{"id":1352,"date":"2016-06-18T23:08:40","date_gmt":"2016-06-18T23:08:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ssgc.co\/?p=1352"},"modified":"2016-06-18T23:08:40","modified_gmt":"2016-06-18T23:08:40","slug":"top-five-reasons-why-you-use-clipless-pedals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/singlespeedgoldcoast.com\/2016\/06\/18\/top-five-reasons-why-you-use-clipless-pedals\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Five Reasons Why You Use Clipless Pedals"},"content":{"rendered":"

I put the\u00a0question to a mate of mine recently, why do you ride clipless, and he stared blankly at me for some time. I assured him it wasn’t a trick question. But of course it was. Why would I ask if I wasn’t already prepared to contradict his answer?<\/p>\n

There a loads of reasons for riding clipless and not all of them are complete rubbish\u00a0. Just most of them. Let’s run through a couple.<\/p>\n

1. Reduces Weight<\/h3>\n

Yeah maybe. Depends really, doesn’t it. On what pedal you’ve got. If you were to compare a commuter pedal like Shimano\u00a0PD-M545<\/a>\u00a0against a fairly standard commuter flatty like Fyxation Mesa<\/a> or the Nukeproof plastic jobbies<\/a> then the clipless pedal is several hundred grammes heavier<\/em>. If you compared it against a top end roadie pedal like the Dura Ace then you’re saving yourself a hundred grammes by going clipless.<\/p>\n

\"Same
Same weight.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Is\u00a0anyone actually putting Dura Ace pedals on their fixie or commuter special?<\/p>\n

And does 100 grammes matter either way? Chances are your bike weighs about 10kg, you’re probably a big unit yourself, and you’ve got 10kg worth of crap in your bag. We’ll round it out and say your riding weight is 100kg including bike and gear. In other words, 100 grammes is 0.1% of your total weight.<\/p>\n

Hardly seems worth the trouble.<\/p>\n

2. Greater Comfort<\/h3>\n

Definite advantages here for some\u00a0cyclists. A proper cycling shoe is shaped for cycling and has a nice solid base to pedal\u00a0from. Get the right shoe and you’re good to go. Unless of course you suffer from all the usual knee problems associated with being cleated in. If that’s you, invest in some bike fit voodoo. Or get some flatties already.<\/p>\n

\"http:\/\/www.chromeindustries.com\/footwear\/bike-shoes\"
http:\/\/www.chromeindustries.com\/footwear\/bike-shoes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My question to you is, are you a cyclist or a commuter? I just returned from a 20km commute in dress shoes and my organic cotton natural dye raw denim jeans (read: the incident I’m referring to was two days ago and I wore those jeans I bought for $10 three years ago). I was perfectly comfortable. Which begs the question, how far are you going that you require special shoes and stuff?<\/p>\n

Short commutes don’t need special shoes, special clothes or a special reason. Put on your normal shoes and ride down to the pub. Nothing special. Same goes for riding to work. You don’t need special shoes, Zipp wheels and a post-ride rub down if you’re not doing proper riding. Some proper cyclists I know won’t bother riding to work if it’s just<\/em> 10km. Too short. Thankfully, I’m not a proper cyclist. I’ll happily knock over 10 km for beer, movies, work, Pho, a surf or because I was bored and it was nice outside. And for that I don’t need to change shoes.<\/p>\n

3. Makes You Look More Cyclingy<\/h3>\n

Bingo! Now we’re getting to the crux of the matter. What better way to let everyone know you’re a cyclist than by looking all cyclingy and stuff when you arrive. Shirt with a little zip down the front, appropriately labeled and logoed shorts, and some shoes that scream to the world, I cycle.<\/p>\n

