You are reading a single comment by @Momentum and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@Momentum
I mean that pedals with clips and straps are designed to be used with special cleats and with shoes that have these cleats on the bottom, not with trainers. The cleats fit behind the back plate of the pedal and stop your foot sliding out backwards. This allows the back and up part of the pedal stroke to be used properly, but make it a real bitch to get out of the pedals in a hurry. That's why clipless pedals were invented - much better ability to use the whole pedal stroke and easy to get your foot out quickly. Clipless pedals are basically better than clips and straps for almost everything, although some track sprinters still use straps to add security when sprinting.
If you wanna use clips and straps on the street with trainers then you should accept that you won't get such good power transfer and that they won't be that comfortable. Double straps make things better but are expensive.
You might wanna look at mountian bike shoes and clipless pedals - some of the shoes don't look so space age (although none look particularly cool) and the cleats are recessed so you can walk in them.