[Ricisan]

I've done a Metric C this year and I bonked. It was a real ball breaker, but I finished. I need to find foods that agree w/me in large amounts. I use a H pack to drink while riding. I can't drink enough in a break. I have a good system now. The food thing will be tough. I told my partner that I would do all the trip planning, his job was to stuff food as needed down my throat. Thanks for the help.

Ricisan

 

[Cata1yst]

I was actually able to ride Road and Dirt, grab In and Out, gobble up a double double and a XL shake, and go riding 3 mins after i finished, while drinking my shake on my trip back....
As you can see my stomach loves food and can share the blood, :thumbsup:

 

[hankthespacecowboy]

I went back to clipless not because it was faster, but because I could clean technical climbs better. More power and control.

 

[laurenlex]

If I was on vacation and my clipless pedals broke, I would play golf before riding on platforms.

In fact, I forgot my biking shoes last summer. I bought new shoes and cleats before riding, instead of platform pedals. (already golfed the day before)

I think the only place where platforms would be better is on one of those North Shore ladders 20 feet above the forest, or when hitting no footed can cans in a dirt jump park.

 

[Treybiker]

If I was on vacation and my clipless pedals broke, I would play golf before riding on platforms.

In fact, I forgot my biking shoes last summer. I bought new shoes and cleats before riding, instead of platform pedals. (already golfed the day before)

I think the only place where platforms would be better is on one of those North Shore ladders 20 feet above the forest, or when hitting no footed can cans in a dirt jump park.

I'm with you. Won't ride without them. Mentally you have to keep reminding yourself to not lift you feet off the pedals and it just makes it less fun therefore pointless.

Clipless pedals (as mentioned before) involve a whole other set of muscles that are basically dead weight otherwise. Imagine 2 guys pushing a car up a hill, then one quits. Right now you just don't know what you're missing, but once you've been on them a little while, you couldn't live without them. No matter where I'm riding, I switch how I pedal to give one group of muscles a little break, or I keep a nice even spin going to keep momentum going (as opposed to mash mash mash downward on the pedal. A secondary benifit is that you can more easily lift/bunyhop the bike over obsticals and there is much less risk of your feet slipping off the pedals.

I've ridden clipless offroad since before SPD's were sold to the public and have NEVER had any issue with them causing me to crash............ Ok, I lied, there was that one time I rode up to some friends hanging out at the trail head forgetting I was clipped in. Came to stop and fell over. (It always happens in front of no less than 5 people). :madman:

 

[kapusta]

If I was on vacation and my clipless pedals broke, I would play golf before riding on platforms.

But golf won't make you a better rider Riding platforms every so often will.

 

[Cata1yst]

I dont think i have learned to correctly spin yet, but there is a small difference between clipless and platforms...and it definately feels different when im launching off at a stoplight with one foot clipped it and one foot not

 

[PCC]

I'm one of those guys who won't ride unless I'm clipped in. That is, unless I'm in front of the house goofing off doing wheelies.

Clipless pedals do not make me any faster in a straight line once I'm under way but they do make me accelerate from a stop better and I can spin much faster without worry about my feet flying off the pedals. This is great for those situations where I need a sudden burst of speed but will slow back down to my normal cruising speed after fifty yards or so like when I'm trying to catch a yellow light or squeeze into a gap ahead of me in traffic. Also, when doing bunny hops or trying to get the front and rear wheels up a curb, being clipped in reassures me that I will not slip off the pedals and crash. I can use different muscles in my pedal stroke to relieve my thigh muscles when they start to cramp up at the end of a hilly ride.

 

[tomk96]

if you google clipless pedal efficiency, you'll find it listed as 20-30% more efficient.

 

[rydog9991]

I drove my car with my clipless shoes on the other day and noticed a 2mph increase!

 

[man w/ one hand]

Like tomk96 said, you'll get roughly 20-30% increase in "efficiency" not really power per say. As others stated, the real improvement is in spinning while climbing and not having to deal w/yer feet coming off of th' peds un-intentionally, (this is a major plus for me), also it allows you really manuver te bike in the air a lil better if'n you ain't th' best rider in th' woods. I really see a big difference in my climbing and my buds climbing. They don't do clipless, I do and usually I'm 1st to the top, unless I'm outta shape like I am now.

 

[limoguy]

I move from flats to clipless....If offroad They sure do make it easier to ride over the rough stuff and the ability to pull back greatly increases my ability to stay on the bike when I get hung up on an obstacle. Out on the road just spinning .... flats and clipless have never shown me much of a difference again unless a hill were to drop my cadence and have me pull up on the pedals more (my climbing is really laughable at 203 lbs) at least I look good with all that muscle lol.

 

[fishbum]

Here is how they might make you faster: They save time...

When I used to use flats with toeclips (decade ago) I noticed that if I stalled or dabbed, it would take me "forever" to flip the pedal back over and stuff my foot back in. Meanwhile those with clipless had gained 50 feet on me! So if you dab repeatedly they group could easily pull away from you farther each time you dab.

Now with clipless I can jump back on and just start pedaling and they clip in - no lost time. Just my observation....

 

[Ricisan]

So Much for Theory

The consensus seems to be that clipless will make a difference. If it allows me to pull a taller gear w/o tiring, sounds like a good thing on a C. Just the idea of being able to use extra or different muscles alone is a good thing. I will keep the forum posted on my progress.

Ricisan