Clipless question

I've been riding cages/straps for years now on my fixed ride, and have been thinking about trying out some egg beaters. My question is, has anyone had any problems coming unclipped under the emergency of skidding? I understand abandoning ship would be much more difficult than cages, but my main question of concern is the odds of accidentally coming unclipped.

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Permalink Reply by DanGer 8.2mi on October 21, 2011 at 8:48pm

Clipless pedals would need to be tightened all the way. While skidding, if you want to sway side to side, they may come unclipped. Risks do not outweigh the benefits. I am not the expert. That is how it was when I tried them.

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Permalink Reply by James Kelly on October 21, 2011 at 9:16pm

You should be fine as long as you don't twist around during your maneuvers and the release tension isn't too low. Actually, have a gander at Look and Speedplay clipless systems. It'll probably work out better on a fixed drive-train than eggbeaters. I haven't tried out eggbeaters myself, but from what I've read, they release pretty easily. Look and Speedplay (others, too) are very secure.

If you want extra security, you can fit some clipless pedals with toe straps. Some have release levers, too. I'd say it's overkill unless you're racing.

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Permalink Reply by Michael A on October 21, 2011 at 9:24pm

I am pretty sure he would not want to wear a road specific shoe (look and speed play require them) With a MTB pedal such as egg beaters the cleat can be recessed into the sole. I have used eggbeaters, shimano mtb pedals (various levels) but my fav is the time atac system. any level of he later two companies should work fine. Shimano mtb pedals have a larger adjustment in release tension and the degree of float can be changed by the way you mount the cleats.

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Permalink Reply by Billy Poore on October 21, 2011 at 11:15pm

Thanks for the advice dudes! I definitely would want to go the sneaker route with the recessed cleat....even though I no longer ride fixed at work anymore, I am all over the city on my fixed bike during the weekend. Eating, drinking, shopping, cruising, etc. I read up on some forums, and found about equal preference between clipless and cage/strap setups. Most of the clipless riders said that they have very rarely came unclipped, mostly happened during winter situations or just getting too rambunctious. As I do get a little rough house-ish, but not in traffic, and I do have a winter warrior....Just wanted to know from people first-hand! And if anyone is ever up for a ride or a drink, I'm definitely up for that as well! Might attend the halloween Midnight Marauders. Last Marauders I went to, I believe August, was my first, and I really enjoyed it. Despite the cops booting us from the dirt filled, construction ridden lower streets....it was great!

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Permalink Reply by James Kelly on October 22, 2011 at 1:38am

Hey Billy. Yeah, ignore my advise about the Look and Speedplay options. Go with Michael's about ATAC, eggbeaters, SPD. You'll dig that better. You've probably seen all the nice sneaker-y options that'll accept two bolt recessed cleats. Give that a try. It's good stuff.

I run Look pedals on one bike and SPDs on another. Very happy with how it works out - each has it's own purpose. Recessed cleats are way more convenient for gettin' around and sloppy weather.

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Permalink Reply by Kelvin Mulcky on October 22, 2011 at 1:08pm

I wouldn't trust eggbeaters. Try spd.

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Permalink Reply by S on October 22, 2011 at 7:10pm

I've used the quattro and candys from the crankbrothers without problems for a couple of years. Eggbeaters are pretty minimalistic so you may want to look at on of the pedals with more platform. Also you can change the release angle by swapping the cleats between the left and right shoes, check the instructions on this. In general, it sounds like if you go with the eggbeaters, you might want to set it so that you need to move your foot at a bigger angle to clip out.

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Permalink Reply by mark stetson on October 22, 2011 at 9:49pm

What about a 2 sided pedal like Shimano M324? SPD on 1 side, big platform on the other. I often jump on a bike without changing shoes, and find myself riding all sorts of cleated pedal systems in my work shoes. Obviously no advantage if you are always going to be wearing cycling shoes, and the 324s are pretty heavy.

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Permalink Reply by zerofivenein on October 23, 2011 at 4:58pm

i run eggbeaters (and kursk pros) on one of my fixed gears, and clips and straps on my other one. the eggbeaters are a ton better, and arent even bad when it comes to panic-escaping quickly. i also ran shimano SPD pedals for a bit before that, and those weren't nearly as nice to get in and out of as the eggbeaters. and they've always been nice to me while skidding.

clipless pedals on a fixed gear are definitely a good move as an alternative to the straps and such.

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Permalink Reply by Matt Mrozinski on October 24, 2011 at 1:12am

i have the dzr mid tops and wellgo spd double sided and i enjoy them i also run a brake for when i use sneakers i have fallen a couple times because i couldn't get out and lost my balance. just practice and set the release tension right and you should be fine.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Courtright on October 24, 2011 at 8:28am

I echo the good reviews for the eggbeaters/candy pedals. Easy to get out of in an emergency, walkable/minimal cleats, but you can do a full sprint and not worry about accidental exit. IMO the best option for all of commuting/casual riding/racing (cross, mtb.).

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Permalink Reply by S on October 24, 2011 at 9:55am

Don't forget that they are very dirt/mud/snow resistant. The open design stops it from getting caught up in the cleats and it gets shed pretty easily. I've found crank brothers to be pretty good about providing service as well in the past, they sent me new cover plates for my quattros for free when I contacted them about replacements because they came off.

Steve Courtright said:

I echo the good reviews for the eggbeaters/candy pedals. Easy to get out of in an emergency, walkable/minimal cleats, but you can do a full sprint and not worry about accidental exit. IMO the best option for all of commuting/casual riding/racing (cross, mtb.).