NON-Pro cycling

[discopop]

I wouldn't bother as the flat side is crap, no grip, I got some with my new mountain bike and sold them on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181163638024?ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1559.l2649. Either clip in or don't but the flat part is useless imo. I was going to buy some new shoes and start clipping in but tbh I bottled it, its not for me.

yup maybe for me.im just getting brain pressure from others..ooh you should clip up it saves you energy and makes riding easier and so on

yeah that's what I got but off mates who are road cyclist, personally when I'm tear arsing down a uneven hill at 30 mph if I need to I want to get my feet on the ground asap, most mountain bikers I know use good quality flats. I know I'm going a bit off topic here btw.

Charlie when you clip you never look back either with Mtb shoes or Road shoes, it's very a very efficient way to deliver your pedal stroke, as for clipping out in time after a week or so you don't even think about it when coming to lights etc it just seems to happen and if you are going down a hill at 30 mph the last thing you need is your feet moving all over the pedals, trust me get clipped in.

 

[tornandfrayed]

I spent years with flat pedals and half toe clips http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zefal-Bicycle-Half-Toe-Clips/dp/B000AO9K9S on my road bike before giving in to the pressure and going clipless.

To be honest I haven't seen much difference in my speeds - I'd say clipless feel good when belting along on the flat but I feel I've definitely become a more cautious descender and going up hills is a sod whatever pedals you've got.

I've stuck with clipless on my road bike but I'm going to stay with toe clips on my tourer. Just my opinion and I know I'm in a minority amongst road cyclists.

 

[stony]

I've just borrowed a bike and try and get out most mornings for a couple of miles, and I do mean a couple. Fuck the lycra, jeans and a t-shirt for now. Nothing worse than seeing some old fat, lycra clad ****, wheezing along like a broken tank engine.
I'm lucky enough to live a couple of hundred yards from a really straight section of the Pennine Way, it's an old railway line that is now a cycle track. I don't think I'm brave enough to try a road yet, and if I lived near a hill I wouldn't have even attempted it.

 

[discopop]

I've just borrowed a bike and try and get out most mornings for a couple of miles, and I do mean a couple. Fuck the lycra, jeans and a t-shirt for now. Nothing worse than seeing some old fat, lycra clad ****, wheezing along like a broken tank engine.
I'm lucky enough to live a couple of hundred yards from a really straight section of the Pennine Way, it's an old railway line that is now a cycle track. I don't think I'm brave enough to try a road yet, and if I lived near a hill I wouldn't have even attempted it.

Good effort Stony, small acons and all that, to be fair I qualify as a mamil but thankfully not the pot bellied variety.

 

[BooksReject]

yup maybe for me.im just getting brain pressure from others..ooh you should clip up it saves you energy and makes riding easier and so on

yeah that's what I got but off mates who are road cyclist, personally when I'm tear arsing down a uneven hill at 30 mph if I need to I want to get my feet on the ground asap, most mountain bikers I know use good quality flats. I know I'm going a bit off topic here btw.

Charlie when you clip you never look back either with Mtb shoes or Road shoes, it's very a very efficient way to deliver your pedal stroke, as for clipping out in time after a week or so you don't even think about it when coming to lights etc it just seems to happen and if you are going down a hill at 30 mph the last thing you need is your feet moving all over the pedals, trust me get clipped in.

Good reply. I would add that to fully feel the effect of the efficiency of the stroke, invest in a pair of road shoes with a carbon sole. This added stiffness gives a flat platform to fully optimise the stroke, which normal soles won't give you, they are too flexible. Invest ;)

 

[mekonmcfc]

if anyone used strava around altrincham/lymm area you will now see me as KOM albeit downhill on Little Bollington Sprint 39.1 mph average.

 

[manchester blue]

I wouldn't bother as the flat side is crap, no grip, I got some with my new mountain bike and sold them on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181163638024?ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1559.l2649. Either clip in or don't but the flat part is useless imo. I was going to buy some new shoes and start clipping in but tbh I bottled it, its not for me.

yup maybe for me.im just getting brain pressure from others..ooh you should clip up it saves you energy and makes riding easier and so on

yeah that's what I got but off mates who are road cyclist, personally when I'm tear arsing down a uneven hill at 30 mph if I need to I want to get my feet on the ground asap, most mountain bikers I know use good quality flats. I know I'm going a bit off topic here btw.

If you put your foot on the floor at 30mph you'll end up on the floor yourself. Seriously mate, give them a try. As said before YOU WILL NEVER GO BACK.

Start off with some SPD clipless as these tend to be double sided and clip in and out easier. I have these on my work/commuter/wet weather bike as I clip in and out a lot going into town and then when you get more confident go for Look pedals which I have on my "good" bike which feel more secure fitting but are a bit more difficult to get in due to being one sided.

As mentioned it will be second nature in no time at all. I can understand your apprehension as I took some convincing myself but honestly it's ten times better clipped in.

*Disclaimer - I fell off once exiting the work car park when one of the bosses stopped in front of me when the road was perfectly clear. I got up quicker than I went down but suffered a split knee but no scratches to the bike most importantly! I let him have it the next day.

 

[Gelsons Dad]

If you haven't fallen over clipped in then you're not yet a proper cyclist ;-)

 

[mekonmcfc]

If you haven't fallen over clipped in then you're not yet a proper cyclist ;-)

i was giving a guy some shit in his car because he left me no room, and then i fell off... looked really hard ha

 

[discopop]

Well Coast to Coast in a day completed. Some brutally steep climbs which my mind had obviously tried to forget from last years two day effort. Only got one soaking so got lucky with the weather. One of the group wanted to bale out a couple of times but stuck at it. All in all glad I completed it and its a corking challenge.

Legs feeling surprisingly good

Final stats: 10:03:18 riding time, 126.8 miles @ 12.6mph with 11,824 ft climbed