Originally posted by nutbag
Anyway, you've gotta wonder: why do track sprinters still use straps?
Answer: because clipless pedals have not yet been perfected.
With all due respect, Nutbag, I don't think this is a reasonable conclusion. To be perfectly honest, it's a bit silly, 20 years into the technology. Flesh the argument out a bit further. Many (not all) track riders use toe-straps, but just about every road racer, time trialist, crit-specialist, climber, sprinter, and moutain/XC racer over the last decade has built their competetive career on clipless systems -- clearly, track racers are the exception among serious cyclists. Why
that is may be up for debate, but whether clipless technology in general is lacking next to straps is
not. From Tyler Hamilton to the guys in my local crit night, the things have been given a very fair shake and passed the test.
It stinks that you had a bad experience with clipless pedals 12 years ago -- reading your description (
"The first time I ever used clipless my feet felt like they were sliding around so much that I was too sh1t scared to stand up on the pedals."), it's hard to figure out what the problem was, but it didn't sound good. Like a nasty childhood moment with the donkey at a petting zoo, I submit (respectfully!) that the experience has sort of tweaked you for life.
This much, though, seems annecdotally true: just about everyone who has spent serious time on
each (straps and clipless systems) agrees that there's no contest where safety, security, ergonomics, and all-out performance is concerned.