You may have noticed cyclists stopping and starting at the lights, clip to stop, clip to start. Or perhaps you’ve seen them at a café walking around with backwards high-heels, clip clop clip clop.
Your cyclist friends may have said, “you have to get some, they make such a difference to your riding”, but do they? They can be expensive, so are they really worth it?
Well the short answer is yes they are. But why?
First off, lets start with the terminology:
Pedals - In general we have 4 main types of pedals:
Flat pedals are the pedals you may have had on your first bike, or what you would have on your town bike. They are just a basic flat everyday pedal, and are suitable for use with your street shoes.
Toe Clips were the original clip-in pedal. They are very effective for locking your foot to the pedal, and are now mostly used by track cyclists with a double strap to really lock you in. They are also popular amongst the fixie / hipster crowd.
I would recommend that only riders with experience in using toe clips use them on the street. If you are using them properly, then you have to use your hand to undo them when at the lights, or whenever you need to take your foot off the pedal.
Clipless are the ones you see the road-riders using with their “clip clop” shoes. The reason they are called “clipless” (rather than clips or clip-ins) is due the fact that the pedal doesn’t have the clip that goes over the toes like the toe clip pedals… No toe clip = clipless.
These pedals are very effective, and once you are in the habit of using them they offer huge benefits to your cycling (more on that below).
They are used by bolting a cleat onto the bottom of your shoe, which then clips into the pedal.
SPD (Shimano Pedal Dynamics) has become the standard term for the pedals that mountain-bikers use, the function is the same as a clipless pedal, however they are a little easier to get used to.
The cleat is much smaller and fits snugly in a recess of the sole of the shoe this enable you to be able to walk around normally with the shoes and cleats on. The pedals are also more robust as they can take a bit of a beating when being used for mountain biking.
Despite the name used, there are many brands of these mountain biking pedals, not just Shimano.
Shoes - There are 3 main types of shoes:
Road Shoes & Triathlon shoes
The main purpose of these shoes is to provide optimum power transfer between your leg / foot and the pedal.
They do this by having a stiff outer sole made of plastic or carbon fiber, which stops the shoe bending. When using a normal running or sport shoes on the down phase of every pedal rotation, the sole of the shoe bends substantially, resulting in lost power and wasted energy. As the road shoe does not bend, all of your power is converted into pressure on the pedal and drives you forward.
Road shoes normally have 3 fastening straps and fit snuggly on the foot.
Triathlon shoes normally have 1 larger strap to enable quick fastening and release. They also have a pull tag on the heel to help get your foot in the shoe quickly.
Road shoes can also be used with toe clip pedals by using a unique cleat that fits to the pedal giving an extremely secure connection.
Mountain biking shoes
Mountain biking shoes tend to be a more comfortable fit than a road shoe. They still have ridged soles, but are designed so that you can still walk comfortably in them.
They are also a much more robust shoe so that they can take the battering they get whilst mountain biking.
How do you use clipless pedals?
Using clipless pedals for the first time certainly takes a bit of getting used to, and may require a bit of practice. Here a handy breakdown of how to use them, courtesy of Sarah Clatterbuck from Team Velo Girls:
- Straddle the bike with both feet on the ground.
- Clip your stronger leg into its pedal while the other foot is on the ground (stronger foot would be the one you put in back on a skateboard or surfboard - if you've never done either, you will have to guess).
- Pull the crank backwards with the foot that is clipped in until you have the pedal almost as high as it can go but a little forward.
- Push down on the pedal with that leg so the bike gets rolling and lift your butt onto the seat
- After you are comfortably and safely seated (and hopefully still rolling), try to clip in your other foot.
If you don't have enough momentum to get clipped in after you put your butt on the seat, you can get off the seat and put your free foot back on the ground and try again. To dismount after you're clipped in, rotate the foot you want to put down until it comes out of the pedal, put the foot that is still clipped in at the bottom of the pedal stroke, lift your butt off the seat, and finally set your free foot down to stop.
I would also recommend using an empty car park to practice clipping in and unclipping several times to get used to using the pedals before heading out in traffic.
Every cyclist I know has fallen off at the lights at least once because they have not been able to unclip in time. More than likely it will happen to you. Make sure you get in as much practice as possible without having to deal with the stress of traffic around you. You’ll find that you get used to the action pretty quickly, and you’ll eventually clip and unclip without giving it any conscious thought.
So why are clipless pedals helpful?
As mentioned above, due to the fact that the shoe does not bend, power transfer to the pedal increases significantly. This extra energy is used to propel the bike forward. Another benefit is having the ability to pull the pedal up on the upstroke. This is something you will start to do subconsciously. I personally find it really helpful when climbing hills and if I feel like I need a rest, I will pull up hard on the pedal. This uses different muscles, and gives me a break on a hard hill climb.
Being able to pull up on the pedal and use different muscle groups also makes your pedal stroke more efficient and saves energy.
When first using clipless pedals it is well worth speaking to a bike shop about fitting them correctly, as incorrectly set up pedals can quickly lead to injuries from over-use.
I would also recommend using an empty car park to practice clipping in and unclipping several times to get used to using the pedals before heading out in traffic.
Every cyclist I know has fallen off at the lights at least once because they have not been able to unclip in time. More than likely it will happen to you. Make sure you get in as much practice as possible without having to deal with the stress of traffic around you. You’ll find that you get used to the action pretty quickly, and you’ll eventually clip and unclip without giving it any conscious thought.
It may seem like a daunting step to use clipless pedals for the first time, but once you get used to them you’ll soon find that the benefits are well worth it.
If you have anything to add, or have any interesting stories about your first time using clipless pedals, please share your comments below.
