For ordinary commuting, ordinary flat pedals will be absolutely fine. Because you don’t tend to cycle very fast when commuting short distances, toe clips are not necessary and in fact make cycling more difficult as it takes time to get in and out of the toe clips. If you have a commuting bike, I would recommend removing toe clips as they will be more of a burden than benefit.
Pedals for Cycling and Walking.
If you are likely to do a mixture of cycling and walking then the best option is to purchase some pedals like Shimano SPDs. These have the cleats inside the shoe and therefore there is no obstruction to walking. The drawback of most clipless pedals is that they make walking any distance quite difficult (plus you look a bit funny hobbling around). An additional problem is that walking around on your cleats will wear them away and they can be quite expensive to replace. If I had more money I would buy an extra pair of Shimano SPDs for a forthcoming cycling tour.
Clipless Pedals.
Once you get used to riding with clipless pedals you won’t want to go back to ordinary pedals. Although they are more expensive and can be a little inconvenient when walking around, they have many benefits.
- Enable you to get more power on the upstroke. (See: pedalling technique for the importance of pedalling through the entire pedal revolution)
- Are easy to disengage (unlike traditional toestraps). Note in any accident, your foot will automatically come out. Yet, when cycling I have never had any unwanted disengagement.
Look vs Time vs Speedplay.
When choosing clipless pedals there are a bewildering array of choices and to be honest there is not a huge discrepancy between them. I started off with Look pedals, but then moved to speedplay. The reason I choose speedplay is that:
- I wanted to save 100g (A very expensive way to save 100g by the way)
- I was worried about my knees and wanted the full flexibility and float that speedplay offer.
- Speedplay cleats need changing less often (although they are more expensive)
- Speedplay have double sided entry.
- Excellent clearing on corners (the pedals look very small)
Some find the degree of float offered by speedplay disconcerting (it is likened to skating on ice), but once you get used to it it seems quite natural.
My advice for a club cyclists / touring cyclist is don’t worry about getting the top of the range models. The benefit of lower weight is relatively insignificant compared to the jump in price.
- Speedplay pedals review
- Clipless pedals at Wiggle
- Flat Pedals at Wiggle
I have clipless pedals that can be used on both sides and when I asked the vendor if it was uncomfortable using them with normal shoes, he told me “mostly not” but he also showed me an add-on to the pedals which make one of the side look like a normal flat pedal. So for urban riding, when you don’t always want to have 2 pairs of shoes, it’s quite useful.
Good point Dan, Thanks for the pun
I actually keep a spare pair of shoes at work, just for when my feet get soaked in a downpour.
I think your advice for commuters depends on the nature of the commute. In the roads near my home there are junctions every 100m or so, so my left foot tends to never get in the clip. But if I’m on the ring road, or heading between the local villages, the straights are much more substantial, and I tend to cruise around 20mph, so I found that toe clips are a great help. I have never used clipless pedals, and the main thing that stops me upgrading is the need to carry a second pair of shoes around everywhere. If you could get smart, black, leather shoes with cleats in the sole I’d be sold (if you’ll excuse the pun).