Ironic, isn't it, that in the past, riders would have been derided for wear ing racing clothing for ordinary riding. It simply wasn't done. And whil e we're on the subject of aping the racers, it was suggested to me some tim e ago that an overweight middle-aged guy in Lycra looks like a balloon full of water. After a trip to the mirror, I decided to wear ordinary shorts a nd shirts in the Summer, and was stunned to find that I didn't need enough padding to make it feel like I was wearing a diaper, and that the lack of s kin-tight clothing covered in free advertising didn't affect my riding in a ny adverse way. So all those millions of cyclists in the last century were n't wrong after all...
Neil Foddering Weymouth, Dorset, England
> Date: Thu, 15 May 2008 23:54:56 +0200
> From: nicbordeaux@yahoo.fr
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Subject: [CR]Bike shoe baloney
>
> Well, thanks to all who have given info on the bike shoe/pedal/strap fron
t. A quick reply to some of the more interesting points...
>
> I never said people who wear cycling shoes are baboons, just that we al
l suffer from an emulation syndrome and and "accepted truth" affliction whi
ch makes us do as others without questioning. Like when people were told th
e earth was flat they never cycled far because they KNEW they'd cycle over
the edge.
>
> Specifics: the best shoe I can think of if you need walkability with a
stiff sole for cycling must be a cowboy boot, but we don't wear those over
here in France. The soundest advice is good pedals, berthets why not althou
gh I favor Lyotard flat platform street alloy. These give you plenty surfac
e to place you foot against and push. You get cramp through only a few poin
ts of your sole resting on the pedal, as in eggbeaters with wide shoes. The
little turned up piece of cage at the spindle cap end of the pedal is you
main pressure point.
>
> As to pulling up, I don't believe it. Or rather I'd like to see some te
st data on how much pull is exerted by people who believe they are both pus
hing down on the downstroke, and actually putting in extra wattage by lifti
ng on the upstroke.
>
> Safety: I've, as a kid, ridden I don't know how many thousands or tens
of thousands of miles on strapless and never once nutted myself on the cros
sbar through foot slipping on a pedal. I have however saved myself in a num
ber of rather extreme situations by being able to stick a foot on the groun
g immediatedly, no time lapse to release from pedal entrapment. This is cou
ntry riding. In town and I've done a fair amount of town riding, I think it
is masochism, deathwish or ignorance to have anything holding your foot to
the pedal.
>
> Loose straps: clips with loose straps present the best compromise: as w
as pointed out, you get foot length placement, plus there is a "retention"
factor in the metal clips and loose straps (loose, not undone) whilst still
enabling really fast foot removal.
>
> Anway, everyone to his own, I'll continue to be the clip and rather loo
se strap baboon wearing ordinary, non-specific shoewear, except if I take u
p racing or something unlikely. Evolution, survival of the fittest will set
tle the argument. Eventually. But in the meantime don't loose sight of the
fact that if you are about to cycle over the edge, you may want to get your
feet on the ground mighty fast.
>
> Nick March, Agen, 47000 Lot et Garonne
>
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