Today we are going to have an in depth
physics lesson on the mechanics of pedal motion and how it propels the bicycle
forward. I hope all the readers are up on their multivariable calculus.
Alright, so the above two sentences are just a joke, but today I am going to
review the basics of two different pedal types to help you make the best choice
for you, your bike and your commute.
Platform Pedals
![]() |
Basic Platform Pedal (Photo by Piper Williams) |
This is the type of pedal most people think
of when they think of bike pedals. These are the type of pedals your first big
wheel bike had installed. You can use this pedals by pushing down with your
feet; there is no option for a pull motion (unless you have straps on your
platforms). The benefits of these pedals are that they are very easy to use,
have a non-existent learning curve, and allow the user to dismount very
quickly. You can use these pedals in almost any type of footwear, even barefoot
(being that I was born in Kentucky, you can bet that rode my little pink and
teal Huffy without shoes many times, but I do not recommend doing this).
Platforms can be acquired very inexpensively, I paid around $10 for mine, and
often come installed on bikes when you purchase them. The downsides of
platforms are that they can be bulky and do not allow the user to pedal as efficiently
as clipless pedals.
Clipless Pedals
![]() |
Clipless Pedal - My Beat Up Pedal (Photo by Piper Williams) |
This is any type of pedal that you attach
yourself to using a special type of shoe with a specially designed cleat.
Within this class of pedals, there are multiple subclasses, but in this piece,
I am going to be very general. Clipless pedals allow you to pedal much more efficiently
as you pedal by both pushing and pulling. This helps you get to your
destination faster. It can also help you feel more psychologically connected to
your bike. Clipless pedals do have a bit of learning curve to get used to and
most people (myself included) will experience at least one slow embarrassing
fall from forgetting to unclip when stopping. These pedal also require that you
have at least one set of shoes just for cycling with the cleats installed.
![]() |
Racing/Training Shoes for Clipless Pedals - My personal pair (Photo by Piper Williams) |
![]() |
Commuter Shoes for Clipless Pedals - My personal pair (Photo by Piper Williams) |
So now that you know your basic pedal
options, how do you decide which ones are going to work for you? There are
couple of aspect to consider when you making a choice. First is the length of
your commute. If your commute is short (under 4 miles), you may find that the
extra speed given by clipless pedals is not worth the hassle of a change of
shoes, particularly if you are biking in city and are constantly having to stop
at traffic lights. However, if your commute is on the long side clipless pedals
can make your ride that much more enjoyable. Do you use your commuter bike for
training as well? Given that most training rides employ clipless pedals,
changing pedals back and forth is more effort that it is worth and it may be
best to stick with clipless pedals. Do you have the funds to invest in pedals,
cleats and shoes? Combined this can cost well over $100 and is a worthwhile
investment, but only if you will really use them. There really is no wrong
choice when it comes to pedals for commuting, just the choice that makes sense
for you. I do have to make one further comment for those of you are commuting
in major metropolitan areas (i.e. London), make sure you are comfortable and practiced at clipping in and out of clipless pedals before taking them out on busy city streets. (The streets of Lincoln are not busy city streets.) However, most individuals are not commuting in these types of conditions and do not take this
into consideration.
To be upfront, I will tell you what I use
and what I would prefer, so you know my bias. I presently own only one bike
that I need to make work for transportation, training and racing. I do not have
time to switch pedals on and off before every ride, so I usually have SPD
clipless pedals attached. I use the shoes pictured above for training and commuting respectively. If I had an additional bike that I would use solely
for transportation and commuting, I would have platform pedals installed on it
since this would give me greater freedom in shoe choice.
As for what shoes you can use with these
different pedals and what works for commuting, that is an article for another
time.
Happy riding and pedal on.
Another great option for those who want to ride both platform and clipless pedals is a multi-purpose pedal that offers a platform on one side and a cleat surface on the other. Shimano makes several models with this configuration: http://bike.shimano.com/publish/content/global_cycle/en/us/index/products/pedals/mountain.html#.
ReplyDeleteI had considered adding this type of pedal to the post, however, I think I will actually do a post later and outline all of the different types of clipless pedals including multipurpose pedals.
ReplyDelete