Fixed Gear Bicycles

Thanks for the additional clarification on pedal types all. I now see the origin/history of "clipless".

I hear you PP on the perils of being clipped in. I watched my neighbor take a fall when she couldn't get unclipped just coming to a stop in her driveway! No big injuries but a pretty decent sized scrape on her knee. My wife gets a kick out of watching me fall in various sports (I guess I've fallen a good bit over the years!) tucking and rolling. An early date was mountain biking where I came over the front and off to the side, tucking and rolling. She just couldn't get over it (no injuries though!). I try to keep breakable parts tucked in whenever possible in whatever sport.

So at the risk of starting another debate...what "clipless" systems/brands are there out there and what are their pros/cons? And of course by "clipless" I actually mean "clipped in"! :cool:

EDIT: I'm talking road biking here only. I only get to mountain bike very sporadically, and nothing too challenging, so no plans to change anything there. I hope to get into a regular road biking routine though.
 
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Fortunately, most of those types of accidents from not being able to get unclipped are at a stand still.

There are way too many different pedal systems to get into all of them & I've only used three clipless systems. On the simplest level there's road vs mountain pedal systems. The benefit of road pedals is that they generally have a bigger pedal surface, which is supposed to mean better power transfer & the soles of road shoes are usually stiffer for the same reason, which means that they're terrible for walking around. Mountain pedals are designed to be better at shedding mud & dirt & can usually be clipped in from both sides of the pedal (or 4 sides in some cases). The shoes usually aren't as stiff, since you may need to get off the bike on some trails & the cleats are usually recessed, which makes it easier to walk around.
 
AmericanTemplar said:
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Also, I don't claim to be an expert about bikes, but I do know more than some (you, clearly)
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That's all I needed to see. You are obviously immature and I'll put you on ignore now to spare others from seeing more back and forth. Saying stuff like that is a sign of needing to feel superior, and I feel sorry that you need to do that to feel better about yourself and boost your ego on an internet message board.

AThiker, for road biking, you probably want to clip in. I will leave that gear suggestion to others, since I am not a roadie. Just be real careful, you don't want to lose tennis time from a bad fall. Best thing to do is what you feel comfortable doing. Last thing you want is to be tentative and stiff on any bike.
 
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Haha, whatever dude. Alright, you know more than I do about BMX & DH, but nobody has asked about either of those disciplines here.

athiker - I'd suggest digging around the internet for pedal reviews. For road, I've only ridden older Look style & current Campy ProFit. The older Look style were OK & I love the Campy ProFits (but those are way out of most people's price range).
 
TheJRK said:
I'm 75" tall and I can just imagine if I had tried to order online... My legs would be dragging on the ground and I'd probably have the saddle too far forward and my handlebars too low... or some other improper set-up.
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I don't see why you'd have necessarily ordered the wrong size bike if you ordered online - there are size and fit guides for bikes online a-plenty.

That said, your point on setup is valid, a good bike store will indeed be helpful in bike setup. If you need an even better option - find a sports physio who is a keen cyclist!

AmericanTemplar said:
A new rider isn't going to have enough riding experience to glean much from a test ride anyway. Narrow tires & more aggressive geometry is going to feel awkward, initially,
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Fair point. Especially the above is true on a road bike - everyone's first roadie feels too stretched out, too hard, too fast (light), etc. I couldn't get over the freedom / scary-fast feeling hopping on a roadie in my early 20s after not cycling since teens.

Power Player said:
I had those hybrid pedals you are talking about also. They seemed to do each task about half as good as they should so I ended up going to platforms and never looked back.
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Umm, with all the respect in the world, actually how experienced are you with clipless pedals? Because the post that you were replying to wasn't referring to a hybrid pedal, it was referring to small, SPD-only or EggBeater options that are in fact not a hybrid at all, they are purely just a lock-in spot for an SPD or CBrothers cleat.
 
athiker said:
Pros and cons of each clip style (assuming there are more than one)?

Thanks!
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AmericanTemplar said:
Fortunately, most of those types of accidents from not being able to get unclipped are at a stand still.

