In the years I've been riding bikes I've had the chance to ride all different kinds of pedals. Flat pedals, pedals with toe clips, pedals with Power Grips, and a wide range of clipless pedals (the pedals which, ironically, you clip into via a special cleat that is attached to the bottom of your special shoe). These days all my bikes are equipped with flat pedals and I'm perfectly happy to ride around without having my feet bolted to the pedal. I know about the virtues of clipless and other pedals, but I'm fine riding without them.
Over the years, however, I've had dozens of conversations where some "serious" cyclist has seen the flat pedals on my bicycle and proceeded to spontaneously launch into a sermon intended to enlighten me as to the virtues of clipless pedals. I recently joked that if I had a nickel for every time I've heard such a lecture I could buy a really nice Rivendell. I've dubbed this evangelical pedal preaching "clipsplaining" and my reaction to it is to nod and simply say "these pedals work fine for me."
In my job I get asked about pedals a lot and I can ramble on about the subject with the best of them. I try to give the pros and cons when asked but I don't spontaneously broach the subject and I don't assume that someone who doesn't have clipless pedals on their bike is ignorant of their existence.
Christine tells me that she's never been the victim of a clipsplaining lecture but some of my other friends have told me it happens to them a lot. One of my twitter pals said she switched bike shops after being on the receiving end of clipsplaining condescension.
I'm not sure how common clipsplaining is but if you have a good or bad clipsplaining story, feel free to comment on this post.
And keep 'em rolling, whatever your pedal choice is.
35 comments:
I have been on both ends of the 'clipsplanation'. Life is so much easier without special shoes that marry special pedals...it's lighter weight...less to carry...but I can't seem to give up my clipdiction.
Do you completely avoid toeclips and starps also? What are your thoughts on powerstrapps?
These days I'm on flat pedals with no retention, but I rode the 2005 GDR with PowerGrips. See
http://kentsbike.blogspot.com/search?q=power+grips
For more on this subject.
Ironically I use the pedals you have pictured in your post.
Speaking of pedals there should be a name for the delay caused when waiting behind a cyclists who, in mid intersection, pauses to clip in his pedals after the green light.
These days, I try to not even think about what other cyclists should do w.r.t. equipment, and instead only think or speak when they do things like run stop lights or ride on the highway in the middle of the pitch black night without lights. (I am not perfect, but I try.)
And the counter "'splination" is that twice people have asked me what saddle I used. I kid you not. Happily I was able to burble something about "it's the ultimately personal and specific thing, I don't live in your body, so yes I use saddle Z but that really tells you nothing."
(Bryan, who is very uncomfortable without clips, and has to wear particular fancy cycling shorts to be comfortable, but did once fashion a fender out of waste plastic....)
I refuse to use anything that requires the purchase of something that you already own. In this case a special pair of shoes.
Then again I *am* a cycling minimalist.
While I enjoy the virtues of clip less, I actually have pedal with the clip on one side and flat on the other. Then I don't have to clip in before taking off. If I am i a busy situation and want to have quicker response time, I use the flat side. If I am at a camp site and just want to ride to the beer store, I have sandals and flat pedals. If I am out on a long haul, I go clip less all day. There are virtues to both sides.
If you don't like people 'splainin' stuff to you, it helps to have other eccentricities. I don't get 'splained and I am pretty sure it's 'cause I've got enough other uniquities.
One way to avoid clipsplaining is to intentionally commit other dress-code violations regarding the standard 'cyclist' uniform. A steel frame bike, Hawaiian shirt instead of a synthetic jersey, and mash those flat pedals with sandals and the lectures fall way off. A Brooks saddle is essential to this, because even a dyed in the wool roadie knows that if you've been riding long enough and seriously enough to bother with a leather saddle, you probably know about clipless pedal systems.
I bought my first set of clipless pedals in 1988 or so after a few years with cleats and toe clips. They were the first Look pedals and had no float whatsover and huge plastic cleats that wore out incredibly quickly and made walking essentially impossible. Over the years, I rode various different pedals as they came out and eventually settled on Shimano's SPDs since they recessed beneath the tread of the shoes and were walkable.
I am very, very good with clipless pedals. I get in fast, without looking, and am always annoyed at most other cyclists who fumble and swerve around me. I have never ever fallen over because I couldn't unclip. Ever.
I also commuted to work every day, year-round, here in the Seattle area, from the spring of 2003 until I switched jobs in March of this year and currently work from home.
I say all this as a preamble to my switch to flat pedals.
For the last year-and-a-half, I have been riding Specialized BMX pedals (they're big flat pedals with spikes in them) after reading Kent's posts singing their praises.
I do notice some very slight loss of power and I don't climb as well with them as I do with clipless pedals.
But--oh!--the improvement in convenience. I suppose if the only riding I did were at organized events where I take my bike back and forth in a car I might not appreciate this convenience so much. Since I don't ride like that, it has been fantastic.
