Help me argue with myself

[jrenaut]

A good compromise might be mountain bike gear. It’s not baggy and often padded. I just got a second pair of Zoic Ether LT shorts, though I wear them without the pad because the pad was spectacularly uncomfortable.

But yeah, wind resistance makes you stronger.

[cyclingfool]

Wear what you will. I wear baggy stuff all the time. I’m sure it slows me down, but:

1. The world doesn’t want to see me in lycra. Neither does my wife, so spending money on it would earn an immediate slap on the wrist.
2. I find it really comfortable.

All that said, I have clipless pedals. For me clipless is not really about speed, though I think it might make me a small fraction of an MPH faster. For me, the best part of clipless is knowing my foot won’t slip off the pedal if it’s wet out or I do something silly. I used to use toe clips/cages w/ straps, but with my wide feet they didn’t always play nicely with all my shoes. SPDs were just way more comfortable. I may at some point try pedals w/ SPD on one side, platform on the other, so I can more easily hop on the bike in regular sneakers or sandals, but for now, my cheap-o Shimano M520 SPD pedals are where it’s at for me.

[baiskeli]

[TwoWheelsDC]

“Baggies” don’t necessarily have to be baggy. Giro, Swrve, and others all make “regular” shorts that have a relatively close fit and that are designed for the rigors of riding…so that’s a good compromise. That said, my preference is for clipless, no matter what I’m wearing. I also just picked up a pair of these Swrve insulated softshell pants for winter “non-lycra” riding…so those could be an option for you as well.

FWIW, I’ve seen plenty of people in lycra, both shorts and winter tights, with sneakers and platforms. Not my style, but I don’t judge those who do it.

[chris_s]

Don’t be a weenie; embrace your inner badass. Stick with normal clothes and platforms. 😎

[jabberwocky]

I wouldn’t get too hung up on what you’ve seen. Decide what works for you. If you prefer platforms and want to wear lycra, then ride platforms and wear lycra. Roadies will sneer at you, but honestly, I think roadies sneering at you means you’re doing something right.

[dasgeh]

Wear what you feel comfortable in.

As far as pedals, ride on what you feel comfortable on. That said, I prefer clipless on my road bike because it allows my legs to work in the full circle, instead of just on the downstroke. I’m sure it helps with speed, but I don’t know how much. It’s more a comfort thing — my legs take longer to get tired because different muscles are working. I ride in traffic so like the ease of clipping in and out on SPD, and the convenience of having shoes (Keen sandles for summer, Shimano warm-y ones for winter) that I can walk in like a normal person. Though riding in the Keen’s hurts the balls of my feet after about 20 miles (in one ride). Shoes with harder soles solve that problem.

In the really bad winter weather, I prefer platforms to enable my Flintstoning.

[Steve O]

@dplasters 105233 wrote:

I’ll have you all know this problem is now burning in my mind because of BAFS and the various scoreboards. My bike is like 90% for commuting and 10% for errands and riding about (I leave open the idea this may increase in the future).

When I ride, I do it for exercise (and getting where I need to go). I’m not frequently cruising along at 10mph and frolicking. I have a competitive problem. Plus the leg workout is awesome, I’ve added almost 5 mph to my swing speed (golf problems).

Also, has anyone seen the lycra + platform combo?

I’m sort of like you, with my one, steel-frame bike with fenders for commuting, errands and centuries (I also have a 3-speed vintage w basket for local duty). For 15 years my commute was long enough to also be a serious or semi-serious workout, and I would ride hard to make it so (now my commute is too short, and I deliberately ramp down to not sweat; that was a difficult transition for me).

I wear street clothes a lot for commuting and always for errands, but I also have all the lycra and hi-viz jerseys for recreational and workout riding. I highly recommend the 2-sided pedals (flat one side; spd the other) for their flexibility. You can wear your tennis shoes for errands but clip in for the Vasa ride or for your break-a-sweat commute.

[KLizotte]

Once I went clipless, I never went back. I find the hard soled shoes and clipless system to be far more comfortable when riding and gives me a little extra push up hills (because I can take advantage of the pulling action). I highly recommend these pedals because sometimes having a platform is convenient. I think I have the Shimano A530s. I once tried a cheap knock off on a second bike I had but quickly returned them because the balance was off; the pedals wouldn’t stay up consistently on the spd or platform side.

[IMG]http://bikearlingtonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7446&stc=1[/IMG]

[jabberwocky]

I second the “clipless>platforms” sentiment. I do still run platforms on the DH and DJ bikes (aka bikes I might need to get off of in a hurry), but I can’t imagine running platforms for anything I’m going to pedal for more than 30 seconds at a time. But I can see where a bike you are on and off of a lot (like short distance errands), platforms would be nice because you can run normal shoes. Even MTB shoes aren’t super comfortable to walk around in a whole lot.

[wheelswings]

I ride a heavy 20-year-old mountain bike with platform pedals. It’s all I’ve got. I wear my street clothes plus sneakers or snow boots. Sometimes in winter that means wearing three pairs of pants. The bike gets me where I need to go, and it keeps me happy. Who cares what anyone thinks.

[jrenaut]

I had those pedals on my regular commuter and was relieved when we got the cargo bike and I could transfer them (my wife wears regular shoes when she rides it) and get double-sided SPDs. I find I never ride in regular shoes. And I switched from toe clips to SPDs because of knee issues – the SPDs make sure my feet are in the right spot and my legs are aligned properly. Now that I’m used to them, I feel much more comfortable wearing them than not.

[vvill]

I wear lycra and platforms in the winter a lot, since I often just wear regular winter boots for really cold days (I haven’t bothered investing in clipless winter boots), whereas I don’t wear baggy stuff much for anything more than a few miles. I do really like clipless pedals but I’ve found I can pedal satisfactorily on platforms too. I’m more likely to suddenly want to stick out a leg when there’s ice/snow around anyway,

I’ve actually been contemplating getting a nicer set of platform pedals that has removable/adjustable pins so I can really grip them properly with my shoes. For some reason I seem to gravitate towards the xpedo line-up even though I don’t do any BMX/trials/MTBing etc.

[Anonymous]

@dplasters 105233 wrote:

Also, has anyone seen the lycra + platform combo? In the winter some tights really would be nice for the better ankle warmth vs pants. I should just stop worrying about what other people think shouldn’t I?

I did it for years. The style points might be different for girls vs. boys. I wore lycra because I didn’t like shorts bunching up while riding, and I rode with platforms because I didn’t know any different.

Then I tried riding clipped in. Love it so much more than platforms.

[culimerc]

My wife refuses to ride with clips, so she is all platform all the time. And she kits up for even the shortest of rides. Your pedal should not be a limitation or indicator of anything. Ride how you like. PERIOD

[Author]

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