The big cycling news over the weekend was of course elder abuser Jake Paul and his choice of cycling footwear:
Jake Paul riding on a Colnago from Wolfis. 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/V1vKIG8DQd
— Lukáš Ronald Lukács (@lucasaganronald) December 7, 2024
To be clear, I subscribe to the Petersenian view of clipless pedals. In particular, I believe that the idea clipless pedals allow you to carry power all the way through 360 degrees of the pedal stroke or whatever is mostly nonsense:
Obviously from a pure performance standpoint there are some real reasons to use clipless pedals. For one thing, they’re obviously going to be an advantage in a sprint. (Like, a real sprint in a race where you’re wringing ever last watt out of the bike in order to earn a living, not the sort of spirited gallop you might engage in whilst riding casually.) Also, they help you lift the bike, which in a race is essential because when you’re in a pack and you encounter an obstacle your only choice is to go over it. (You learn that quickly in the lower categories the first time someone takes out half the field swerving around a dropped water bottle.) And of course clipless pedals allow the competitive rider to wear fully bike-optimized footwear that’s super light and breathable and has sophisticated fasteners and excellent heel clearance and all that stuff, because they don’t have to take walkability into account at all.)
And certainly if you’re riding fixed-gear you need some sort of foot retention–on the track certainly, but on the road too, even if you do use a brake.
But most of the time, for most riding, the advantages of flat pedals probably outweigh the disadvantages.
Still, if you’re riding a Colnago, there’s really no excuse for this:
I could even overlook a pair of Vans or something, but that’s ridiculous.
And yes, with the obligatory disclaimer that you should use whatever the hell shoes and pedals you want, even if it’s a pair of ugly-ass Hokas on a pro race bike, with regard to drop bar bikes I generally adhere to the following guidelines:
- Up to 30mm tires: road clipless pedals
- Up to 35mm tires: mountain bike clipless pedals
- 36mm and up: flat pedals
Why? I don’t know. Why does the cock crow in the morn? Why does the cat bask in a sun beam? Why does the dog lick its balls? Because it just feels right. And of course there are exceptions. For example, when riding a vintage bike, I use old-timey clips and straps. To wit:
Toe clips and straps arguably have all the disadvantages of both flat pedals and clipless pedals. However, it’s fun to engage in period correctness every now and again, and they do allow me to dip into my vintage footwear collection:
But certainly on a bike like the Roaduno, I dispense with all the nonsense and go flat:
It was frigid on Friday and so I grabbed the Roaduno and scampered around on the nearest trails for a bit. Note the charred timber from the recent brush fires we experienced here in New York City. But yes, whenever I ride a bike like the Roaduno I realize just how wonderfully versatile flat pedals are. Sandals when it’s hot, hiking boots when it’s cold, canvas sneakers the rest of the time and you’re all set. (Though at some point as an experiment I may go “off-label” with the Roaduno, put a pair of flat bars and clipless pedals on it, and try it out as a singlespeed mountain bike.)
The same goes for the Homer, which I also enjoyed over the weekend:
I’m pleased to report I finally got around to re-wrapping the bars:
After my Newbaum’s Debacle I think I’m finally getting the hang of the stuff:
“Newbaum’s Debacle” is my second-favorite Philip Roth book after his exhaustive framebuilding tome, “Goodbye, Columbus:”
But when the bike gets a little racier, the tires get a little thinner, and the bars get lower, that’s when I start clipping in:
If tire width determines pedal choice there’s probably a corollary by which saddle-to-bar height differential determines whether or not you wear Lycra, but that’s enough sartorial dogma for one day.