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Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance?
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| General Discussion | Triathlon Talk » Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? | Rss Feed  |
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 2014-05-23 12:21 PM |
 22 |  Subject: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? I have just been training wearing my tennis shoes, are the clips and shoes worth it? |
| 2014-05-23 12:23 PM in reply to: [email protected] |
128  | Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? Yes, less loss of power and you get the up stroke and downstroke it will add 1-2 mph average on your biking. |
| 2014-05-23 12:23 PM in reply to: [email protected] |
Champion 14571    the alamo city, Texas | Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? Originally posted by [email protected] I have just been training wearing my tennis shoes, are the clips and shoes worth it? yes - far more worth it than the aero bars! it's amazing how much more you can do with clipless (illogical name) pedals. |
| 2014-05-23 12:33 PM in reply to: [email protected] |
Champion 7036 Sarasota, FL | Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? |
| 2014-05-23 12:38 PM in reply to: mehaner |
| 631 | Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? Originally posted by mehaner Originally posted by [email protected] I have just been training wearing my tennis shoes, are the clips and shoes worth it? yes - far more worth it than the aero bars! it's amazing how much more you can do with clipless (illogical name) pedals. The logic is that they replaced toe clips |
| 2014-05-23 12:45 PM in reply to: Sidney Porter |
Regular 1161 Hamilton, IL | Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? Originally posted by Sidney Porter Originally posted by mehaner Originally posted by [email protected] I have just been training wearing my tennis shoes, are the clips and shoes worth it? yes - far more worth it than the aero bars! it's amazing how much more you can do with clipless (illogical name) pedals. The logic is that they replaced toe clips Do toe clips=cages? |
| 2014-05-23 12:49 PM in reply to: Danno77 |
| 631 | Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? Originally posted by Danno77 Originally posted by Sidney Porter Originally posted by mehaner Originally posted by [email protected] I have just been training wearing my tennis shoes, are the clips and shoes worth it? yes - far more worth it than the aero bars! it's amazing how much more you can do with clipless (illogical name) pedals. The logic is that they replaced toe clips Do toe clips=cages? yes |
| 2014-05-23 1:11 PM in reply to: [email protected] |
Master 2759 Los Angeles, CA | Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? |
| 2014-05-23 1:35 PM in reply to: 0 |
| Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? Originally posted by sirdizzy Yes, less loss of power and you get the up stroke and downstroke it will add 1-2 mph average on your biking. Clipped in shoes will help in comfort, but I'd like to know where you came up with the notion that you gain power on the upstroke and that gained power will result in 1-2 mph. I'd say somewhere closer to 0.1-0.2 mph in gained speed if at all. More so if you're riding a course that requires out of the saddle accelerations or climbs so steep that your cadence significantly drops and exposes the dead spots in your stroke. If you don't believe me, switch back to platforms and report back if your speed drops significantly. I've done many short errands where I don't want to put on bike shoes and just ride with my flip flops over the pedals. Again, other than comfort and worrying about my foot slipping off (less likely with platforms and shoes), I don't notice much difference in speed at all. I know a girl who won the women's division of a time trial in her walking shoes because she forgot her bike shoes at home. She's fast, but not 1-2 mph faster than the competition to make up for not having bike shoes. ETA: OP, all that said, it's still worth it. But more about comfort and simplicity than anything else. Edited by Jason N 2014-05-23 1:37 PM |
| 2014-05-23 1:47 PM in reply to: Jason N |
Champion 14571 the alamo city, Texas | Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? Originally posted by Jason N Originally posted by sirdizzy Yes, less loss of power and you get the up stroke and downstroke it will add 1-2 mph average on your biking. Clipped in shoes will help in comfort, but I'd like to know where you came up with the notion that you gain power on the upstroke and that gained power will result in 1-2 mph. I'd say somewhere closer to 0.1-0.2 mph in gained speed if at all. More so if you're riding a course that requires out of the saddle accelerations or climbs so steep that your cadence significantly drops and exposes the dead spots in your stroke. If you don't believe me, switch back to platforms and report back if your speed drops significantly. I've done many short errands where I don't want to put on bike shoes and just ride with my flip flops over the pedals. Again, other than comfort and worrying about my foot slipping off (less likely with platforms and shoes), I don't notice much difference in speed at all. I know a girl who won the women's division of a time trial in her walking shoes because she forgot her bike shoes at home. She's fast, but not 1-2 mph faster than the competition to make up for not having bike shoes. ETA: OP, all that said, it's still worth it. But more about comfort and simplicity than anything else. my first ride clipped in was 2mph faster than my last ride on platforms. HOWEVER my bike fitness was so minimal at the time, maybe today it wouldn't make a difference. |
| 2014-05-23 2:10 PM in reply to: mehaner |
| Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? Originally posted by mehaner Originally posted by Jason N Originally posted by sirdizzy Yes, less loss of power and you get the up stroke and downstroke it will add 1-2 mph average on your biking. Clipped in shoes will help in comfort, but I'd like to know where you came up with the notion that you gain power on the upstroke and that gained power will result in 1-2 mph. I'd say somewhere closer to 0.1-0.2 mph in gained speed if at all. More so if you're riding a course that requires out of the saddle accelerations or climbs so steep that your cadence significantly drops and exposes the dead spots in your stroke. If you don't believe me, switch back to platforms and report back if your speed drops significantly. I've done many short errands where I don't want to put on bike shoes and just ride with my flip flops over the pedals. Again, other than comfort and worrying about my foot slipping off (less likely with platforms and shoes), I don't notice much difference in speed at all. I know a girl who won the women's division of a time trial in her walking shoes because she forgot her bike shoes at home. She's fast, but not 1-2 mph faster than the competition to make up for not having bike shoes. ETA: OP, all that said, it's still worth it. But more about comfort and simplicity than anything else. my first ride clipped in was 2mph faster than my last ride on platforms. HOWEVER my bike fitness was so minimal at the time, maybe today it wouldn't make a difference. Exactly. Most people who experience clipless for the first time are in the stage where fitness is also growing rapidly due to riding a lot more than they use to. Therefore the correlate the speed gains to clipless pedals. So again my challenge is to simply swap back to platforms for one ride, and see how much slower you go. |
| 2014-05-23 2:14 PM in reply to: Jason N |
Pro 15655 | Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? Originally posted by Jason N Originally posted by mehaner Originally posted by Jason N Originally posted by sirdizzy Yes, less loss of power and you get the up stroke and downstroke it will add 1-2 mph average on your biking. Clipped in shoes will help in comfort, but I'd like to know where you came up with the notion that you gain power on the upstroke and that gained power will result in 1-2 mph. I'd say somewhere closer to 0.1-0.2 mph in gained speed if at all. More so if you're riding a course that requires out of the saddle accelerations or climbs so steep that your cadence significantly drops and exposes the dead spots in your stroke. If you don't believe me, switch back to platforms and report back if your speed drops significantly. I've done many short errands where I don't want to put on bike shoes and just ride with my flip flops over the pedals. Again, other than comfort and worrying about my foot slipping off (less likely with platforms and shoes), I don't notice much difference in speed at all. I know a girl who won the women's division of a time trial in her walking shoes because she forgot her bike shoes at home. She's fast, but not 1-2 mph faster than the competition to make up for not having bike shoes. ETA: OP, all that said, it's still worth it. But more about comfort and simplicity than anything else. my first ride clipped in was 2mph faster than my last ride on platforms. HOWEVER my bike fitness was so minimal at the time, maybe today it wouldn't make a difference. Exactly. Most people who experience clipless for the first time are in the stage where fitness is also growing rapidly due to riding a lot more than they use to. Therefore the correlate the speed gains to clipless pedals. So again my challenge is to simply swap back to platforms for one ride, and see how much slower you go. People will call the police on you. |
| 2014-05-23 2:16 PM in reply to: Left Brain |
| Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? Originally posted by Left Brain Originally posted by Jason N Originally posted by mehaner Originally posted by Jason N Originally posted by sirdizzy Yes, less loss of power and you get the up stroke and downstroke it will add 1-2 mph average on your biking. Clipped in shoes will help in comfort, but I'd like to know where you came up with the notion that you gain power on the upstroke and that gained power will result in 1-2 mph. I'd say somewhere closer to 0.1-0.2 mph in gained speed if at all. More so if you're riding a course that requires out of the saddle accelerations or climbs so steep that your cadence significantly drops and exposes the dead spots in your stroke. If you don't believe me, switch back to platforms and report back if your speed drops significantly. I've done many short errands where I don't want to put on bike shoes and just ride with my flip flops over the pedals. Again, other than comfort and worrying about my foot slipping off (less likely with platforms and shoes), I don't notice much difference in speed at all. I know a girl who won the women's division of a time trial in her walking shoes because she forgot her bike shoes at home. She's fast, but not 1-2 mph faster than the competition to make up for not having bike shoes. ETA: OP, all that said, it's still worth it. But more about comfort and simplicity than anything else. my first ride clipped in was 2mph faster than my last ride on platforms. HOWEVER my bike fitness was so minimal at the time, maybe today it wouldn't make a difference. Exactly. Most people who experience clipless for the first time are in the stage where fitness is also growing rapidly due to riding a lot more than they use to. Therefore the correlate the speed gains to clipless pedals. So again my challenge is to simply swap back to platforms for one ride, and see how much slower you go. People will call the police on you. And ask me if I really ran a marathon. |
| 2014-05-23 2:31 PM in reply to: Jason N |
