When I first took up cycling, the conventional wisdom in the cycling press was that to achieve 'ankling', (the height of efficient pedalling), then you fitted toeclips and straps to your pedals. Eventually I fitted a pair of 'Christophe' clips and toe straps to a pair of Campagnolo Super Record road pedals, the type with a nasty pointy upturn on the outer edge of the pedal that always dug into my feet but were 'necessary' to keep your feet positioned - but they were never wide enough for my feet. I endured a decade or so of torturous pain as the must-have 'large size' toe clips dug sharply into my toes. I just thought I was one of those cyclists who complained about sore feet - others would complain about sore backs, sore hands, sore necks, sore bottoms etc.,
Time moved on and it was now the clip-less pedal era with cleats fitted to your cycling shoes - you weren't a serious cyclist unless you NOW had these. So I duly upgraded to them - and the knife-sharp pain that the old fashioned clips had seared into my toes were consigned to history. Unfortunately you have to screw the cleats into your cycling shoes to mimic the 'angle of dangle', so to speak, that your feet naturally took up when walking; I had mine both at straight ahead instead of accepting that I'm a 'ten-to-two' foot person, resulting in knee pain years later.
Fast forward to this year and my first e-bike which came fitted with basic 'beginners' pedals, no clips to aid 'ankling', just a basic pedal - the type you could never be seen on if you wished to be considered a serious cyclist. And oh what comfort. But still they were slippy, so I've just took receipt of these VP platform pedals, (£8.95 delivered), wider and longer than the current pedals, (and much lighter too) - a quick ride round the block reveals even more comfort. I'll be fitting the strapless plastic mini-clips that I find more comfortable than either the toe-clips or the clip-less variety of foot retention to gain extra power on the upstrokes when hill climbing. These are the pedals I'm on about - primarily designed for out-and-out downhill/mountain-bike work:
- And the mini clips:
It takes a long time to cease being a fashion victim.
Another thing that was 'unaccepted' on any serious lightweight cyclist's bike, was a prop stand; never had them before and like plenty of others, watched brand new beautiful paintwork get scratched, before its time, due to the preconception that serious cyclists don't add unnecessary weight to their bikes. After enjoying unprecedented convenience on my e-bike with the comes-as-standard propstand, and what a revelation! I've now gone and fitted prop stands to all my bikes, ahh... at last - the convenience of it all!
Time moved on and it was now the clip-less pedal era with cleats fitted to your cycling shoes - you weren't a serious cyclist unless you NOW had these. So I duly upgraded to them - and the knife-sharp pain that the old fashioned clips had seared into my toes were consigned to history. Unfortunately you have to screw the cleats into your cycling shoes to mimic the 'angle of dangle', so to speak, that your feet naturally took up when walking; I had mine both at straight ahead instead of accepting that I'm a 'ten-to-two' foot person, resulting in knee pain years later.
Fast forward to this year and my first e-bike which came fitted with basic 'beginners' pedals, no clips to aid 'ankling', just a basic pedal - the type you could never be seen on if you wished to be considered a serious cyclist. And oh what comfort. But still they were slippy, so I've just took receipt of these VP platform pedals, (£8.95 delivered), wider and longer than the current pedals, (and much lighter too) - a quick ride round the block reveals even more comfort. I'll be fitting the strapless plastic mini-clips that I find more comfortable than either the toe-clips or the clip-less variety of foot retention to gain extra power on the upstrokes when hill climbing. These are the pedals I'm on about - primarily designed for out-and-out downhill/mountain-bike work:
- And the mini clips:
It takes a long time to cease being a fashion victim.
Another thing that was 'unaccepted' on any serious lightweight cyclist's bike, was a prop stand; never had them before and like plenty of others, watched brand new beautiful paintwork get scratched, before its time, due to the preconception that serious cyclists don't add unnecessary weight to their bikes. After enjoying unprecedented convenience on my e-bike with the comes-as-standard propstand, and what a revelation! I've now gone and fitted prop stands to all my bikes, ahh... at last - the convenience of it all!
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