Herbert Weiss has been waiting a long time to change from old pedal with clips and straps to a clipless pedal system, we tell him our opinions on clipless systems, which we like and why. We also give him advice on getting out of them in a hurry!
Question: After thirty years of riding with toe clips on my 10 speed Mercier, I purchased a Jamis Quest and would like some recommendations on which clipless pedals to buy and the proper way to un-clip especially in emergency situations?
Hi Herbert,
As you have probably noticed there are quite a lot of different clipless pedal systems on the market, without trying them all it would be hard to know which is the best for you.
Here in the Bike Cycling Reviews office we use Time, Shimano and LOOK
Shimano
systems, we have tried others, but these seem to be the best and most popular.
We also have a pair of Campagnolo, but these are based on the LOOK system and feel much the same. Speedplay have a good reputation as do Crank Brothers.
Time
If you have any friends who have tried these get there advice, we stick to the tried and tested, three big names of Time Shimano and LOOK.
You should look for a good size pedal, with a decent size foot platform, the small SPD style used to be popular, but had problems of not supporting to foot enough.
Mountain bikers are happy with the smaller pedal platform, as it is less likely to catch on rocks and undergrowth and also less likely to fill with mud, but for road cycling you need more support for the foot on a long ride.
Also the smaller pedal is more difficult to pick up with your foot to get the clip into the pedal.
Look
With all clipless pedals the way of getting your foot out in a hurry or just when you stop is to twist your foot from your heel out, away from the bike....
This releases the shoe plate from the flap at the back of the pedal which is sprung to hold your shoe in place.
You can twist in or out, but the best is to twist out and away, once you get used to the feeling you will wonder why you didn't make the change years ago.
Just make sure you get a good pair of shoes as this is very important for your comfort.
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