Master 1858 Salt Lake City | Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? Originally posted by Jason N Originally posted by mehaner Originally posted by Jason N Originally posted by sirdizzy Yes, less loss of power and you get the up stroke and downstroke it will add 1-2 mph average on your biking. Clipped in shoes will help in comfort, but I'd like to know where you came up with the notion that you gain power on the upstroke and that gained power will result in 1-2 mph. I'd say somewhere closer to 0.1-0.2 mph in gained speed if at all. More so if you're riding a course that requires out of the saddle accelerations or climbs so steep that your cadence significantly drops and exposes the dead spots in your stroke. If you don't believe me, switch back to platforms and report back if your speed drops significantly. I've done many short errands where I don't want to put on bike shoes and just ride with my flip flops over the pedals. Again, other than comfort and worrying about my foot slipping off (less likely with platforms and shoes), I don't notice much difference in speed at all. I know a girl who won the women's division of a time trial in her walking shoes because she forgot her bike shoes at home. She's fast, but not 1-2 mph faster than the competition to make up for not having bike shoes. ETA: OP, all that said, it's still worth it. But more about comfort and simplicity than anything else. my first ride clipped in was 2mph faster than my last ride on platforms. HOWEVER my bike fitness was so minimal at the time, maybe today it wouldn't make a difference. Exactly. Most people who experience clipless for the first time are in the stage where fitness is also growing rapidly due to riding a lot more than they use to. Therefore the correlate the speed gains to clipless pedals. So again my challenge is to simply swap back to platforms for one ride, and see how much slower you go. Interesting, although I personally also had the experience of going 1-2mph faster on average the instant I switched to clipless pedals and I definitely don't see how it could have been an overnight fitness gain. |
| 2014-05-23 3:17 PM in reply to: JZig |
| Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? Originally posted by JZig Originally posted by Jason N Interesting, although I personally also had the experience of going 1-2mph faster on average the instant I switched to clipless pedals and I definitely don't see how it could have been an overnight fitness gain. Originally posted by mehaner Originally posted by Jason N Originally posted by sirdizzy Yes, less loss of power and you get the up stroke and downstroke it will add 1-2 mph average on your biking. Clipped in shoes will help in comfort, but I'd like to know where you came up with the notion that you gain power on the upstroke and that gained power will result in 1-2 mph. I'd say somewhere closer to 0.1-0.2 mph in gained speed if at all. More so if you're riding a course that requires out of the saddle accelerations or climbs so steep that your cadence significantly drops and exposes the dead spots in your stroke. If you don't believe me, switch back to platforms and report back if your speed drops significantly. I've done many short errands where I don't want to put on bike shoes and just ride with my flip flops over the pedals. Again, other than comfort and worrying about my foot slipping off (less likely with platforms and shoes), I don't notice much difference in speed at all. I know a girl who won the women's division of a time trial in her walking shoes because she forgot her bike shoes at home. She's fast, but not 1-2 mph faster than the competition to make up for not having bike shoes. ETA: OP, all that said, it's still worth it. But more about comfort and simplicity than anything else. my first ride clipped in was 2mph faster than my last ride on platforms. HOWEVER my bike fitness was so minimal at the time, maybe today it wouldn't make a difference. Exactly. Most people who experience clipless for the first time are in the stage where fitness is also growing rapidly due to riding a lot more than they use to. Therefore the correlate the speed gains to clipless pedals. So again my challenge is to simply swap back to platforms for one ride, and see how much slower you go. I think a lot of it simply comes down to comfort and confidence for beginner riders. They get clipless and feel more comfortable putting out power. It's not to say that they couldn't put out similar power with the same effort with platforms, but that they feel a little more motivation. Sort of like how people (especially new riders) tend to ride harder as part of a group ride. There is nothing physical or mechanical that allows you to put out more power when riding with a group. You just have more psychological motivation to do so than when riding on your own. But as you gain more experience with learning how much your body can suffer, it becomes more doable to simulate these hard workouts riding solo. |
| 2014-05-23 6:14 PM in reply to: #5000814 |
| 22 | Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? Thank you for all the responses. With everything said I am convinced clips are worth the cost. I am battling shin splints so anything to make the biking easier so I have more strength to push through the shin splints on race day will be welcome. |
| 2014-05-24 8:22 PM in reply to: [email protected] |
Member 63 | Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? When I re-started riding in 2007, I bought the bike with just the toe basket as that is what I had used before. Since my feet weren't 20 years old any more, but 36 years old, I developed plantar fasciitis after only 3-4 rides. I was relating the problem to my brother-in-law's brother-in-law (a multi-finish Ironman) who immediately guessed that I wasn't using clip-less shoes/pedals. The shoe has a solid base, so your foot does not have to "work" at keeping the bottom of your foot flat. After I bought the shoes I never had the problem again. |
