In article <[email hidden]>,
Michael J. Klein said:On Sun, 07 Nov 2004 00:28:41 -0800, Ryan Cousineau <[email hidden]>
Quoted message said:In article <[email hidden]>,
Michael J. Klein said:On Thu, 28 Oct 2004 17:34:05 GMT, "B i l l S o r n s o n"
<[email hidden]> wrote:>Roger Zoul wrote:
>>
>> I thought I could just clip out one feet and lean on that foot. That
>> was after 4 miles. Then, after about 20 miles, the same damn thing
>> happened again and I had been careful to fully clip out both feet.
>
>{snip}
>
>> When I unclip, I unclip both feet. Period.
>
>Not to be critical, Roger, but you really shouldn't have to do that.
>Unclipping one foot and putting it down when stopped is what 99.9% of
>riders
>do.
>
>Are you falling because your free foot SLIPS on the pavement (or trail)?
>Or
>are you simply losing balance? (Saddle way too high, maybe?) Sounds
>like
>something's going on that you could work on to correct.
>
>Bill "unclipping both feet sounds MORE unstable (at least to me)" S.What I would like to ask at this juncture is (since I don't
understand, seriously) what would one be trying to prevent by using
such systems?The short answer is that clipless pedals give you a solid, safe, and
convenient link to the pedals.-solid: the pedals are firmly held to your feet.
My feet seem to stay on the pedals fine. Of course, I don't sprint or
do any competetive stuff, or tricks, stunts, etc., either. I just
ride to the train station or to another neighborhood for dinner.
Well, there is that. I ride 80 km every Saturday morning, I race, and I
commute (a 30 minute ride that I push quite hard on). I'm routinely
pushing the pace hard enough that pedal slipping is an issue.
Quoted message said:I have heard enough people talking about not being able to "unclip"
fast enough at a stop, or not yet having developed the instinctive
motion. Where I live that would be extremely dangerous.
It's a learning process. When I first used clipless, I had one fall-down
in the backyard on the grass, And I think one oops on the road (no
damage either time). Since then, it's been smooth. The ankle-twist to
clip out (common to most clipless systems) is so instinctive I've caught
myself doing it while riding a flat-pedaled bike. The only reason I ever
even have a moment with clipless now is because I'm doing something dumb
like practicing track stands.
Quoted message said:Quoted message said:Clipless rocks. Since clipless combined power and efficiency
that matched strapped clips with the ease of entry and exit of loose toe
clips, plus a dose of safety neither system had, it immediately took
over most of the the clips and straps market.Not going back,
Ryan, thanks again for your usual complete answer to my question.
What is comes down to is the fact that my hiking shoes stay on the
pedals well enough that I never feel insecure about it. Having my
feet held to the pedals just seems wrong to me.
My pleasure. For leisurely riding, clipless is overkill, just as a
racing bike would be. There are two notable bike types where some sort
of pedal attachment is nearly mandatory: fixed gear (because the
consequences of losing the pedal connection are painful, and because
you're likely to spin at very high cadences), and recumbents (because
the high pedal locations doesn't let your feet naturally drop to the
pedals).
-RjC.
--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com
Verus de parvis; verus de magnis.