All About Clipless Pedals

Feb 23rd, 2009 | By coolbiking | Category: Bike Parts Accessories

Shimano PD-5610 SPD-SL Road Pedals

By Emma Lois Watson

Clipless pedals, although invented over one hundred years ago, have only recently become widely accepted as a more efficient alternative to the old clips and straps. Clipless refers to the absence of any clips on the pedal.

The modern clipless pedal is based on the ski-binding systems which have been synonymous with skiing for years. The LOOK Clipless pedal, invented in 1984, was used by Bernard Hinault to win the Tour de France. From that moment on, clipless pedals have just been getting better and better.

Road Clipless Pedal
When you see a cycling walk into a café out in some deserted country road walking like his back has been put out, it’s simply the huge cleats they wear on their shoes. The cleat is the actuator for the pedal system by fitting perfectly (when most of the time) into the binding system, whilst allowing for easy release at the appropriate time (and hopefully not before). Most clipless pedals designed for the road have large, protruding cleats to allow maximum performance while on the bike, but not out of the saddle.
The road pedals themselves allow you to clip in with minimal effort, but only release your foot not with a pulling movement, but with a twisting movement. This can cause many riders problems at first, but you will quickly get used to clipping out of your pedals, as opposed to simply taking your foot off the pedal.
I would personally recommend buying the standard LOOK system clipless pedal: it’s the original, it’s the most widely used and I’ve never had any problems with a genuine LOOK pedal. Also, because it’s the most widely used clipless pedal, you can swap bikes with someone else and they have more chance of having the LOOK system that say a Speedplay or Crank Brothers pedal. However, these are also quality pedals, just not as widely used.
MTB Clipless Pedal
The most widely used MTB clipless system is the Shimano SPD, and for that reason only, I would recommend the SPD system. I have never used it myself, but the pedals tend to be very user friendly with bindings on both sides, and the cleat is recessed in a MTB shoe, allowing relatively easy walking.
Float
Float is the ability of a clipless pedal to allow your foot to move laterally, without disengaging the holding mechanism. I would never buy a clipless pedal without float for two reasons: a badly installed cleat will damage your knees; and it just allows for more comfortable riding.
A Word on Mud
Mud, especially with road pedals, is a nightmare: I was riding up Axe Edge in the Peak District when I discovered that my pedal wouldn’t disengage because there was a nice amount of mud on the back of the cleat. Mud plays havoc with clipless pedal systems (especially road). MTB clipless systems are designed to cope with it to some extent, but when you fill a fine-tuned binding mechanism with mud, something will go wrong. I would advise that if you were out on a ride, try and avoid walking through mud as much as possible. If it can’t be avoided, wipe the mud off the cleat and try both shoes in their respective clipless pedals, one at a time, to check that the mud won’t compromise your safety at a junction.

Mountain Biking Safety – Learn About Clipless Pedals for Mountain Bikes

–About–

By Emma Lois Watson – Emma Lois Watson manages the cycling shoes e-tailer Cycling Shoes Direct; the UK’s only specialist cycling shoe website.

Source: Cool Biking Zone – Your source for great cycling, sports and fitness articles!

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