By riding flat pedals, I get to pick from the whole huge array of shoes that I would use for walking or hiking, not just a narrow set of bike-specific ones. It's great for finding comfortable, waterproof shoes for the wet season here and I never have to worry about marking up floors or having to take off my shoes to walk over potentially treacherous terrain.
I doubt that I will ever go back.
Yep. Been there. Pinned flats on all my bikes. Have crank Bros Candy pedals and shoes also but not installed right now.
Went 100% flats earlier this year. Have received the lecture several times in just a few months. I push back. Now most locals just know me as the guy on flats and leave me alone.
My wife has received the lecture more than I have. She doesn't push back like I do so some folks repeat the lecture on occasion. I rode clipless exclusively for 14 years. She never had a desire to.
I usually ride a recumbent, and it's simply more comfortable to be clipped in than not.
If clipped in, I can coast without my feet falling off the pedals.
Well, then, we'd get along well -- because I make NO comment about what type of pedal (or, for that matter, BIKE) a person chooses. I'll give them advice if they ASK, but otherwise, I figure they have what they like.
And just for the record, I commute, run errands, ride with the kids, and joyride alone on one bike -- a Kona Coiler, 6'-travel dual-suspension MTB. I can't throw stones......
Kent-
It seems to me that "clipsplaining" is part of the larger problem in the bike industry being driven by a racing mentality that has nothing in common with the vast majority of people riding bikes. While Seattle shops are evolving, for much to long people have been sold bikes without ever being asked the question "What do you intend on doing with the bike?" Folks who would be best suited with an Allant end up buying a Madone. The natural progression on racing bikes, is of course racing pedals. I have however, been guilty of 'clipsplaining' myself. I bought my lovely wife a Trek 520 in 2006 and pretty much insisted she use SPD pedals on our tour from Seattle to SF that summer. I sold it on some BS about stroke efficiency blah-blah. To make a long story short, both of us ended up with horrible knee inflammation which was due to a) way too much milage early in the trip b) being locked into a motor pattern that wasn't optimal ( i.e.; clipped in). Over the years I have gravitated towards using platform pedal pretty much exclusively. Most of my biking involves quite a bit of time off the bike and I really don't like having an extra pair of shoes to carry around. I am not really concerned about speed or optimal efficiency in my cycling either.
I haven't given up completely on the idea and the of clip in pedals for that Rodriguez Rainier that I dream of someday owning, but for 99% of my riding needs platform pedals do just fine and you won't catch me "clipsplaining" anyone now days!
Thanks,
Matt
Minneapolis to Milwaukee. 3 days. 360 miles. Needless to say you can ride the whole way in chaco flip flops. Don't let any carbonata tell you you can't keep up.
My mother has a beautiful broach, although it is a broach of a dragonfly, not a broach of a pedal.....
Hi Kent. Thanks for writing about this and so many other cycling stories. I've been reading your stuff for years and years, but this is the first time I've left a comment.
Same as you, I've ridden every kind of pedal, and I like the MKS flats that Rivbike sells for $30 or so. The more I ride, the simpler my bikes seem to get. After 40 years of pedaling, I'm on a one speed with flat bars and flat pedals, and happily, a lovely new set of Schwalbe Marathon Supreme 2 inch wide tires which are great.
As you say, keep 'em rolling!
So far I haven't had any clipsplaining, but I had something similar with my 26" on my SS MTB.
Never mind they're custom-laced DT Swiss wheels (and, they're "too narrow") and never mind the idiots at bike shops didn't know why they're supposed to say 29" wheels are better.
I gave up clipless pedals and sold the Sidi shoes and Shimano pedals a while ago. On my track bike, I don't like the feeling of not having a toe strap and on my mountain bike, I prefer the big Specialized platform pedals (with the replaceable steel pins), especially with my small feet (7.5 or 41).
I discovered the joy of Adidas Samba for riding both bikes, and walking around, and hiking and working and developing film and anything else. The soles are stiff -- much more than that hipster San Francisco brand -- and grip the studs and dirt and rocks and everything phenomenally. And, they're great with the Suntour Superbe Pro road pedals and Soma steel toe clips.
I'm waiting for someone to give me a hard time for my shoulder-width handlebars, at about 40 cm, instead of the trendy 70 cm.
Maybe no one bugs me because they think I'm crazy when I'm doing track stands at lights on the MTB and mountain biking on the brakeless track bike.
Haha, I love my speedplay clipless pedals. But I also bike on them with jandals, to basically feel like I'm riding on flats :) People think I'm insane!! Hell, I ride my fancy carbon fibre bike with deep dish wheels in a skirt and loose t-shirt.
