Free Pedaling

I think Grant at Rivendell goes a little overboard about some things, but I'm right there with him on the subject of not fastening feet to pedals.

I'm nearing the end of the my second 5000-mile year with loose feet, and I like it better than ever. Mostly I don't think about it. My pedaling is smooth and circular, my knees never hurt, I never feel like I'm losing significant power. I only miss being attached to the pedals at stop lights (when I can adjust the pedals for a quick start) and on fast descents when I forget I'm in an easy gear. Otherwise, I am happy as a clam with my wide MKS Touring pedals, which I have on both the touring Trek and the Rivendell. (I had the sportier short MKS pedals on the Rivendell, but they weren't wide enough for my boats.)

In the winter, of course, I wear big old rubber boots over my penny loafers, or rubber-bottomed insulated boots. No way to use clips there. In summer, a nice pair of retro New Balance running shoes with smooth soles work beautifully.

I wonder if biking fatalities due to car collisions are caused, in part, by the biker being fastened to the bike? Rather than being thrown clear, perhaps the biker tumbles with the bike on top of him, which causes fatal twisting and trauma. I've never heard anyone propose that, but there's a certain logic to it. Click-in pedals are easy to get out of if you're ready for it, but perhaps a sudden unforeseen impact by a car happens too fast to pull out.

This wouldn't be a problem with toe clips and straps, which let go nearly automatically (unless the straps are pulled absurdly tight). But these days, click-in pedals are all the rage. Perhaps it's just me being a clod (I fell multiple times during my click-in pedal experiment), but I can imagine even experienced cyclists being locked in to their pedals during a fall. And I can imagine that being in a pas de deux into the undergrowth with a 25 lb bike could be very bad for your health.