (the one I posted about finding/fettling mudguards to fit)
So obviously the mudguards do add to it but there should be clearance even with mudguards.
Looking for advice regarding clip-in pedals...
- Thread starter Pduk
- Start date
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It's the Felt VR40 (the one I posted about finding/fettling mudguards to fit)
So obviously the mudguards do add to it but there should be clearance even with mudguards.
They can add some nice security off-road plus the ability to simply not have to think about foot placement when clipped in, but I think for most of us the gains are maginal at best and I only have them on my gravel bike - happy with flats on all the rest.
Jameshow
Guru
Or touring shoes....
How far are you riding in normal clothes. I did 63 miles in the Alps yesterday and I would have been in right state wearing my normal clothes.
If your going SPD pedals you can get multi directional cleats which unclip in multiple directions including an emergency yank up . For me clipless is all about the feeling of being connected to the bike do you need to clip no ,would I go back to not being clipped in no as I like the feeling , basically performance wise I think there's not enough in it to even consider the difference
All uphill
Still rolling along
- Location
- Somerset
I do choose some clothes with an eye to cycling; I avoid trousers with a seam in the crotch, for example, but I don't have, or need, two wardrobes - cycling and non-cycling.
My peddles have clips on one side and flats the other. I clips in on the road except in heavy traffic, which I don't do very often. Off road I use the flats so I can get my foot down quickly. I'm not very good at technical stuff. My mountain bike just has flats. I ride in mountain biking shoes, the other benefit of having mixed clips/flats peddles is I can still ride in any shoes.
ktmbiker58
Senior Member
This is going to be unpopular with some (I am putting on my fireproof suit ready for flaming) but here goes: GCN proved by testing that there was only a performance advantage to clipless over about 750W - frankly unless you get paid to ride a bike or are competing in a race there is no performance advantage.
Riders of feet forward 'bents may be more comfortable having their feet clipped to the pedals.
There are plenty of disadvantages to clipless for the non racer:
1. You will fall over at some point when something unexpected happens, especially when tired
2. Stopping and starting on hills is particularily hazardous
3. Because the cleats are relatively small the shoes need stiff soles which can result in 'hotspot' on your foot
4. Clipless limits foot movement - makes it difficult to change your foot position to relieve your knees,
5. Clipping in and out in stop/start traffic is not only a right PITA but dangerous - I have seen plenty of riders having to look down because of failing to clip in instead of concentrating on the traffic
6. Unclipping can involve a significant angular rotation of your foot which isn't ideal for longevity of joints
I am sure some folk can and will present rebuttals to all the above but just like wearing aero clothing, running gossamer thin tyres with ultra low rolling resistance, slamming the stem for a more aero position it's important to put these in context - a lot of this comes from racing.
50 years ago when I was a teenager we thought 'rat traps' were cool and fitted them to our Carltons and Claude Butlers, it didn't take long for all of us to ditch them - we all fell off at some point and the dam things always seemed to be in the wrong orientation after stopping !
Riders of feet forward 'bents may be more comfortable having their feet clipped to the pedals.
There are plenty of disadvantages to clipless for the non racer:
1. You will fall over at some point when something unexpected happens, especially when tired
2. Stopping and starting on hills is particularily hazardous
3. Because the cleats are relatively small the shoes need stiff soles which can result in 'hotspot' on your foot
4. Clipless limits foot movement - makes it difficult to change your foot position to relieve your knees,
5. Clipping in and out in stop/start traffic is not only a right PITA but dangerous - I have seen plenty of riders having to look down because of failing to clip in instead of concentrating on the traffic
6. Unclipping can involve a significant angular rotation of your foot which isn't ideal for longevity of joints
I am sure some folk can and will present rebuttals to all the above but just like wearing aero clothing, running gossamer thin tyres with ultra low rolling resistance, slamming the stem for a more aero position it's important to put these in context - a lot of this comes from racing.
50 years ago when I was a teenager we thought 'rat traps' were cool and fitted them to our Carltons and Claude Butlers, it didn't take long for all of us to ditch them - we all fell off at some point and the dam things always seemed to be in the wrong orientation after stopping !
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
GCN clearly never commuted all year round, all hours of the day, all weathers.
Performance wasn't of interest to me. Security of the foot-pedal interface was.
I used to teach this professionally, and have a few views of my own...
Most such "moments" are attributable to a rider with insufficiently developed skills and coordination. I have never fallen over while clipped in and I put my trousers on one leg at a time like everyone else.
See my answer to points 1 and 2 above. If yourre having to look at your feet your fundamental skills aren't there to begin with.
There can be some truth in this. Careful pedal adjustment and cleat selection are crucial to avoid this, and most riders suffer zero issues after decades of spd use.
Some people simply dont like clipless, and I totally dig that. However, most of these "reasons" against are lame at best.
Performance wasn't of interest to me. Security of the foot-pedal interface was.
I used to teach this professionally, and have a few views of my own...
Most such "moments" are attributable to a rider with insufficiently developed skills and coordination. I have never fallen over while clipped in and I put my trousers on one leg at a time like everyone else.
That can be true, but isn't universally so. For example, I have never suffered hotspot issues regardless of the shoe. In any event, stiff soled shoes are easily available so it's a non problem.
Not an issue if the bike has been set up in an orthopaedically correct manner to begin with.
See my answer to points 1 and 2 above. If yourre having to look at your feet your fundamental skills aren't there to begin with.
There can be some truth in this. Careful pedal adjustment and cleat selection are crucial to avoid this, and most riders suffer zero issues after decades of spd use.
Some people simply dont like clipless, and I totally dig that. However, most of these "reasons" against are lame at best.
Ah yeah I remember that discussion!
I never had any issues with toe overlap on my Felt VR50 (size 61cm frame) whilst using SPDs and I did around 30k miles on it. Or at least I don't remember having issues.
It might just be something you have to live with if the bike otherwise fits well.
I find, size 10 shoes, it is perfectly possible with a shoe using recessed SPDs to cycle for some distance with one foot unclipped so no problems in stop start traffic. Having that foot being the one that is naturally.put down first having a shoe with a quick / multi release SPD also helps.
My preferred clothing is usually a three piece suit. I find it somewhat incredulous that you would think this would be appropriate for a 60 to 100 mile cycle ride. I presume you are just riding your bike to the shop.😉
teeonethousand
Über Member
This was my conclusion too. I am too old to add risk of a fall for no benefit to my style/pace of riding. I use spiky pedals and Giro flats and it's fine. Just my opinion.
