Comment on Anon starts asking questions
Chadus_Maximus@lemm.ee 2 months agoI commute 14km to work every other day but if having placebos gives you peace of mind then you do you.
The idea behind clips is that you can pull up on the rising pedal instead of just following momentum from the other foot pushing down. It does work, but isn’t really necessary for commuter biking.
I got a used bike that had a hybrid pedal with a clip on one side and flats on the other. While the clip (heavy) side usually landed down, it didn’t always and it was weird to pedal with it. I just ride around on my bike, so I replaced them with cheap flat pedals and it’s fine.
Riding in a road race or crit, or even a time trial, is very different from a commute ride.
But even on commutes it’s really good, depending on how often you expect to be stopping at lights. It’s great in rainy weather where my flats often slip off the pedal, or climbing up the many hills on my commute that necessitate getting out of the saddle.
limelight79@lemm.ee 2 months ago
There’s a huge difference, because I occasionally ride other bikes without them. My feet slip off the pedals without the cleats. I wouldn’t ride seriously without them.
grandkaiser@lemmy.world 2 months ago
I’ve been riding for 20+ years and never had this issue. I’ve tried cleats. Tried it for a year before I eventually switched back to a good set of pedals + a good set of shoes. Admittedly about half of my riding is mountain biking though, so that might be part of my bias.
limelight79@lemm.ee 2 months ago
I don’t do much mountain biking, but I have clipless pedals on my old hardtail, too. When I ride without clipless, I have to constantly remember not to push too hard and be careful, lest my foot slip off. With clipless, I clip in and no longer have to think about it.
I don’t really care what other people use. I’ll stick with clipless, you can stick with flats or whatever you use, it’s fine with me. I use electronic shifting on my road and gravel bikes, and disc brakes on the gravel bike, and I know some people hate both of those things, too. Personally I really like both, but if others still want to use cable shifters and rim brakes, that’s fine with me.