Low cost Shimano cycling shoes are just fine for spinning

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/11/26/low-cost-shimano-cycling-shoes.html

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I spin completely naked, I’m crazy like that.

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Are you spinning naked right now?

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Spinning = same-angle joint exercise.

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You’re not Helicopter Man as seen on the intertubes are you?

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No, I’m not him, but I do know him…

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In my experience SPD cleats are best discarded with used cycling shoes. The last set I owned were so damaged there was no clean way to remove them. They had done 30000km on road though.

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I’ve always thought that whatever efficiency benefits may be gained with clip-in shoes are completely outweighed by the risk of catastrophic injury should one get in an accident. Especially because lower efficiency really just means more exercise, no?

“Low cost” is an extremely relative statement. The last pair of dress shoes that I purchased cost me $50, on sale. That was four years ago, and I couldn’t believe I spent that much.

They are made to release from the pedal if yanked hard enough. You’re not going to leave your feet attached to the bike while the rest of you flies off to the song “Footloose”.

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Without clip-in pedals, your legs are only going to be pushing down, which means you exercise fewer muscle groups. With clip-in pedals, your body works all the way through the pedal stroke, so the rest of your body does more work, more of the time, and gets fitter.

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Except you don’t get much advantage from trying to pull on the upstroke. If anything you’re likely to injure your hamstring and hip flexor.

On a mountain bike, in addition to the increased comfort and efficiency you get from the stiff, clipped in shoes, the risk of injury actually decreases once you get used to them. This is because no matter how rough the terrain gets, generally speaking you’ll remain in control and attached to the bike rather than get sent flying off of it.

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Well I disagree.

You should be pedalling at constant torque, and with training your legs should handle it fine. Its not something you can just take up on the spot of course.

I have > 50000km cycling experience with clip in pedals since 2006.

@suavefucker

Yeah I have often wondered if this is something which motorbike riders are missing out on.

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Worn-in clips detach just fine when you need them to.

Other commenters have pointed out the different muscle groups used, but I’d also like to point out some benefits for lactic acid burn – using different muscle groups means that you have a more consistent power output spread out and you get less of the burn once you get used to it. More even power output instead of peaks and troughs, if you want to think about it that way.

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Nope.

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Sorry dogg, it doesn’t do anything.

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But you can see the difference in riding style between clip in and non-clip in pedals. A rider without clip in pedals pushes against the handle bar with their upper body. A rider with clip in pedals transmits forces through their legs to a greater extent, so their upper body isn’t involved as much.

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I wonder what future generations of clip tech will look like. Magnets would be cool if you could somehow adjust for torque and positioning.

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