Flat Pedals on a road bike
- Electric Blue
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Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby Electric Blue » Mon Jan 10, 2011 3:28 pm
probably a naive question, but I am getting a new 'impressive' road bike, problem is, I havent ridden much in the past 10 years, and I recall when I was staring off last time that I had a few issues with clip in shoes/pedals, where the bike fell over when I stopped, due to my inability to balance/ remove shoes from pedal quickly enough, hard/ embarrassing falls, but more importantly I dont want to damage my new 'fancy' bike.
What are the thoughts on flat pedals on road bikes, it is only for an interim period, but I'd rather look a little silly than bang-up my new ride..
Any feedback would be appreciated.
Cheers,
EB
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Re: Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby Nobody » Mon Jan 10, 2011 5:04 pm
- Cinder
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Re: Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby Cinder » Mon Jan 10, 2011 5:47 pm
- open roader
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Re: Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby open roader » Mon Jan 10, 2011 6:18 pm
+1Cinder wrote:If it's what makes you comfortable, then go for it, who cares what anyone else thinks about your pedal choice.
Why not, as you point out, it's a choice, not a permanent fixture.
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Re: Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby toppity » Mon Jan 10, 2011 7:41 pm
- sogood
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Re: Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby sogood » Mon Jan 10, 2011 7:55 pm
+1. Do whatever that works best for you. But do keep an open mind on clip/strap and clipless alternatives, as these do increase one's efficiency.Cinder wrote:If it's what makes you comfortable, then go for it, who cares what anyone else thinks about your pedal choice.
RK wrote:And that is Wikipedia - I can write my own definition.
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Re: Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby Nobody » Mon Jan 10, 2011 8:33 pm
For those that haven't seen these plenty of times:
http://isbweb.org/data/kautz/index.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1997818
- trailgumby
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Re: Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby trailgumby » Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:06 pm
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Re: Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby Nobody » Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:12 pm
I don't really expect to hear back from sogood anyway. He knows I'm easily provoked unfortunately.
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Re: Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby trailgumby » Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:17 pm
I didn't think his statement about efficiency was particularly outlandish or exaggerated, TBH. I think they do impove efficiency over flats ... once you've adapted to them. By how much? Who knows.
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Re: Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby Nobody » Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:20 pm
OK, sorry sogood if that came off as personal. It wasn't meant to be an attack on you as such. I sent you the original as a PM so you don't wonder what was there. You might find it amusing. Original post edited. Now everyone can be happy and smiley again...
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Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby sogood » Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:41 pm
But you'd have to agree that clipless/clip+strap can prevent shoe slips when wet. So in that respect, there is efficiency gain. No?
No prob Nobody. I saw your earlier post. All cool...
RK wrote:And that is Wikipedia - I can write my own definition.
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Re: Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby Nobody » Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:43 pm
It could be 2%. Is it worth risking safety in certain situations for 2%? Obviously most think so...trailgumby wrote:I didn't think his statement about efficiency was particularly outlandish or exaggerated, TBH. I think they do impove efficiency over flats ... once you've adapted to them. By how much? Who knows.
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Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby sogood » Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:49 pm
If safety is a parameter, for a rider who is used to clipless/clip+strap, I'd suggest that it's safer with clipless in the wet, especially if one rides with some vigor. Shoe slip on a power stroke can be ouchy.Nobody wrote:It could be 2%. Is it worth risking safety in certain situations for 2%? Obviously most think so...
RK wrote:And that is Wikipedia - I can write my own definition.
- Electric Blue
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Re: Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby Electric Blue » Mon Jan 10, 2011 10:28 pm
toppity wrote:what's the new ride?
A Colnago Extreme Power
Some great advice here thanks, can anyone recommend a specific set of flat pedals that you would put on a good bike?
I am getting a pair of Shimano Dura Ace Carbons the 7900's, but maybe for the first month or so use some flats.
Looking forward to getting out in the South Perth area for rides.!
And getting much advice on gear here! Thanks all!
Cheers,
EB
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Re: Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby Nobody » Tue Jan 11, 2011 12:08 am
Maybe give DMR V8s a go if you're after cheap pedals. I have a couple of pairs of these. They are OK, but as they only cost $30 from OS online, don't expect too much and you shouldn't be disappointed.Electric Blue wrote:Some great advice here thanks, can anyone recommend a specific set of flat pedals that you would put on a good bike?
If you want something more expensive, then Superstar are raved about.
http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_ ... cts_id=127
- Mir
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Re: Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby Mir » Tue Jan 11, 2011 12:39 am
I feel more connected with the bike and feel safer hammering as well as through corners and descents. I've had my feet slip off the MTB flats a few times, they've never ended well.
Shoes designed for riding on flats would probably make it more secure but I just can't feel them having the same control as clipless pedals do.
Plus I've got thin noodly legs, so putting my leg down to try and prevent a crash at speed would be a small exercise in futility.
I've had my fair share of 0km/h clipstacks though.
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Re: Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby ireland57 » Tue Jan 11, 2011 10:58 am
I've now had 1 year racing mtb sprints and endurance races in clipless and would never go back to flats. The mtn bike pedals can be hard to reclip when choked with mud though.
The technique of unclipping (pulling outward and down at the same time) takes little time to learn and once it's learnt it stays.
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Re: Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby sogood » Tue Jan 11, 2011 11:01 am
I totally understands where you are coming from too, but this thread is about road bikes, not MTBs where the riding style and environments are markedly different.Nobody wrote:Well you can tell those MTB and trials guys they don't know what they are doing using those studded flats in muddy, rough conditions...
RK wrote:And that is Wikipedia - I can write my own definition.
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Re: Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby sogood » Tue Jan 11, 2011 11:14 pm
False. The better grip on the road may permit some intense pedal action and certain amount of high cadence work, which may lead to pedal slips. Fortunately without big boulders and mud ponds, so the chance of accidental falls is far lower than certain styles of MTB riding.Nobody wrote:True. It is much smoother on the road so even less likely to have pedal slip problems than off road.sogood wrote:I totally understands where you are coming from too, but this thread is about road bikes, not MTBs where the riding style and environments are markedly different.Nobody wrote:Well you can tell those MTB and trials guys they don't know what they are doing using those studded flats in muddy, rough conditions...
RK wrote:And that is Wikipedia - I can write my own definition.
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Re: Flat Pedals on a road bike
Postby Nobody » Wed Jan 12, 2011 5:33 pm
http://www.skingrowsback.com/products/i ... ucts_id=28
http://web.mac.com/chicagowig/www.chica ... traps.html
However the main reason I'm more likely to stay with flats for road use long term is I believe they are easier on my knees than SPDs.
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