Am I pedaling wrong?

jwroubaix

As you may have read in previous post about giving up on clipless pedals, I feel like they're isn't much difference in performance between gonig clipless and being on normal pedals. Do i need to change the way i pedal with clipless pedals? I must be doing something wrong, I must not be taking advantage of the pedals. Please help.

Peter@vecchios

Have a bike shop around that is interested in giving advice rather than just selling something? If yes, go there.

jhuskey

Clipless pedals give you more range of motion and the ability to use your muscles more effeciently without losing power.
I suggest checking the way the bike ,and generally the equipment you are using fits.
Find someone that has experience to help if possible.

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TheDarkLord

With normal platform pedals, you only push down the pedals. In contrast, with clipless pedals (or toe clips), since your shoes are attached to the pedal, you can pull up as well as push down. If you practise this, you can improve your throughput quite a bit...

garage sale GT

I think you should feel a lot more torque over short climbs or sprints, but when you go for distance or sustained speed, most people simply aren't held back by not being able to recruit enough muscles without special pedals.

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dgregory57

I have read that even pro racers don't do much good on the upstroke beyond removing their weight from the pedals... However, you can unload the pedals on the upstoroke without the fear of coming off the pedal.

I am fairly new to clipless, but even though I don't usually try to lift up on the pedals , I still feel more secure on them, and therefore I will stick with them. If I get to the point where I more regularly pull up, then I will gain an even bigger advantage.

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alienator

Yup. The idea that people actually pedal in circles, recruiting muscles all the way around is a false one. From an efficiency point of view, clipless pedals aren't that much more efficient than non-clipless pedals. The big advantage to clipless pedals is that they offer better bike control and for a lot of people, better comfort.....than, say, cages and straps.

gemship

That pretty much sums it up for me as well. Although I do enjoy keeping things simple with the standard platform pedal on my mountainbike with the velco reflective straps to keep my pants out of the cranks and chainring.

Thinkly

I disagree completely. I used to be a big platform fan till i went clipless. The biggest thing i learned was how much more power i have on climbs and into the wind.

I am not a physicist but I know what it has done for me. I still run platforms some in the winter, and they are ok, but the leverage is nowhere near what i get with clipless.

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garage sale GT

I don't think it's an efficient tradeoff to unweight the rising pedal. One of the reasons for the efficiency of a bike is that the weight of the leg muscles is counterbalanced, one leg against the other, and you don't expend any energy re-placing your legs into position. I am not sure but I do not believe you would get back as much torque as you expended doing this.

I believe clips or clipless let you recruit more muscles for short bursts of a few minutes. To put as much power to the ground without them, I need to have handlebars ideally placed for mashing, not riding at high speed. The reason you get little extra efficiency from cliples is, I believe, the fact that just your "platform pedal muscles" are capable of using up your aerobic capacity.

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TheDarkLord

I agree with you here. I have noticed that by pulling on the pedals, I am able to power up short climbs/put in a burst of speed in a way that is not possible with platform pedals. But I'm just a recreational rider, and so there is no attempt to maximize power, efficiency, etc.

mark444

Can I ask you guys if you are talking in terms of road or mountain biking? I have clipless for road riding but not for my mountain bike. I've been holding out on the trail because of all the dismounting. There are dual purpose pedals that have clips and a platform - do you have any opinions on this?

Thanks Mark

Powerful Pete

Mark, don't get your question. Why would it be a problem to use a nice set of clipless on a MTB?

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TheDarkLord

The clipless pedal that I use does have a platform. It helps in two ways - the first is that you can use the platform and continue to pedal if for some reason your shoes don't get clipped in. This is useful while commuting when you want to get to speed quickly after the signal turns green instead of fiddling with trying to get clipped in if you encounter any problem. Ok, this is probably not really a problem for biking in the road, but potentially an issue with mountain biking if mud gets into the cleats. Secondly, if you want to take a short ride, you can use the platforms and ride with regular shoes/sandals (instead of having to change to your cycling shoes). It is not recommended for long distances as the clip-in portion of the pedal sticks out above the platform, but managable for a short commute.