Clipless pedals

Serious question: has anyone tried road/trail riding (as opposed to hard
MUni etc.) with clipless pedals?

My choice of pedals appears to be:
Heavy, pinned mountainbike style pedals.
Beartrap style mountianbike pedals.
Cheap rather crummy road bike pedals.
Plastic pedals.
Or... experiment with some light, good quality clipless pedals.

The obvious problems: mounting and engaging the clip(less) and the
danger of a sudden faceplant.

Anyone have any experience in this area?

(P.S. Why "clipless"? The old things we used to call "toe clips"
weren't "clips" because they didn't "clip" anything. The new "clipless"
ones do actually clip something.)


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This is something I've considered many times. Someone will be along in a
bit to say "No! Don't do it! I know well known unicyclist who has never
tried clipless pedals on a bike tried it and hurt themselves." I think
it can be done, if you're careful, and wear arm padding, wrist guards
and probably a full face helmet. The thing that has made me decide
against it is the dubious value - top speed on a uni isn't limited by
the power you can put through the pedals, but the spinning speed, which
won't be helped that much by clipless pedals. The extra force for
stopping and accelerating might be handy though, and it would stop UPDs
from the foot coming off the pedal. Basically, it might be potentially
faster, but the extra caution needed to avoid injury might cancel out
any benefit. It depends on wether you're doing this for practicallity
(never mind then) or as a matter of curiosity.

I will have to try half clips at some point though.

As for the name 'clipless' I think the issue is with calling strappy
pedals 'toe-clips', because that's a silly name - should be toe straps,
surely - and cleated pedals have to make it clear that they do a similar
function without the straps (clips). It's jargon - we need some way of
knowing if the people we talk to are also in the know.

John


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I have always pondered the 'clipless' moniker for pedals that clip in.
Never made any sense to me.

The thought of even a moderate speed UPD while being locked in to the
unicycle scares the crap outa me. Maybe using an old style toe clip,
cut just a little bit short and without the strap would secure one's
foot in the most efficient position and still allow it to slide out to
the side for a quick disengagement when necessary. Still seems a little
scarey to me.


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underdog

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I once wrote a jokey note about UPDs where I mentioned the idea of using
toe-clips.

http://tinyurl.com/dqb8c

In reality, there is no reason to use toe-clips on a uni -- too
dangerous. Instead, get really grippy pedals. Even those will present
some risk, but it's nothing compared to the clips or straps.


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David_Stone - New York Unicycle Club

Dictator for Life,
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Try this older thread:
http://tinyurl.com/8ourd

Personally, I think you're bonkers. Or you'll at least be making a
bonking sound if you try them.


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I don't know any long-term users of toeclips/clipless pedals on their
unicycles. I do know many who have tried them. I remember George Peck
had tried some form of clipless pedals. Then we didn't hear from him for
a long, long time.

Never heard the results on the clipless, but George is okay.

I am *not* experienced with clipless on a bike, but I have tried them on
a unicycle. They were fine until I went to hop up a little curb and
forgot my feet were clipped in. That was enough for me. I would not want
to *ride fast* with my feet clipped in. There is ZERO TIME to mess
around when you UPD and want to land on your feet. For even an
experienced user of clipless, I believe this takes too much time.

I continue to wait to be proven wrong. In 25 years of riding I have yet
to hear from someone who does anything other than casual riding and
thinks being clipped in is useful. As David Stone says, a match of
grippy pedals and shoes is more than enough to pedal really fast.


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johnfoss - More Moab Fun

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The reason I'm even considering clipless is nothing to do with grip or
control, but with rotating weight and directional stability.

Simple experiments show that the weight of the pedals has some effect on
acceleration and deceleration, and also on wheel-wobble at high speed.

And partly, it's just a whimsy that I'm following. We seldom choose to
ride unicycles for reasons of common sense and practicality.


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they just offer no real advantage.

they do on bikes because you have your arms way out in front of you, and
they are the only real way to lift the back of the bike (if you can't
bunny hop)

the handle on your seat does anything clipless pedals can do

(other than lock you to your unicycle)

what advantages are you looking for?

Do you want to always have your feet in the same position on the pedal?
I use enough sideways pressure on my pedals that I would most likely
continually click out. (I was a clipless bike rider, so I know how they
work, but have no uni-clipless experience because I see no advantage at
all, and only disadvantages...no backwards falling escape mechanism,
having to wear clipless shoes, static foot placement, even with the ones
that provide float)

I bet you would fall over, and be able to get one foot unlocked, only
for it to land in manure causing the locals to guffaw mercilessly


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Mikefule wrote:
*Simple experiments show that the weight of the pedals has some effect
on acceleration and deceleration, and also on wheel-wobble at high
speed.*
But your feet weigh an awful lot more than your pedals. So this isn't
relevant in a big way. I've tried super-light pedals, but didn't notice
a difference in wheel wobble. A narrower axle helps, but makes your
wheel weaker. Your feet and legs will always be there, and they are the
vast majority of the mass that causes your (and my) wobble.

How would being clipped in change this? Though your feet may be better
connected to the pedals, the forces would still be the same.


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johnfoss - More Moab Fun

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
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Linked from the thread I posted above:

http://tinyurl.com/29osm

Is it just me, or does that thing only need a scythe to become
one-wheeled death? *shudder*


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