\"http:\/\/amsterdamcyclechic.com\/\"
http:\/\/amsterdamcyclechic.com\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But do you really? \u00a0If you’ve just knocked over a 10km commute to work then you’re not really cycling. You’re commuting. You know, like what Dutch people do in suits and dresses<\/a>. Why then play dress-ups and pretend to be all Tour de Francey if what you’re doing is so unremarkable that about ten billion Chinese did it until recently? Until they got money enough for\u00a0cars and now they have this instead:<\/p>\n

\"china
http:\/\/china.org.cn\/environment\/2015-07\/06\/content_35987867.htm<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I bet they’re all clipped in.<\/p>\n

We love to be recognized as cyclists. It’s why we wear Apres Velo shirts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"apres<\/p>\n

We have bike tattoos.<\/p>\n

\"bike
http:\/\/nextluxury.com\/mens-style-and-fashion\/bicycle-tattoo-designs-for-men\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Carefully curated cycling cap collections designed to match our fastidious maintained moustaches:<\/p>\n

\"http:\/\/cyclingpigs.tumblr.com\/\"
http:\/\/cyclingpigs.tumblr.com\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

And I wear my Five Tens\u00a0everywhere. Oh yeah, I tell myself it’s because they’re so damned comfortable. Or because I’m wearing them in. But really it’s because it makes me feel so very cyclingy. Even when I’ve driven to the market for veges, the right kind of person will know my Five Tens make me a cyclist. A proper hard core one at that. If I wasn’t buying carrots I’d totally be ripping off a road gap. Or, you know, watching someone else do it on You Tube.<\/p>\n

4. More Efficient<\/h3>\n

I remember the first time I strapped myself into some pedals. I was like a recreational drug user getting crack cocaine for the first time. The speed was amazing. I could pull away from lights so fast people needed special cameras to decipher what this strange blur was. (Read: After the initial fumble to get my feet in and do up the straps I pulled away quite smartly.)<\/p>\n

That was in my youth. Sadly, clipped or not, I’m now moving off the mark at a pace that’ll soon need time-lapse to determine movement. I’m riding more on bike paths and shared paths. I am, in short, more like most other cyclists and commuters.<\/p>\n

Clips can help you accelerate. No doubt about that. Being able to pull in those first few seconds is the reason why\u00a0downhill and 4X mountain bikers use them even though many would probably prefer to ride on flats otherwise. Of course, the man below just came 2nd in a World Cup enduro on flat pedals. So go figure.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"http:\/\/www.mtbiking.com.au\/how-to\/bike-tech\/enduro-bike-special-see-what-the-pro-s-ride\"
http:\/\/www.mtbiking.com.au\/how-to\/bike-tech\/enduro-bike-special-see-what-the-pro-s-ride<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Problem with this assumption about clips, is they\u00a0aren’t more efficient for normal cycling. There is plenty of data to tell us that we don’t pull-up when we’re cycling. The muscles that are useful for cycling are the pushing down muscles. It’s because\u00a0evolution hasn’t seen much need for\u00a0pulling up of legs. There’s\u00a0mostly been a need for pushing down. The big muscles push\u00a0down. We’ve evolved to push.<\/p>\n

We’re also not very good at switching between pulling up and pushing down and testing has proven time and again that what we’re actually doing is pushing against ourselves. When the left leg is pushing down the right leg is pushing against it. This notion of pulling up is interfering with\u00a0cycling in nice round circles. Don’t try and pull.<\/p>\n

My friend Dan Dwyer<\/a> has a PhD student doing research into this and he assures me that the best elite cyclists can make efficient\u00a0use of clipless pedals. Now, I know you’re thinking to yourself, yes that’s me. I’m elite. That’s human nature. It’s why some shithead skinny pimpled moron\u00a0in a Commodore can imagine he’s Lowndesy<\/a>. If you’re thinking you’re elite, or that your pedalling style is elite, then apply this simple test. Ask yourself, who is paying me to ride? Where are my free bikes? Where do I find the team espresso machine? That’s right, it’s in the team bus that doesn’t exist.<\/p>\n

The lads at GCN did there own one-man test. \u00a0Not scientific but makes for interesting watching.
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