| 2014-05-25 12:50 PM in reply to: djmtrier |
Extreme Veteran 680 Acworth, GA | Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? I'd think that clipless is beneficial at any distance from the perspective that your foot and pedal stroke is consistently in the same spot. I know that when I ride platforms, my foot position will move around on the pedal, which puts pressure on different parts of my legs. That could be good, bad or indifferent, I really do not know. Out of curiosity, there seems to be numerous posts about bike fit being very important to overall comfort/power transfer, etc (I am not an expert in this area, just curious). So if the fit is super important, which includes the foot position on the pedal, wouldn't it make sense that going clipless would be beneficial over platforms? |
| 2014-05-25 12:57 PM in reply to: Mc Q |
Pro 5892 , New Hampshire | Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? Yes, clipless makes a big difference and yes, it does make a lot of sense from a bike fit perspective. You always start with setting the rider in relationship to the bottom bracket, them move everything else from that point. During the dynamic section of the fit (i.e. when you verify body motion, etc. on the bike) you often adjust the pedal position. In my last bike fit, we moved the cleat position ever so slightly and "found" another 3W. Yes, it's a small number, but the gain in comfort was quite a bit. I would estimate that over a 40k TT, it easily saves me a minute (maybe slightly more). |
| 2014-05-25 4:56 PM in reply to: Jason N |
Expert 2192 Greenville, SC | Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? Originally posted by Jason N Originally posted by mehaner Originally posted by Jason N Originally posted by sirdizzy Yes, less loss of power and you get the up stroke and downstroke it will add 1-2 mph average on your biking. Clipped in shoes will help in comfort, but I'd like to know where you came up with the notion that you gain power on the upstroke and that gained power will result in 1-2 mph. I'd say somewhere closer to 0.1-0.2 mph in gained speed if at all. More so if you're riding a course that requires out of the saddle accelerations or climbs so steep that your cadence significantly drops and exposes the dead spots in your stroke. If you don't believe me, switch back to platforms and report back if your speed drops significantly. I've done many short errands where I don't want to put on bike shoes and just ride with my flip flops over the pedals. Again, other than comfort and worrying about my foot slipping off (less likely with platforms and shoes), I don't notice much difference in speed at all. I know a girl who won the women's division of a time trial in her walking shoes because she forgot her bike shoes at home. She's fast, but not 1-2 mph faster than the competition to make up for not having bike shoes. ETA: OP, all that said, it's still worth it. But more about comfort and simplicity than anything else. my first ride clipped in was 2mph faster than my last ride on platforms. HOWEVER my bike fitness was so minimal at the time, maybe today it wouldn't make a difference. Exactly. Most people who experience clipless for the first time are in the stage where fitness is also growing rapidly due to riding a lot more than they use to. Therefore the correlate the speed gains to clipless pedals. So again my challenge is to simply swap back to platforms for one ride, and see how much slower you go. you've unraveled a vast conspiracy among the bike industry. i'd watch your back, those pedals and shoes have nice profit margins i'm sure. |
| 2014-05-26 12:07 AM in reply to: Left Brain |
Veteran 2297 Great White North | Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? Toe clips have been illegal for a few years here. |
| 2014-05-26 8:22 AM in reply to: simpsonbo |
| 928 | Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? Originally posted by simpsonbo Toe clips have been illegal for a few years here. Cage clips are illegal here, but I assume the OP is talking about "clipless" pedals (as opposed to platform pedals with his running shoes). |
| 2014-05-26 10:39 AM in reply to: jennifer_runs |
Expert 2373 Floriduh | Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? Something not mentioned above is the gain of control that comes with being attached to the bike at your feet. Perhaps more impt in MTB, but I would not feel as comfortable on the road using a pedal where my foot could easily come off the pedal. |
| 2014-05-26 12:10 PM in reply to: Oysterboy |
Regular 1161 Hamilton, IL | Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? Originally posted by Oysterboy Something not mentioned above is the gain of control that comes with being attached to the bike at your feet. Perhaps more impt in MTB, but I would not feel as comfortable on the road using a pedal where my foot could easily come off the pedal. This is how I feel about it, too. Once I experienced them on my mtn bike, I could never go back. On the road bike, the need is less, but it is certainly there. On smooth, even cycling I don't have a problem, but if I feel the need to put some power down, I'd experience some liftoff for sure, even on my fixie, the cages just don't feel the same as the clipless on my race bike. |
| 2014-05-26 2:13 PM in reply to: Danno77 |
| 553 St Catharines, Ontario | Subject: RE: Clips worth it over cycling with tennis shoes? Worth it for Olympic distance? I am well in the category of combining just having swapped to clipless pedals and shoes and having "rapidly" improving bike fitness. I think it is well worth the swap. I feel I can apply power much easier now and love the feeling of being connected to the bike. I feared making the upgrade to some extent but am so glad I did. |
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