[GnarlyPirate]

When I bought my bike several years ago it came with toe clips on the pedals which I continue to use today. I notice a lot of talk about either flats or clipless for pedals, but not really anything for toe clips. Does anyone still use toe clips or are they outdated or just not as functional as other pedals?

If toe clips are still a good choice for a pedal, are there any particular shoe I should be wearing with them?

Thanks.

 

[Westy]

Quite franky toe clips are less functional and more dangerous than clipless. It is difficult to get in them and in certain situations impossible to get out. I would recommend moving over to clipless pedals. They have a bit of a learning curve but once you are used to them it becomes second nature.

A good pair of flat pedals work well but if you are already going down the clip route it makes more sense to go clipless.

 

[GnarlyPirate]

Fortunately I haven't ever had a problem getting out of them yet which is great considering the amount of times I have to catch myself from getting hurt, but they are certainly a pain in the ass to get into.

If I were to make the switch to clipless, are there certain weight restrictions with any of the pedals? They look so small I'd be afraid to break one on a hard landing.

 

[Westy]

How much do you weigh? What kind of riding do you do?

Most clipless pedals have a similar size spindle as platform pedals so you don't have much to worry about. I would guess that most would be stronger than the spindle on your clipped pedals.

 

[GnarlyPirate]

I weigh about 240 with shorts on. As for the type of riding I do, I'm not really sure how to classify it yet really. Most of the trails around here are hilly technical singletrack with lots of logs and rocks to climb over and drops that range from 1' to 5'. I don't really touch anything over 3' at the moment, but one day soon I would like to.

 

[Westy]

I'm not much into big drops but if that is the direction you are heading some nice flat pedals might be the better direction. I'd recommend wearing shin pads if you ride with flats.

 

[GnarlyPirate]

Thanks for the tip. I think I will go with clipless to start seeing as how I ride a hardtail anyhow and might consdier flats in the future if or when I get more of an all mountain bike.

 

[zebrahum]

I run flats if I'll be leaving the ground for more than a bunny hop. Never never never never never toe clips for mountain bikes. Holy crap they're dangerous. Your natural reaction to escape a crash situation is to either take your foot off the pedal in the up direction (flats are good here) or in the sideways direction in order to put your foot down quickly (flats or clipless will get you out here. A toe clip with hold you firmly in either of these directions making a quick escape luck at best.