Toe Clips

hardCopy

Firstly, I don't like the damn things. I swapped out my Keo's for a set of strapped toe clips so that I can do GaelForce in my running shoes.

I went for a spin last night to try them out.

I found them less comfortable and less secure than the cycling shoes and cleats but can live with it as a temporary solution.

What I would like to know is; how do people get their feet back into the strap after stopping at lights? I ended up having to do mad looking unstable manoeuvres for about 300 metres after every stop to try and adjust the strap by hand.

Squidgy Black

I always keep mine just loose enough to get my foot back in, but not too loose. I hate mine too, I'm thinking of getting touring spd pedals, one side spd and one side just like a normal flat.

hardCopy

stetyrrell wrote: »

I always keep mine just loose enough to get my foot back in, but not too loose. I hate mine too, I'm thinking of getting touring spd pedals, one side spd and one side just like a normal flat.

Maybe the problem is just that mine are new, the cage part is made of flexible plastic and just folds down flat as soon as I take my foot out.

I might try stretching it backwards a bit before my next spin.

victorcarrera

They don't have to be that tight if you are not sprinting or you don't pull up too much in your cadence style.
The discomfort you describe is probably due to the running shoes. Proper toe clip shoes will have a rigid sole. These shoes eliminated the sore foot arches I was getting on long spins with runners.
When starting and stopping you should practice removing one foot only and flick the pedal back with your toe to reinsert the foot after a strong push off with the other foot. When you get up a little speed just tug the strap to tighten.
Learn to do it without looking down it is safer.

victorcarrera

hardCopy wrote: »

Maybe the problem is just that mine are new, the cage part is made of flexible plastic and just folds down flat as soon as I take my foot out.

I might try stretching it backwards a bit before my next spin.

OK, I think you might have solved the problem there. Mine are plastic also but they stay open when you remove the foot.

Morrisseeee

I've recently moved from toe-clips to clipless, ie. my toes are now clipped in but not using toe-clips, it gets confusing doesn't it :pac:
Serioulsly tho, it's takes a bit of practice to get back into the toe-clips, I always left one foot in, the left, and then as I start off (with a little push with my free right foot) I manoever the right foot back into the clip. You should try it on a steep gradient, that's when the fun really starts

mahoo

hardCopy wrote: »

Firstly, I don't like the damn things. I swapped out my Keo's for a set of strapped toe clips so that I can do GaelForce in my running shoes.

I went for a spin last night to try them out.

I found them less comfortable and less secure than the cycling shoes and cleats but can live with it as a temporary solution.

What I would like to know is; how do people get their feet back into the strap after stopping at lights? I ended up having to do mad looking unstable manoeuvres for about 300 metres after every stop to try and adjust the strap by hand.

I switched back to them recently too. first set i bought were crap, hard to get in to and tended to snag on my shoes when i was taking foot out. got another set with a more rigid and wider toe clip and love them now. can flip the pedal and get foot in without looking no probs. find them much easier than the keos. like everything, it comes with practice.

cdaly_

stetyrrell wrote: »

I always keep mine just loose enough to get my foot back in, but not too loose. I hate mine too, I'm thinking of getting touring spd pedals, one side spd and one side just like a normal flat.

Double-sided spd pedals do me just nicely. Place foot on pedal, place other foot on other pedal. Clip-in will occur within a rev or two...

wanderer 22

anyone have recommendation for a road double sided spd pedal? most of the ones I can see are mtb ones. cheers

cython

colm18 wrote: »

anyone have recommendation for a road double sided spd pedal? most of the ones I can see are mtb ones. cheers

That is because SPD is technically a system for mtb. The majority of pure road systems like SPD-SL, Look Keos, etc. only come in single sided varieties, probably due in a large part to the larger cleat-pedal interface. Having said that, I believe Speedplay road pedals offer dual-sided entry, but they are pricey.

Squidgy Black

colm18 wrote: »

anyone have recommendation for a road double sided spd pedal? most of the ones I can see are mtb ones. cheers

You can use the mtb pedals on the road bike, most people do.

el tel

Hardcopy, plastic toes clips are utter kack. You'd be better off without them on your pedals altogether. If they are not metal they are going to be useless, period.

I haven't used toe clips in decades but have to say in many ways I prefer them to clipless pedals. The look of polished or plated toe clips is class and I always had the feeling they were better for climbing, the feeling of pulling up on the pedals being more pronounced than with clipless pedals. Only downsides was having to tighten the strap and sometimes impingement of the clip with the big toe.

Just look at them...beautiful!

omniscient_toad

I've also had a frustrating time with toeclips, especially as you say at traffic lights, it's a nightmare on a commute hitting a number of them in succesion, taking off amidst heavy traffic flailing with my right foot trying to spin the pedal around and get my foot in. Mine seem to resolutely hang flat upside as well and are a total bastard to flick the right way up.

nerraw1111

I’ve plastic ones. They’re a bit gack but they stop any slipping. Try leaving your runners stuffed with newspaper in the clips overnight. The plastic eventually stays open, leaving a gap big enough for your shoes to easily slip into.

cdaly_

colm18 wrote: »

anyone have recommendation for a road double sided spd pedal? most of the ones I can see are mtb ones. cheers

I'm using Shimano M520s. Well happy with them.

hardCopy

Thanks for all the tips folks.

I will try leaving a pair of stuffed shoes or a tennis ball in the clips to stretch the plastic open a bit more.

I probably won't clip in on the off-road section of Gael Force so should only have to strap in once for the main bike section.

I'm pretty sure I'll go straight back to clipless once I get back from the race.

smacl

I recently changed from single sided SPDs to M424s and find them great. Big enough platform for comfortable cycling in trainers, and mechanism on both sides for use with cleats. Pretty much the same as the M520 but with an extra cage/platform which facilitates use without cleats.

dubmess

The chrome clips will do you a lot better than the plastic ones, defnitely more rigid.

Also the type of pedal helps, a lot of pedals don't have the little flange on the bottom to help you flick them around.

I use MKS Sylvans, not a bother. Take a bit of practice, but to me it's as easy as using spd's now.

cdaly_

hardCopy wrote: »

I probably won't clip in on the off-road section of Gael Force so should only have to strap in once for the main bike section.

I'm pretty sure I'll go straight back to clipless once I get back from the race.

On my holidays this year I accidentally ended up on off-road forest trails (on the road bike) and stayed clipped in on the SPDs throughout. The once or twice I needed to put a foot down unclipping was the work of a moment.

I'd say you'll end up worse off using toe clips if you're already used to clipless.