Essential Road Cycling Decision: To Use Clipless Pedals or Not?

January 2nd, 2009 • Comments Cycling/Fitness
Tags: clipless, commuting, cycling, Cycling/Fitness, pedals, platform, toe-strap, training

-Photo by bryanpearson on Flickr.

Pedals are one of the most crucial contact points in any bicycle. For cyclists, this raises an essential question. To use clipless pedals or not. Most bikes come with no pedals at all, leaving the buyer to decide which types of pedals to use. By far, clipless are the most popular. However, the cost and complexity of use drive some riders away from these pedals. The other road-based options are platform and toe-strap pedals. These types of pedals offer various advantages and disadvantages, and are all used by many riders because of these. However, I believe that for any type of serious cycling, clipless pedals are by far the best choice.

Platform Pedals

-Photo by square_eye on Flickr

Of the three choices, platform pedals are by far the simplest solution. Basically the same type of pedals on childrens bikes, they are a flat, two sided platform where you simply put your foot on the platform and ride.

The major advantage of these types of pedals is that they allow you to ride in any type of shoe, are very easy to use, and are the cheapest of the three major options. However, they can limit your power output as you have absolutely no ability to pull up on the pedal in the second portion of the pedal stroke. This means that you are only outputting power when pushing down on the pedals and not when the pedals are moving up. This can theoretically decrease your power output by up to 50%.

Who are platform pedals good for?

• People who want to get one and ride, with little concern about performance
• Newbie cyclists who want an easy to use pedal system as they adjust to the rest of their bike
• Commuters who do not wish to deal with seperate cycling shoes

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