Carl Fogel said:Cleats versus bare (nice phrase) is what interests me.
I think that the straps fell out of favor as soon the cleats
appeared (but I'd be happy to hear why--sometimes the
explanations for vanished equipment shed light on what's
new).
Bare feet would probably almost always hurt a lot more than shod feet
(any "shod",including even those SPD sandals). Especially, you know, on
those pedals with "teeth" meant to grip shoes? Ever tried that? Ow!
Really hurts, and right away, too (thank you, Carl).
Clips/straps v. clip/strapless? To keep a clip/strap shoe from pulling
out, the strap has to be at least snug, and pretty tight if the cleat
is worn or has a shallow engagement slot in the first place. Not
comfortable for many riders. The clipless style cleat will stay
attached to the pedal (given working parts not worn excessively) even
with the shoe laced/velcroed/ratcheted "loose". Much, much more
comfortable than the "old way" IME.
The big advantage of cycling shoes (v. "street"😉 for me is that the
bike shoe soles are usually pretty stiff. The old feet not being what
they used to be, bending them under load (tested while moving the
household goods to a new residence, for instance) produces pain and
soreness, especially where I had a bone spur removed at the base of a
big toe (my million-dollar wound). I can't begin to tolerate tight toe
straps anymore but I can ride for hours using Sidi Genius shoes, which,
although regarded as "soft" by some, do have very limited sole flex
compared to running shoes, for instance. FWIW, I keep the two lower
velcro straps loose, and use the ratcheting ankle strap to contol the
location of the foot-- so no banging the big toe against the inside end
of the shoe, or binding the foot around the instep or toes to keep the
foot in the shoe. "Works for me"; if it didn't, I couldn't ride, even
on platforms. Well, I do occasionally take my son out, me on mom's
comfort bike (platform pedals, no clips/straps)with him riding the
attached trailer bike, but the effort involved is nothing like the
usual group or solo ride on a road bike, either for duration or force,
and I take care with my foot motion or pay the price. "Doesn't work for
me", IOW, at least not very well.
Pedal release? After the usual rookie tipover or two, including an
embarrassing multibike pileup with other wheel-overlapped rookies at a
stoplight (rookies), I learned to pattern a reponse by practicing the
motion that got my foot out the quickest, this with both clip/strap and
later, clipless types (good return on that over the years, btw). With
Look or Campy clipless cleat systems, I've found the simple twisting
motion required for release (similar if not quite the same with those
two types) to be a little more straightforward (quicker, perhaps) than
the "roll out of the cleat slot, snap the foot backwards" motion
required from clip/strap types-- esp. the old Sidi white cleat blocks,
which could be pretty sticky when new and were deeper than most other
cleats. And so far, even while running worn clipless cleats, I've never
pulled a foot out-- of course, the strap was something of a backup for
that occurrence with the clip/strap style pedal/shoe system. And yes,
early in the days of clipless, while making a U-turn in a racing pack,
the two guys ahead of me managed to release their outside foot from
clipless pedals when they stood to jam out of the corner, and right at
the same time, too. Looked like the Rockettes (little exaggeration) but
can't say I enjoyed the show much from behind. Funnier later, of
course. --TP