At the end of the day, it's all about the ride, not the equipment! And I LOVE to ride :D
not sure what the big deal with clipless pedals and cleats is. i ride my clipless pedals with regular, cleat-free shoes all of the time, in all weather. it's just a relatively small platform, but big enough for my needs. sort of the same but opposite of the platfanatics. seriously, if you're riding a bicycle, who cares?
I'm a follower of the "dress for the destination" school. I also tend to make a distinction between "riding a bike" and "cycling". I have the luxury of owning more bikes than a person really needs. The ones I use to get to places (riding a bike) all have flats. That way I can wear whatever shoes are appropriate for the place I will end up. In a case where the ride itself is the destination (cycling), I still use clip-ins, since (for me) they make the ride a bit more enjoyable. Your results may vary.
My first summer at the bike shop I spent a lot of time explaining why "tractor" seats were a bad idea and sold nothing. My second summer, I eliminated the explaining and sold three different kinds of tractor seats. Turns out Sell, Don't Tell is an excellent interpersonal communication strategy.
Any bicyclist who feels the need to expound on clipless pedals without being prompted is a douche. I automatically assume that if you wanted clipless, you'd already have them.
BTW, Speedplay sells "Platformer" pedal covers that provide fast, toolless conversion to flat pedals. Regardless, it's hard to recommend ever riding with open-toe footware (or barefoot!) due to the possibility of getting your toes in the chainring.
after a lot of peer pressure I switched to SPD's and learned to be comfortable and ride with them.
I rode with them for about 5 years.
then my lifestyle changed and I decided I didn't like walking around in bike shoes any more and switched to the old fashioned kind of pedals. I got some very nice lightweight ones from Freerange Cycles.
To my surprise, they were FREEING!
I felt much more confident on steep hills, knowing that i could easily dismount if i needed to because my feet weren't locked into place. I might use my SPD's again, but hmm, maybe not.
You want an easy way to avoid clipsplaining? I have two words for you: Downtube shifters. When people see them on my bike, they get so freaked out, they wouldn't notice if my pedals were rubber duckies. "Ohmygawd, how do you reach those things? Don't you worry about getting your hand stuck in the front wheel?" Of course, then you've just traded clipsplaining for shiftsplaining.
This might not be true in the Pac NW, but around here, there's also the phenomenon of fendersplaining, whereby the racer-dudes "compliment" you for being so fast on your fendered "beater" bike. Sigh...
Two words - SPD sandals.
Confuses the hell out of anyone who thinks they need to pass comment on what you're wearing.
Since I cycle a 1985 mtn bike -- that's old school steel! -- I don't get anyone bothering me about my NRG Taster's Choice flatties. Or the fact that I have Keen Commuters on.
Speaking of pedals there should be a name for the delay caused when waiting behind a cyclists who, in mid intersection, pauses to clip in his pedals after the green light.
The only issue I might have without being locked to the pedal would occur when standing while climbing (an absolute love of mine, incidentally). Here in Colorado there are simply too many hills to remain seated all the time. And it's such a balancing act (and rhythm killer) attempting to stand on the pedals unclipped. But I certainly don't lecture those not clipped as I pass by.
:-)
~Uriah
Race Across Oregon - flat pedals - Bike Friday Pocket Rocket. It went perfectly! 'buff said.
Which flat pedals are "grippiest" in wet conditions? I have a set of MKS touring pedals, which I use with Keen shoes, but in wet conditions my feel tend to slip off the pedal. Any suggestions?
I have MKS deep section half clips with the touring pedals on, ahem, 3 of my bikes. Perfect for wet weather (I live in Scotland) and all distances with any shoes.
" And it's such a balancing act (and rhythm killer) attempting to stand on the pedals unclipped." I didn't realize that was so difficult. - I must be real talented. - not!
On the few occasions I've been 'clipslained' I've simply referred them to my Mile on the MUP Strava KOM, set on a sub $200 mail order fixed gear with MKSs rubber block pedals.
The biggest problem I've had was with a guy who got weirded out at being passed by someone riding a one speed rando bike wearing street clothes and sandals.
He near busted a gut to chase me down again, didn't make his presence known and we had a bit of a bump when I sat up. Apologies all around and things were cool, but he just couldn't believe anybody could be going that fast without foot retention.
My first pair of cycling shoes I had to track down an old Italian cobbler who knew how to the nail the cleats on properly. I've ridden hundreds of thousands of miles with cleats and straps, as well as clipless, but these days I don't even use them for climbing overgeared on a fixie.
Maybe if I track sprinted, but I don't.
I've used flat pedals for a number of years, & am often asked "What pedal system is that?" My 'splainaton is "one left & one right". Always good for a chuckle.
http://sun-ringle.com/mtb/accessories/zuzu-pedals/
These have been my go-to's for some time. Wellgo and 45 North both make great options for super grippy platforms.
I once drilled out a set of MKS Lambda/Grip Kings to install pegs from a different vendor - also worked well.
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