There are way too many different pedal systems to get into all of them & I've only used three clipless systems. On the simplest level there's road vs mountain pedal systems. The benefit of road pedals is that they generally have a bigger pedal surface, which is supposed to mean better power transfer & the soles of road shoes are usually stiffer for the same reason, which means that they're terrible for walking around. Mountain pedals are designed to be better at shedding mud & dirt & can usually be clipped in from both sides of the pedal (or 4 sides in some cases). The shoes usually aren't as stiff, since you may need to get off the bike on some trails & the cleats are usually recessed, which makes it easier to walk around.
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Ahh, to go back 10 years. For 10 years ago, there were very, very few options indeed, and answering your question (athiker) would be easy. But as we know, few options equals high pricing and limited selection, and thus, the market is now better for the consumer.

ATemplar has done a good job above of summarising.

For those with knee problems, ask your bike shop for pedal systems that have some 'float' - lets you find the natural position for your foot while still clipped in.

For those who are new - don't go too expensive or too light, as these can result in regular maintenance. At least one brand out there is very functional, and very light for the money, but equally, is heavy on the maintenance.

Apart from that - it's all about regular purchasing - price, experience and design will factor into your choices.
 
Power Player said:
If anything sounds made up, it's you saying that you never have once not gotten out of your clips before falling and that you ride your bike at 50 mph
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Just noticed this criticism above directed at ATemplar, which is really invalid - I mean, if I've hit 50+, why should others have not?

I used to live an hour or so west of a capital city, just into the local mountains. My regular ride would be out my door, 3 k's along the road, and then around the corner and down the hill to the city.

If I didn't pedal my way around the corner, 70kph (37mph) was easily seen and gone.

If I did pedal my way onto the descent, I used to hit around 87-88kph - which is just over 50mph.

It wasn't long before I decided that while going the same speed as traffic was fun, I would probably be even more dead if I fell off, so I stopped attacking my way onto the descent.
 
Yeah, I don't regularly hit speeds of 50+ (high 40's is more typical), but my point was just that I wouldn't want to slip off of flats while spinning at that speed when I do get going that fast.

Also, I should mention that I'm not the kind of person to usually attack people's character over the Internet. I believe in giving people the same respect online as I would face-to-face, otherwise I'd feel like a coward. I guess with PP, I wasn't clever enough to come up with a way to point out that he was fabricating information without making the argument ad hominem.
 
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OrangeOne said:
Umm, with all the respect in the world, actually how experienced are you with clipless pedals? Because the post that you were replying to wasn't referring to a hybrid pedal, it was referring to small, SPD-only or EggBeater options that are in fact not a hybrid at all, they are purely just a lock-in spot for an SPD or CBrothers cleat.
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I read it as he wanted a hybrid as opposed to an egg beater. In my experience, you either go 100% clipless or 100% platform. None of the "tweeners" really deliver as well. That is what I meant, and I think you would agree.

I don't appreciate being told that I am making stuff up especially since I linked to other sites that support what I said. I think I am the only person here to actually post links to back up my opinions. Anyway, its all good. I ignored the kid and can't see his posts anymore, but I have been riding since the early 90s and my opinions and experience is just as valid as anyone else's.
 
Power Player said:
We have a place called Santos that is real demanding and is basically a MTB haven down here.
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I remember Santos when I lived in Orlando for a year. Unfortunately I left before things got going and they cleaned it up and made it the park I've heard it is now. I remember getting lost on the yellow (?) trail my first time out (not getting lost overall, just lost the trail before it crossed over the road).
 
mtommer said:
I remember Santos when I lived in Orlando for a year. Unfortunately I left before things got going and they cleaned it up and made it the park I've heard it is now. I remember getting lost on the yellow (?) trail my first time out (not getting lost overall, just lost the trail before it crossed over the road).
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Yep, I know what you are talking about. Easy to get lost there. You should come back and check it out now. They have singletracks really suited for XC, and also dirt jumps and red and black tech trails.

If you go past where you were lost, there are now black trails with super steep rollers into skinnies that will send you out over 10 foot gap drops that launch you off a tabletop. That is called the vortex and there are 8, 10, 15 20 and 28 foot drops into it. They have the annual fat tire festival that is sponsored and attended by lots of bike companies and features a lot of pro riders doing ridiculous jumps.

