Beginning cyclist tutorial, part II – pedals

April 13, 4:44 PMDenver Cycling ExaminerGary Koenig

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Now that you’ve procured a decent road bike, it’s time to look at pedals and shoes. Quality bicycles don’t usually come with pedals these days, so you normally have to make a decision when you buy your bike. If you just bought a new bike, someone at the bike store either made the pedal selection for you or convinced you to select a system yourself. Whatever the current state of your pedals may be, let’s take a look at alternatives to make sure you’re using the right style for you.

There are five basic pedal styles, with variations within each type. First are the old fashioned platform pedals. These are the pedals you first experienced as a toddler when you began riding your first teensy little bike, most likely equipped with training wheels. Platform pedals have been around a long time, since bicycling was invented most likely. Your shoes push down on the platforms causing the chain to turn and the bike to move forward. Pushing one pedal down has the effect of lifting the other one, along with your opposing leg. Although the form and function of a platform pedal seems to be nearly perfect, it wasn’t too long in the history of the bicycle before someone realized that pulling up on the up stroke could not only lighten the load on the down stroke side, but could actually impart some additional horsepower to the drive train as well.

Toe clips were invented late in the 19th century to provide a mechanism for pulling up on the pedal on the up stroke. You still used a platform pedal although it was now called a rat trap pedal and consisted of a small metal cage that made contact with your shoe only at the two thin edges of the cage. But a loop of flexible metal now extended in front of the pedal and wrapped around the toe box of your shoe. A leather strap with a spring-loaded clip wrapped around your shoe from side to side, said strap running through slots in your pedal and through a slot in the toe cage as well. To complete the configuration, a slotted cleat was installed on the sole of your cycling shoe. You would slide your shoe forward until the rear vertical wall of the pedal box seated itself into the slot. Then you would reach down and tug the toe strap tight with your hand. Before you came to a stop, you had to remember to reach down and release the strap so you could wrench your foot out of the toe clip before you needed it to balance yourself at a standstill. Getting your foot out in an emergency was a real adventure.

It’s almost impossible to find toe clips today, and nobody, aside from some retro geeks and serious track riders who are scared to death of pulling out of their pedals at high speed, uses toe clips anymore. Toe clips were replaced by the clipless pedal, which was actually tried in the early 20th century. Early attempts were not pretty, but the first commercially viable system was released by Look in 1984 or so. Bernard Hinault won the Tour de France in 1985 on this system and the concept took off shortly afterward. Today, clipless systems are the only way to go. They offer the best combination of performance, comfort, control and injury-prevention, all for a modest price.

But within the clipless world, there are three major styles of road pedal systems to consider: the original Look style, Shimano SPD and Speedplay. There are many manufacturers making variations of the original Look style: Look, Shimano, Campagnolo, Time, Ritchey, Forte and probably others. This original clipless concept envisioned a cleat on your shoe with a two point connecting system: a front tab that hooked into a lip at the front of the pedal, and a slot at the back that would be held in place by a spring-loaded jaw. Very similar in design and operation to a ski binding, the Look design offers great hands-free performance in a well-tested design. The major downside to this design is the difficulty walking on the cleats that protrude from the bottom of your shoes.

The Shimano SPD is similar to the Look design in some ways, but it was miniaturized mainly to allow mounting the cleat on a mountain or touring shoe that has a recessed sole allowing for pretty comfortable walking. The real downside of the Shimano SPD is its small size which does not spread the work load over a very large area, resulting in hot spots and cramping on long rides.

Speedplay turned the Look design upside down. The pedal contains the recessed surfaces to be grabbed and the cleat contains the spring-loaded engagement mechanism. The major benefit is a rock solid attachment that still offers extremely easy disengagement. A big downer, though: the cleats are even more difficult to walk on than Look-style ones.

So if you’re a beginner, what should you do? Answer this question: Do you want to walk around without looking like Frankinstein’s monster and without sounding like Fred Astaire? If the answer is yes, go with Shimano’s SPDs and a pair of shoes that have walking ridges on the bottom. If the answer is no, go with one of the Look-style systems. If you want to experience the ultimate in pedal connectivity, try Speedplays.

No matter which system you use, there are two very important things to remember: 1. Practice disengaging in the comfort and safety of your own neighborhood. It’s tricky to get in and out of these things so don’t venture out where dangers lurk until you’re very comfortable at least getting out of the dang things. 2. Throw motorists a bone at least once a year and fall over at a stop sign. Do it carefully and gently so you don’t hurt yourself, but make sure there are a few drivers around to see your antics. Motorists love to see bicyclists look like dorks, so tipping over every now and then for their benefit will tend to keep their har-har level high and their animosity level low.