It's really turned into a premier park for this region.
 
50mph

AmericanTemplar said:
I'm still having difficulty understanding how riding clipless is more dangerous. It may be more dangerous for your first couple of rides while getting used to them, but I definitely feel safer being clipped in while frantically spinning down hills at 50 mph. But yeah, they're not necessary for just commuting. With MTBing on the other hand I ride clipless & wouldn't go any other way. I don't like the thought of slipping off of platforms over rough terrain & I would think that they would make climbing over loose stuff like sand next to impossible. Again, it sounds like you do a different type of riding than I do. It also doesn't sound like you have much experience riding clipless, the cheating while bunnyhopping comment being the biggest clue, but I may be wrong.
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So you have went 50 mph on a fixed gear no brakes down a huge hill in the City of SF with clipess or toe clips? That sounds way to dangerous you are crazy! What gear 44x16 so what rpm is that? I have done 50mph once on my litespeed with 56x11, Zipp Z4 with Conti 19m tubulars. Most on the time I hit 44-46 mph.
 
No, that's how fast I've gotten on my road bike. Fixed I've only gotten up to about 40 or so, although I rarely use a computer on it so I'm only basing that on getting up to 38 one of the few times that I was using one & knowing that that couldn't have been the fastest that I've ever gotten going. My gear ratio is 48x19, BTW & I use toe clips fixed & clipless for road & mountain.
 
Kevin T said:
And if you guys missed the memo, Fastfreddy is the expert on everything. Cars, Tennis, Women, Bikes..he will vomit info on any topic before force feeding you his resume.

Don't forget that he's also a big wave surfer and dates models. :)
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And please make sure to keep freddy away from davey25. If the two of them mate, we had better start preparing for the apocalypse. :)
 
I'm amazed to read about the speeds you guys reach. I bike regularly in Cambridge and Somerville and 21 mph is the fastest I've gone so far. I'd love to go out on emptier roads and try out higher speeds on a proper road bike.
 
Polaris said:
I'm amazed to read about the speeds you guys reach. I bike regularly in Cambridge and Somerville and 21 mph is the fastest I've gone so far. I'd love to go out on emptier roads and try out higher speeds on a proper road bike.
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Most moderately fit males who take up road riding as a hobby will find that 18-19+ mph is a solid training pace on open roads. I say this not to insult, but to highlight the difference open road & road bikes can make.

If you're riding a commuter or a mountain bike, you'll be amazed to see the difference a road bike makes in sheer speed - the fact that the narrow tyres pumped up to 100+psi have next-to-no rolling resistance is a big start. Find one with a sexy (read: light & stiff) set of wheels, and notice the difference again (though that's in terms of acceleration, not outright speed).

The speeds we were discussing above (40-50+) require the benefit of a significant decline in terrain, ie. down a big, big hill, and are not advised for those who are new, inexperienced, or on equipment they wouldn't entrust with their lives. Put another way: Kids, please do not try this at home, especially on your BMX or KMart bike!

The real rush of speed for me is when you're tucked into a bunch of riders in a criterium race (short course). Requires much more skill than just hurling down a hill...
 
Thanks for the additional feedback on on clipless systems. Yeah, I'm not looking for the latest and greatest lightest system. I'm looking for quality at a price and am okay if the weight suffers in favor of durability and low hassle. I'm not going to set the world on fire with my rides no matter what I use. I'm just trying to work up to joining a local group on their twice weekly training rides that start right in my neighborhood.
 
athiker said:
Thanks for the additional feedback on on clipless systems. Yeah, I'm not looking for the latest and greatest lightest system. I'm looking for quality at a price and am okay if the weight suffers in favor of durability and low hassle. I'm not going to set the world on fire with my rides no matter what I use. I'm just trying to work up to joining a local group on their twice weekly training rides that start right in my neighborhood.
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You don't have to go to a road specific click-in (:D) pedal. I run Shimano 520pedals on all of my bikes. It makes buying cleats simpler too.
 
Thanks for the suggestions all. I will have to delve into this a bit more. I'm glad there are some decent reasonably priced options though.
 
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